As a two-year-old, Pearl Diver was sent into training at the Chantilly stable of Percy Carter, an Englishman who had been based in France for many years.
The form of the race looked better in retrospect as Imprudence went on to win the 1000 Guineas, the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and The Oaks.
[7] Ridden by Georges Bridgland, Pearl Diver raced prominently and tracked the leaders in the early stages as Gordon Richards struggled to restrain Tudor Minstrel before being forced to allow the favourite to make the running.
When Tudor Minstrel weakened entering the straight, Pearl Diver moved up to overtake him and dispute the lead with Sayajirao.
In the final quarter mile Pearl Diver went clear and pulled steadily away from the field to win by four lengths from Migoli with Sayajirao third.
Many of the crowd began to celebrate a Tudor Minstrel victory, reportedly mistaking the similar white colours carried by Pearl Diver's jockey, but the defeat of the favourite saved the British bookmakers from an estimated £5,000,000 payout[8] Bridgland said that once he took the lead he "knew the Derby was mine...I was never seriously challenged," while Baron de Waldner emphasised the importance of the soft ground, saying that he "enjoyed every minute of the rain.
Explanations for the failure of the British included the "pampering" of horses in training, a lack of stamina in pedigrees and the use of inferior oats as feed during wartime.
In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Pearl Diver an “inferior” Derby winner,[13] despite the fact that he had decisively beaten a stronger than average field at Epsom.