Opera Ballo brings big reputation into European Road to Derby race at Kempton

Feb 24, 2025 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

The Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby resumes from its winter hiatus at Kempton on Wednesday. Six promising sophomores are entered in the European Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions race, worth points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the top five finishers.

While the first four European scoring events were all staged on turf last fall, the Kempton race takes place on the synthetic Polytrack. So does the March 7 Patton at Dundalk in Ireland. The surface switches to dirt for the final leg of the newly rebranded Euro/Mideast Road, the April 5 UAE Derby (G2) on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan.

Because of the changing surface over the course of the road in Europe, the type of horses competing in these races changes as well. The turf performers who have dominated the leaderboard so far are not reappearing on Polytrack, and the newly emerging contenders weren’t in the major juvenile races.

None of the entrants at Kempton have been nominated to the U.S. Triple Crown, but there could be British classic clues on offer. Last year, Godolphin’s Notable Speech captured this race before developing into a top turf miler. The Charlie Appleby pupil upset the 2000 Guineas (G1) in his turf debut at Newmarket, defeated older horses in the Sussex (G1) – a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race – and finished a close third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Del Mar.

Appleby has two hopes in Wednesday’s renewal, highly-regarded Opera Ballo and stablemate Olympus Point.

Opera Ballo has been following Notable Speech’s path. Unveiled in the same maiden at this track and one-mile trip that launched Notable Speech a year ago, Opera Ballo romped by 8 1/2 lengths as the prohibitive odds-on favorite. The son of hot first-crop sire Ghaiyyath gets Godolphin’s top rider, William Buick, as he bids to stay perfect.

Nice 👀

Opera Ballo looks like he’s going places 🤝

pic.twitter.com/vM5dsTFqHt

— Champions Series (@ChampionsSeries) January 30, 2025

Olympus Point doesn’t have the flashy factor, but he does bring much more racing experience. A three-quarter brother to brilliant sprinter Blue Point, Olympus Point placed in his first three turf starts before breaking through in a Newmarket handicap. He just missed by a neck in his final appearance as a juvenile over that course Oct. 12. Gelded since then, Olympus Point tries Polytrack in his sophomore bow. James Doyle picks up the mount.

Opera Ballo’s maiden was split into two divisions, and Quai de Bethune won the second division in a much faster time, although the early pace was faster too. Trained by Andrew Balding, the French-bred had raced once at two, finishing third in a Sandown maiden won by the exciting Cosmic Year.

Hott Shott, a well-bred son of terrific sire Too Darn Hot, landed a Kempton novice under top weight in his latest back on Oct. 16. The Richard Hughes trainee is the only runner who has attempted black-type company, finishing fifth in last summer’s Solario (G3) on the turf at Sandown.

Saddadd, by European champion juvenile Pinatubo and out of high-class racemare Talmada, won his lone start Dec. 14 on the Southwell Tapeta for Roger Varian. The runner-up, Royal Favour, has since placed third in the UAE 2000 Guineas (G3) at Meydan to Golden Vekoma, the next-out Saudi Derby (G3) winner.

The Marco Botti-trained Molveno has won three straight on synthetic surfaces, including two at this course and distance.

The European Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions race, the seventh on Kempton’s card, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch and wager at TwinSpires.com.