Kentucky Derby points leader Ete Indien flying flag for bargain sire

The hunt for a potential Kentucky Derby horse is naturally played out on the various American sales circuits, where options to secure a dirt-bred horse at differing spots of the financial spectrum are plentiful.

So there must be some surprise within the American racing community that two of the more impressive Derby prep winners were sourced not out of the US but Europe - more specifically at the Arqana May Breeze-Up Sale - for all that both are American-bred.

At the start of the week, the pair in question, Mr Monomoy and Ete Indien, assumed the top two places in terms of point standings ahead of the Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately, no sooner had the dust settled on the latest round of Derby preps then it was revealed that Mocklershill graduate Mr Monomoy, a first-crop son of Palace Malice who had won a division of the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes for Brad Cox in February, had been sidelined by a minor injury.