When one of Roger Teal’s horses won at Doncaster last September, he was asked why there had been a shout of “C’mon Ernie”.

The trainer, speaking through a broad grin, said: “His name’s Ernie and he pulls the fastest milk float in the West.”

The answer would have probably gone over the heads of anyone born post decimalisation unless they were a fan of Benny Hill, who had a No.1 hit with his tale of a love-struck milkman, but Teal’s horse, Tip Two Win, might give him the last laugh if he delivers in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.

Tip Two Win was a 50-1 shot when he finished second in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket last month and that form was underlined when the third, Masar, won the Derby a fortnight ago.

Teal trains Tip Two Win among 20 horses who run mainly in the lower-grade races and this horse has won more prize money – including two victories in Qatar in the winter – than Teal managed in the previous three years with his runners on the Flat.

He may be the trainer’s favourite horse but snobbery can be just as prevalent in the betting ring as the royal enclosure with Teal and his diminutive grey colt shunned by some punters likely to side with trainers like John Gosden and Aidan O’Brien.

“I’m not worried about him not being the favourite, because it just puts on added pressure," said Teal. "You can get it a bit stressed because you want him to prove to people it wasn’t a fluke. I’ve felt physically sick for the last seven days. But Ernie doesn’t worry about it and his last work was great.”

Teal is not bothered by the betting because he and his wife, Sue, are used to battling the odds and when he was first shown a photograph of a “little mud ball”, Teal did not think he was looking at the best horse he might train. “He’s tiny and he wouldn’t get a second look in the paddock. He doesn’t catch the eye at all.” he said with a chuckle. “But he’s like the Frankie Dettori of the horse world because he’s a cocky little bugger.

“He’s got some heart and some engine and, when you combine the two, he’s a decent little animal. Once he gets into his stride he’s got a blistering turn of foot.”

There could be a dozen runners in the St James’s Palace but Teal is confident that Tip Two Win has the “sharp elbows” needed to look after himself and keep the great dream alive. “This little fellow has done us so proud, where he’s taken us so far, and hopefully the journey is going to continue,” he said. “He puts a smile on your face, that’s for sure.”

There has been little reason for Teal to smile for the cameras otherwise as he has not trained a winner since March. “The trainer’s not in very good form at the moment,” Teal admitted. “But it’s tougher at the bottom end so having a horse like him means a lot. It gets you out of trouble.

If he runs the same race as he did in the Guineas, he’ll take all the beating.“

And pay the milk bills for a while yet . . .