Kentucky Derby trail: Kempton Park hosts international prep

Opera Ballo, a Godolphin-owned debut winner for trainer Charlie Appleby, was the 3-5 favorite in early international betting for Wednesday’s US$75,873 Conditions Stakes, a points prep at Kempton Park, England, on the Euro-Mideast road to Kentucky Derby 2025.

The one-mile race around one right turn on the Polytrack course drew six 3-year-olds, none of whom was among the early nominees for the U.S. Triple Crown.

A US$630,000 Ghaiyyath colt, Opera Ballo was forward early when he won his debut by 8 1/2 lengths as the 1-2 favorite in a Jan. 25 maiden test over the same course and distance as Wednesday’s race. Bred in Ireland, he will be ridden from post 3 by William Buick.

Saddadd, a Pinatubo colt who was bred in Ireland by Godolphin, rallied to win his first race by 2 3/4 lengths Dec. 14 going a mile on the synthetic surface at Southwell. Owned by Sheikh Ahmed al Maktoum and trained by Roger Varian, the early 7-2 second choice will carry Jack Mitchell from post 6.

After finishing third in his seven-furlong turf debut Sept. 18 at Sandown, France-bred Quai De Bethune switched to the Kempton synthetic mile to break his maiden Jan. 29 by 2 3/4 lengths racing near the lead throughout. Owned by Gary Gillies with U.S.-based partner Team Valor buying a share last month, the Persian King colt was 5-1 in early betting. Trained by Andrew Balding, Quai De Bethune will be ridden from post 5 by Oisín Murphy.

Three-time, lower-class winner Molveno, 1-for-5 Appleby-trained gelding Olympus Point and well-rested sprinter Hott Shott also were entered.

The Conditions Stakes is the fifth of seven stops on the Kentucky Derby’s Euro-Mideast trail, which carries one invitation to the May 3 run for the roses. It rewards 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top five finishers as does the Patton on March 7 at Dundalk, Ireland. The April 5 UAE Derby (G2), the last race of the Euro-Mideast series, is worth 100-50-25-15-10 points.

Carded as seventh of nine races Wednesday on a partly cloudy, 43-degree night at Kempton Park, the Conditions Stakes is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. EST.