Top International Owners Converge on Derby

Three of the sport's leading international owners will pursue Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) glory May 5 at Churchill Downs. 

This year's Derby mirrors many of the world's top races, with Coolmore, Godolphin, and Juddmonte Farms all represented in the 1 1/4-mile classic on Churchill's main track.

Mendelssohn, campaigned by owners affiliated with John Magnier's Coolmore operation in Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael Tabor, shipped in from Ireland for trainer Aidan O'Brien. The son of Scat Daddy has already won races on three continents, including scores in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar and the UAE Derby Sponsored by Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2) at Meydan.

Enticed is campaigned by Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin and enters off a runner-up finish in the Wood Memorial Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G2) after registering a clear victory in the Gotham Stakes (G3).

Campaigned by Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, lightly raced Hofburg enters the Derby off a runner-up finish to Audible in the Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1).

Tabor won the 1995 Kentucky Derby with Thunder Gulch, one of three starters he campaigned individually. In various partnerships, he's had 14 other Derby starters, teaming up with Smith on 2004 runner-up Lion Heart, partnering with James Scatuorchio and Smith on Mendelssohn's sire Scat Daddy in 2007 (18th), and co-owning Johannesburg (eighth) with Susan Magnier in 2002. Johannesburg is the sire of Scat Daddy, who is represented by four starters in this year's Derby.

M. V. Magnier went to $3 million to land Mendelssohn at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale. The bay colt was bred in Kentucky by Clarkland Farm.

O'Brien said the Derby had been a target for Mendelssohn from early on, and winning the classic would be a major achievement.

"The lads always thought he could be a Kentucky Derby horse," the Irish-based conditioner said. "It wouldn't be something we could ever dream of happening. We feel so privileged to be here and have a horse that can compete here."

"It's dreamlike," said Derrick Smith. "It would a big thing for us because the horse would have proven himself on the dirt and the turf. It would be perfect. You couldn't ask for any more."

Kentucky-bred homebred Enticed will be the 11th Derby starter for Godolphin, whose best Derby finish to date has been a fourth-place finish by Frosted  in 2015. While many Godolphin runners have shipped in from Dubai, including Thunder Snow last year, Enticed is trained in the U.S. by Kiaran McLaughlin.

Juddmonte has had just three Derby starters so far, and two of those runners just missed. Aptitude finished second to Fusaichi Pegasus  in 2000, and Empire Maker  was the runner-up behind Funny Cide in 2003. Juddmonte's previous runners were trained by the late Bobby Frankel, who captured the Belmont Stakes (G1) with Empire Maker, a race where Aptitude again finished second.

With homebred Hofburg, Juddmonte turns to another Hall of Famer in trainer Bill Mott.

Juddmonte Farms manager Garrett O'Rourke said its broodmare band is more geared to producing turf runners, but the Kentucky Derby is a race Abdullah always has in mind, even though this will be the farm's first starter in the Louisville classic since 2003. O'Rourke said there has been more emphasis recently on developing more dirt runners, a goal Juddmonte had in mind when they purchased Arrogate  at auction and campaigned him to victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, and Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline (all G1).

"I wouldn't say it's a race we set out not to be there, for any reason. Everyone would love to win the Kentucky Derby. The majority of our broodmare band might be set up more for turf racing, but we do have a core group that we're trying to expand at the moment to get more dirt, classic-type runners," O'Rourke said. "Obviously, Hofburg is a product of that section of the broodmare band and, hopefully, good enough to put some roses over his withers."

O'Rourke said a lot has to go right to make the Derby.

"It's been some time between dances (each time) and a longer time from the last one to this one," O'Rourke said. "It's hard to get here. There have been plenty of years we've had horses we thought would get there, including Arrogate. But a bump or a bruise along the road just knocks you out. So it's hard to get here and even harder to win, so when you get the chance, you have to go for it."