Godolphin Colt Takes Lead on Euro Road to KY Derby

Opera Ballo (IRE) cruised effortlessly to his second win without loss Feb. 26 on the Kempton Park all-weather course, taking the points lead in the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Godolphin homebred colt, by Ghaiyyath (IRE), waited behind pacesetting stablemate Olympus Point (IRE), took the lead early in the stretch run when cued by jockey William Buick and won by four lengths. Hott Shott (GB) rallied for second as Opera Ballo completed one mile in 1:38.16. The race, appropriately styled the European Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes, was the fifth of seven in the 2024-25 edition of the series. The first four were run in the autumn in England, Ireland, and France and contested primarily by horses intended for the European classics on the turf. None of those competed in the Kempton heat. Opera Ballo earned 20 points for the victory. The penultimate race in the series, the Patton Stakes March 7 at Dundalk in Ireland, also affords the winner 20 points. Churchill Down this year restructured the Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying programs, moving the UAE Derby (G2) from the main, American-based series into the European one. The UAE Derby awards the winner 100 points with 50, 25, 15, and 10 for the minor placings. With Kentucky Derby invitations going to the top two horses on the leaderboard, the Dubai race effectively becomes a "win and you're in" for the Run for the Roses unless the first two finishers decline the invitation. In that event, the next two would have the option. Trainer Charlie Appleby did not immediately outline plans for Opera Ballo, who won his first start, also at Kempton, by 8 1/2 lengths. Appleby, however, has used the race in the past as a springboard to the Two Thousand Guineas (G1) on turf rather than dirt races in Dubai or America, as he did last year with Notable Speech (GB). Opera Ballo's pedigree is solidly turf-oriented and Godolphin did not nominate him to the Triple Crown series.