England: Bold Act gains 30 Kentucky Derby points with Cardinal Condition victory
Bold Act won his fourth consecutive race and first start of 2023 in the $123,800 Cardinal Condition Stakes at Chelmsford City Racecourse near London, the final race in the European qualifying series for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6.
Bold Act, a well-regarded colt from the powerful Godolphin stable, won the Cardinal Stakes at a mile on a synthetic track by a half-length over Brave Emperor, who ranks first in the European qualifying standings for the Kentucky Derby.
Brave Emperor has 32 qualifying points, while Bold Act earned 30 points for winning Saturday’s race. It was not immediately clear whether Brave Emperor would be sent to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.
Brave Emperor and Stormy Entry, who finished seventh, were the only Triple Crown nominees in the Cardinal Stakes field.
Trained by Archie Watson for the Middleham Park syndicate, Brave Emperor has won 5 of 8 starts. He earned 20 qualifying points for winning the Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes at a mile at Kempton Park on March 15 and 12 points for finishing second on Saturday.
In the Cardinal Stakes, Bold Act ($8 in American pools) took the lead from Brave Emperor with a sixteenth of a mile remaining. Brave Emperor (9-2) finished a half-length in front of Killybegs Warrior in the field of 10. Iconic Moment, the 2-1 favorite in American pools, finished fourth by 1 1/4 lengths.
Trained by Charlie Appleby, Bold Act has won 4 of 5 starts, including two races on turf and one on a synthetic surface in his final three starts of 2022.
The Cardinal Stakes was the richest win for Bold Act, an Irish-bred colt by New Approach.
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