Brave Emperor after qualifying points in Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes at Kempton Park

A stakes winner in France last month, Brave Emperor will be favored to win for the fifth time in his seventh start in the $72,600 Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes at Kempton Park near London on Wednesday.

The Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes is part of the qualifying points series for a European-based runner for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6. The race offers 20-8-6-4-2 points to the first five finishers.

This is the sixth of seven races in the qualifying series, which concludes with a one-mile race at Chelmsford City Racecourse on April 1. The runner with the most qualifying points earns a berth in the Kentucky Derby field.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

The Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes is run at a mile and drew a field of seven, although none of the entrants was among the early nominees for the Kentucky Derby. A second nomination stage is available later this month.

Brave Emperor, trained by Archie Watson, won the Prix de la Californie at a mile on the all-weather track at Cagnes-sur-Mer, France on Feb. 12, stalking the pace before pulling clear by 1 3/4 lengths.

An Irish-bred gelding by the Scat Daddy stallion Sioux Nation, Brave Emperor has finished first in his last six starts, but was disqualified from first to second for causing interference in a one-mile handicap at Southwell Racecourse in Britain on Jan. 26.

In the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes, Brave Emperor starts from post 4 and will be ridden by Luke Morris, who has been aboard for the gelding’s last three starts.

The field includes the Alzahir, a winner of 2 of 5 starts, all for trainers John and Thady Gosden. A gelding by Sea the Stars, Alzahir won his 3-year-old debut in the $400,000 Al Rayyan Mile on turf in Qatar on Feb. 18, racing near the front throughout.

There will be support for Tenjin, who was third in the listed Spring Cup at a mile on the synthetic track at Lingfield Park near London on March 4 despite a less-than-ideal trip on the rail in the final quarter-mile.

Kempton has a six-race program beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern or 11 a.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.