Ballydoyle attempt to bridge the great divide in a tale of two Classics

They are straining at the bit for the stalls to snap open at Churchill Downs on Saturday. This year’s Kentucky Derby features any number of plausible winners, among them Ballydoyle’s Mendelssohn. The likelihood is that it will take a gilt-edged three-year-old to win it.

The Kentucky Derby marks the end of a four-month sequence of trials that has left fans on tenterhooks. It is Mendelssohn’s misfortune to be up against some uncommonly talented opponents whose running styles are familiar to all who attempt to unravel the great race. It is certainly an intriguing puzzle.

By contrast, the running styles of some horses lining up for the Qipco 2,000 Guineas on the same afternoon can only be surmised. Therein lies the big difference between the opening Classics on either side of the pond. The Kentucky Derby represents the culmination of something akin to US racing’s Holy Grail. The 2,000 Guineas has become a launch pad towards the imminent summer.