Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has few mountains left to climb in the racing world but the tallest of his yet-unconquered peaks is the Kentucky Derby Sponsored by Woodford Reserve (G1).
This year, the master of Godolphin's global juggernaut has the race pretty much surrounded with potential candidates in Dubai, England, and Japan adding to his formidable U.S.-based contingent.
The sharpest prong of the Godolphin attack on Louisville obviously is the American runners—undefeated Eclipse Award winner and Breeders' Cup champion Essential Quality and Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) runner-up Proxy , who stand No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, on the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" leaderboard.
A second front is back home in the Middle East. Rebel's Romance and stellar filly Soft Whisper could do no better than fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby March 20 but both remain viable candidates for the UAE Derby Sponsored by Emirates NBD (G2) March 27. That race awards 100 points to the winner.
But wait. There's more.
The "European Road to the Kentucky Derby," an entirely separate competition that offers a guaranteed spot in the Run for the Roses, gets serious March 3 at Kempton Park in England with the Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes.
The early favorite among seven entries? Highland Avenue, a Godolphin homebred colt by Dubawi out of the Shamardal mare Lumiere. Trained by Charlie Appleby, the colt finished second in his debut Dec. 9 and returned to win with authority in his only other start Jan. 30. Both races were at Kempton Park. Hollie Doyle is booked for the third outing.
This race is the fifth in the seven-race series. The earlier contests, however, were run on the turf last autumn and more likely will be pertinent to the Epsom Derby (G1), rather than to the American knockoff. None of the points-earners from those races is nominated to the U.S. Triple Crown so, in a practical sense, the series starts anew now that it has moved to all-weather tracks.
The Kempton race has other serious players. Oo De Lally, a Vadamos colt trained by Andrew Balding, enters with three straight wins, the two most recent on all-weather tracks. Ryan Moore is named on him. Alto Volante, a Kingman colt racing with the black and white Oppenheimer silks, was last seen winning on the Wolverhampton all-weather for trainer William Haggas.
Like the previous participants in the series, none of those major players is a Triple Crown nominee, making the race a bit of an acid test to gauge intentions as well as talent.
The European Road to the Kentucky Derby crosses the Channel to Ireland two days later for the Patton Stakes on the Dundalk all-weather course, with the lineup still in flux.
Both the Kempton and Dundalk races award points on a scale of 20-8-4-2. The series concludes April 1 with the Cardinal Condition Stakes at Chelmsford City where the ante is upped to 30-12-6-3.
Gronkowski earned the automatic Kentucky Derby berth in 2018, the series' first year, but missed that assignment after spiking an untimely fever and returned to finish second to Justify in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1). Otherwise, the series has not had much impact on the U.S. classics.
The "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby," a separate series that also offers a guaranteed spot in the Louisville starting gate, concludes March 27 at Nakayama Racecourse with the Fukuryu Stakes.
Godolphin also has a horse in that competition—Lemon Pop, a Lemon Drop Kid colt ranked No. 3 in the Japan standings thanks to a victory in the series opener.
