European Road to the Kentucky Derby Dead Ends

The "European Road to the Kentucky Derby" trailed out at Chelmsford City Racecourse April 1 with nary a Derby contender in sight.

Fundamental won the final leg of the series, the Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions Stakes, by a half-length, earning 30 points toward an automatic bid to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

To accept that bid, however, a horse must be nominated to the U.S. Triple Crown. Neither Fundamental nor any other 3-year-old on the leaderboard has that distinction, even after the close of late nominations April 29, according to the list distributed by Churchill Downs.

The "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby" closed earlier with three Triple Crown nominees eligible to take a guaranteed spot in the Churchill Downs starting gate. All declined.

The European series opened in the autumn on turf tracks in England, Ireland, and France, attracting 2-year-olds more likely for their local 3-year-old Classics than for the Churchill Downs dirt. New Mandate , who won the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes (G2) at Newmarket Sept. 26, earning 10 points, did travel to Kentucky to finish 14th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America (G1T) at Keeneland.

The final three legs were run this spring on English all-weather tracks.

Fundamental, a Cheveley Park Park Stud homebred colt by Dark Angel , is trained by the newly minted partnership of John Gosden and son Thady Gosden. He also started his career on green courses, finishing third at Yarmouth and second at Salisbury before breaking through in his first all-weather start in October at Chelmsford. The Cardinal Conditions Stakes was his first start since that race.

With Robert Havlin in the irons, Fundamental saved ground, split rivals at mid-stretch, and got home first by a half-length. He was trailed by two owned by the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Shadwell Estate—Qaader  and Moraaheq—and Godolphin's Quintillus.

The dead ends of the European and Japanese series do not necessarily imply there will be no foreign runners in the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs' main "Road to the Kentucky Derby" leaderboard lists the first two finishers from the UAE Derby Sponsored by Emirates NBD (G2), Rebel's Romance  and Panadol , as No. 4 and No. 12, respectively.

Trainer Charlie Appleby has indicated rather strongly Godolphin's Rebel's Romance is unlikely to contest the Derby but Panadol, a New York-bred Flatter   colt owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, was made eligible to the Triple Crown with a $6,000 late nomination fee.

Godolphin USA president Jimmy Bell said on a media teleconference March 30 that he did not have any updated information on Rebel Romance's status as it applies to the Derby. He indicated race plans for Rebel's Romance lie mostly with the Godolphin camp based abroad.