Kentucky Derby winner a European?
September 19, 2008 by Ben Filed under: horse racing
20-1 A EURO HORSE CAPTURES THE RUN FOR THE ROSES
With the news that Kempton is to host a Kentucky Derby entry race, bookmakers William Hill make it 20-1 that a European runner steals the famous race for the very first time next year.
Kempton have designed the 11-furlong race in conjunction with Churchill Downs to allow the winner of the £80,000 race direct entry into the Run for the Roses. The winner will also be eligible for a £100,000 bonus if they go on to run in the first of the American Tripe Crown races.
The entry conditions of the Kentucky Derby have hampered European runners in the past, with the twenty spots previously allocated to those with the highest earnings in Group or Graded contests.
Few European horses have contested the event in the past. Clive Brittain’s Bold Arrangement being the most high-profile when finishing second to Ferdinand in the 1986 running, and Johannesburg finishing 8th back in 2002. Such is the dominance of the home-trained, that only the Venezualan Canonero II has been the only non-American winner of the Kentucky Derby.
The opportunity looks set to attract a host of top trainers. Coolmore’s US breeding investments should see Aidan O’Brien embrace the contest, whilst Dermot Weld has gone on record in the past expressing his wish to become the first overseas trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.
Kate Miller, spokeswoman for Hills, said: ”This is a fantastic development for racing, and should provide another outlet for our record-breaking trainers. Our record in the Breeders’ Cup races proves our enthusiasm for tackling the big American races, and this dispensation could see the first European-trained winner of America’s most famous race.”
20-1 A European-trained runner to win the 2009 Kentucky Derby at William Hill
