Hidden Force favored to extend Appleby dominance at Kempton

Feb 23, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

The Euro/Mideast Road returns to a European venue Wednesday at Kempton, where Godolphin’s Hidden Force rates as the prohibitive odds-on favorite against just three rivals.

There are no early Triple Crown nominees in this “European Road to the Kentucky Derby” conditions race, but the mile contest on Polytrack has produced some important performers over the years. Gronkowski won the 2018 edition before finishing second to Justify in the Belmont (G1) and missing by inches in the 2019 Dubai World Cup (G1).

Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby has made a habit of targeting this race, racking up four wins in the past five years. His past two graduates have gone on to stardom. The 2024 winner, Notable Speech, is now a multiple Group 1 star who clinched an Eclipse Award in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). The 2025 winner, Opera Ballo, recently scored his big-race breakthrough in the Jan. 23 Jebel Hatta (G1) at Meydan.

Hidden Force will try to extend Appleby’s dominance in Wednesday’s renewal, which goes off at 2:10 p.m. ET. You can watch and wager on Kempton at twinspires.com.

⚡️ INSTANT HIT ⚡️

The superbly-bred Hidden Force comes home strongly to make a winning debut under @WilliamBuickX.

A Frankel colt with stacks of promise for next year 💫@godolphin | @unibet pic.twitter.com/X6kXMC7Ke0

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 1, 2025

A homebred son of Frankel, Hidden Force is out of a half-sister to Thunder Snow, who famously lost all chance in the early stages of the 2017 Kentucky Derby when he bucked like a bronco. Thunder Snow rebounded from that mishap and ultimately earned $16.5 million. He remains the only two-time Dubai World Cup winner, with his title defense coming in an epic photo with Kempton hero Gronkowski.

Hidden Force scored a sharp debut win here on Dec. 1, going seven furlongs. The step up to a mile should be well within his reach as he reunites with jockey William Buick.

Trainer Archie Watson, who won the 2023 running of this race with Brave Emperor, sends out Tadej. The most accomplished rival for Hidden Force, Tadej brings notable stakes form from his two-year-old season. He captured last summer’s Prix de Cabourg (G3) at Deauville, placed third in the Prix Robert Papin (G2), and finished a creditable sixth in Royal Ascot’s Coventry (G2) to Gstaad, the eventual winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Del Mar.

The main questions for Tadej involve the distance, surface, and readiness. Unraced since September, he stretches out beyond a sprint and tries a synthetic track for the first time.

Venetian Prince sports a royal pedigree as a son of European champion St Mark’s Basilica and Group 1 winner Arabian Queen. After winning on the Newbury turf in August, Venetian Prince wasn’t seen again until Jan. 17 on the Tapeta surface at Southwell. The Andrew Balding pupil was just denied as the odds-on favorite, but that tune-up should help his fitness here.

Utmost Good Faith has won three in a row, including both of his starts since switching to trainer George Boughey. A course-and-distance winner on Jan. 14, he carried the top weight to victory at Wolverhampton in his latest. High-percentage young jockey Billy Loughnane stays aboard.