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| Staff Writer |
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Opera Ballo maintained his perfect record with a commanding victory at Kempton Park yesterday, storming to the head of the European Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with a performance oozing class and potential.
The Godolphin homebred, trained by Charlie Appleby, was settling in behind pacesetting stablemate Olympus Point before William Buick produced him early in the straight, quickening clear to win by four lengths with minimum fuss. Hott Shott stayed on for second as the winner recorded a time of 1:38.16 for the mile contest.
Racing in the aptly named European Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes, the son of Ghaiyyath was recording his second success from as many starts, having demolished his rivals by 8½ lengths on debut over the same course.
Yesterday's triumph was the fifth of seven races in the 2024-25 series, following autumn contests staged in England, Ireland and France. None of those earlier runners lined up at Kempton, with most targeting European classics on turf.
Opera Ballo collected 20 points for his victory, putting him in pole position for a Churchill Downs invitation. The series continues with the Patton Stakes at Dundalk on March 7, which also offers 20 points to the winner.
Churchill Downs has remodelled this year's qualifying structure, moving the UAE Derby from the American-based programme into the European series. The Meydan contest now awards 100 points to the winner, with 50, 25, 15, and 10 for those placed behind.
With Kentucky Derby invitations extended 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.
Appleby did not immediately reveal future plans for his exciting prospect, though history suggests a tilt at the Gr.1 Two Thousand Guineas may be more likely than dirt races in Dubai or America. The Newmarket handler followed a similar path last year with Notable Speech.
Despite his Kentucky Derby points haul, Opera Ballo's pedigree strongly indicates turf will be his preferred surface, and significantly, Godolphin have not nominated him for the Triple Crown series.