Dundalk's Patton Stakes Offers Derby Points

While the March 2 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) is the second of the 50-points-to-the-winner races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the March 1 BetVictor Patton Stakes on the Polytrack at Dundalk offers 20-8-4-2 points as part of the European series.

It is not surprising to see five of the eight starters in the one-mile race trained by someone whose last name is O'Brien.

Aidan O'Brien has three: Van Beethoven, Albuquerque, and Western Australia. His son Joseph will send out Colfer Me and Numerian.

The class of the group appears to be a pair from the Coolmore connections of Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor team: Van Beethoven and Western Australia. Both, however, will be making their first starts of the year and first starts on synthetic.

Van Beethoven is a son of Scat Daddy—My Sister Sandy, by Montbrook, who won the GAIN Railway Stakes (G2) in June at six furlongs. He finished his juvenile campaign with a fourth-place finish behind Too Darn Hot, Europe's top 2-year-old, in Doncaster's Howcraft Industrial Supplies Champagne Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs. Van Beethoven was an also-eligible for the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T), and Aidan O'Brien made the trip to Churchill Downs, but the colt did not make the final field.

Western Australia closed his juvenile campaign with a third-place finish in Doncaster's Vertem Futurity Trophy (G1), picking up two points on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby. The son of Australia was a 260,000 guineas (US$361,425) yearling purchase during Book 1 of the 2017 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale .

A two-time winner on synthetic, Barys is a bay son of Kodiac who won the listed Prix de la Californie at about a mile at Cagnes-Sur-Mer Racecourse Feb. 10.

Kempton Park's March 6 Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes (20-8-4-2) is the next European race that awards Derby points.