Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf berth on the line in Royal Lodge Stakes

The 2-year-old colt Kameko was bred in the United States before going off to England to race, and perhaps he’ll come back again this fall.

Kameko as of Thursday was a solid antepost favorite for the Royal Lodge, a straight mile Saturday at Newmarket racecourse.

The Royal Lodge is a Group 2 that shares a card with two Group 1 races for 2-year-olds, the Middle Park and the Cheveley Park, but it’s a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In race linked to the BC Juvenile Turf and often produces starters in that race.

Kameko, a Kitten’s Joy colt trained by Andrew Balding, isn’t the prettiest mover but has raced effectively in his two-start career. He won his debut July 25 over seven furlongs at Sandown Park and returned there a month later to finish second by a nose to favored Positive in the Group 3 Solario Stakes at the same trip. The narrow margin might’ve had as much to do with Positive waiting on horses after making the front as Kameko coming hard at the winner, but Kameko has performed encouragingly so far this year.

Highland Chief, another twice-started colt, won well first out going five furlongs at Newbury and finished a solid third of 14 stepping up in trip and class to the seven-furlong Chesham Stakes at Ascot, a race dominated by Europe’s most exciting and talented 2-year-old, Pinatubo.

Pyledriver struggled over soft ground in his second start but has won his two other starts, most recently landing a listed one-mile race at Haydock Park rallying steadily and effectively from last.

The Royal Lodge (post time 8:50 a.m. Eastern) is the first of seven stakes on the card, followed immediately by the six-furlong Cheveley Park for fillies, which has Raffle Prize solidly at the head of the betting markets. Raffle Prize is a three-time winner from five starts and most recently finished second by a neck on the Group 1 Prix Morny, a straight-course five-furlong dash Aug. 18 at Deauville. That Morny winner, Earthlight, is a perfect 4 for 4 for Godolphin and trainer Andre Fabre (and starts as the favorite one race later in the Middle Park), and Fabre has a different filly for the Cheveley Park. Tropbeau has won three races herself already this summer but is cutting back to six furlongs after victory in the seven-furlong Prix de Calvados on Aug. 17 at Deauville.

Earthlight won the Group Prix de Cabourg by open lengths before the much tighter score in the Morny and is expected to face a strong challenge at least from Mums Tipple. The latter, two for two to start his career, won a restricted sales stakes in his most recent start but defeated 20 rivals and set the pace en route to an 11-length romp.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained colt Lope Y Fernandez was no match for either Pinatubo or the lesser Positive going seven furlongs in the Vintage Stakes on July 30 at Goodwood but cut back to six furlongs last out and won the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes the Curragh by 1 1/2 lengths.

One more to seriously consider is Siskin, another colt with four wins from four starts. He exits a victory in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes on Aug. 9 at The Curragh, a win over heavy, laboring ground that might not be reproducible Saturday over what’s expected to be a faster-playing good course at Newmarket.