Kempton Park: Highland Avenue takes Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes

Highland Avenue won the Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes on Wednesday at Kempton Park in England, picking up 20 points on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The European Road to the Kentucky Derby is a series of seven races in France, England, and Ireland, four of which were contested on turf during 2020. The races for 3-year-olds, starting with Wednesday’s, are on all-weather surfaces, the series continuing with the Patton Stakes on March 5 at Dundalk and the Cardinal Condition Stakes on April 1 at Chelmsford City. The leading points earner at the end of the series earns a spot in the 20-horse Derby field should connections be desirous of participating.

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Highland Avenue, a homebred, is owned by Godolphin, which already has the early Derby favorite, Essential Quality, along with the talented colt Proxy, most recently second in the Risen Star Stakes. Trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden Wednesday by Hollie Doyle, odds-on Highland Avenue won by 1 3/4 lengths over 200-1 shot Sergeant Tibbs, who finished fourth in a Lingfield Park maiden race, his only previous start.

Nonetheless, Sergeant Tibbs earned eight Road to the Derby qualifying points, while third-place Oo de Lally earned four points and fourth-place Bodroy two. The Patton Stakes has the same points distribution as Wednesday’s race, while the Cardinal Condition Stakes distributes points 30-12-6-3.

Highland Avenue, a second-start maiden winner at Kempton on Jan. 30, raced from the rear of the field in this one-turn, right-handed mile, moving quickly to the front while rallying along the inside after the field turned into the homestretch. Highland Avenue stayed on solidly while hugging the rail, posting a decent – if not exactly Kentucky Derby-worthy – victory.