[2] Coronation was prepared for racing "with considerable ability" by Ben Painter[3] (or Painten),[2] Rawlinson's "stud groom" at Chadlington and Heythrop Park.

[5] He sired many important winners including Faugh-a-Ballagh (St Leger), The Corsair (2000 Guineas) and Birdcatcher, the male-line ancestor of most modern thoroughbreds.

On his first appearance on 18 August he easily won a four-runner Sweepstakes for two- and three-year-old at Oxford Racecourse from a filly named Pelerine.

[9] On his three-year-old debut, Coronation won the Trial Stakes Warwick in impressive style[10] in a large, but undistinguished field.

[11] In the final build-up to the Derby, Rawlinson entrusted the horse to a professional trainer, Isaac Day,[3] who was based at Northleach, Gloucestershire.

[14] The weather was warm and sunny and the customary huge crowd – described by the Sunday Times as an "immense mob" combining every "rank, wealth, talent and beauty in the country" – was in attendance.

[7] Coronation's performances during the summer had been so dominant that the St Leger on 14 September was considered a formality, and attracted less interest than usual.

[19] According to his jockey, John Day, Coronation had been "treated like a spoiled child" in the build-up to the St Leger and went to Doncaster some way below peak fitness.