Royal Lodge, Beresford usher in Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby

Sep 24, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Haffner winning the Acomb (G3) at York

Royal Lodge (G2) contender Haffner shown winning the Acomb (G3) at York (Photo by Coady Media)

European-based juveniles will have their first opportunities to score points toward the 2027 Kentucky Derby (G1) on Saturday, as the Royal Lodge (G2) at Newmarket and the Beresford (G2) at the Curragh usher in the Euro/Mideast Road.

The Royal Lodge and the Beresford each offer points to the top five finishers on the 10-5-3-2-1 scale. Legendary Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien is the only one with a chance to turn the double, although he has more strength in numbers at the Curragh.

You can watch and wager on the Royal Lodge and the Beresford, both one-mile turf contests, at TwinSpires.com.

Royal Lodge (G2) – Race 2 at Newmarket, 8:55 a.m. ET

O’Brien sends out Haffner in hopes of collecting his eighth Royal Lodge victory. But O’Brien’s latest score came in 2019, and Haffner will have to buck the recent trends in favor of British trainers.

By Triple Crown champion Justify, Haffner sold for $375,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The Kentucky-bred broke his maiden at Newmarket on the July Course, not the Rowley Mile where the Royal Lodge is held. After missing narrowly in the Vintage (G2) at Glorious Goodwood, Haffner raided Britain again to capture the Acomb (G3) at York, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1).

Haffner comes off a subpar seventh in the Vincent O’Brien National (G1) on yielding ground at the Curragh during the Irish Champions Festival. A return to a quicker surface at Newmarket should suit him better, and he figures to handle the step up to a mile.

Successful sire Too Darn Hot is responsible for the two unbeaten colts vying for favoritism, First Law and Burning Up.

Burning Up, a homebred for the late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid al Maktoum, makes his stakes debut here. The Karl Burke trainee has won both of his starts going a mile at Haydock.

Godolphin’s First Law is 2-for-2 so far for trainer Charlie Appleby. Purchased for about $1.4 million as a yearling, the Irish-bred overcame greenness to get up in his debut at Sandown. First Law had to overcome a different type of challenge, heavy going, to prevail next time out over Rocket Boy in the Ascendant S. at Haydock. The Ascendant also launched last year’s Royal Lodge star, Bow Echo.

Stablemate Quest for Stars just lost his perfect record in the Golden Fleece (G1) during the Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown, where he finished a distant third to O’Brien’s highly-regarded Darkness Falls. Quest for Stars had won his first three starts, including the Stonehenge S. at Salisbury.

Andrew Balding, a two-time Royal Lodge winner, has an intriguing contender in Quicken Away. A near-miss second on debut at Newbury, he came right back to score going a mile at Goodwood. Quicken Away is by unbeaten phenom Frankel, who won this race in 2010 (its last running at Ascot), and out of French classic heroine Precieuse.

Iwasjustsaying was just overturned as the favorite in a Leicester novice, but the son of Ghaiyyath is eligible to show more going up in distance for Charlie Johnston.

Rocket Boy must improve to turn the tables on the Godolphin duo. Third to Quest for Stars in the Stonehenge and runner-up to First Law in the Ascendant, he was beaten by the same margin (three-quarters of a length) each time.

Beresford (G2) – Race 4 at the Curragh, 10:10 a.m. ET

O’Brien notched a record-extending 22nd win in this race courtesy of Hawk Mountain last year, and the master of Ballydoyle has half of the field on Saturday.

His two main players are Noble Exhibit, a Frankel colt who romped by seven lengths in a Punchestown maiden, and Shakespeare, who adds cheekpieces after a lackluster seventh in the Golden Fleece. Shakespeare broke his maiden at this course two starts back, and as a son of Dubawi and Group 1 winner Lady Bowthorpe, he’s likely to progress with time. The yard’s apparent third-stringer, Drumbeat, just earned his maiden win in a dead-heat at Gowran Park.

Paddy Twomey interrupted the O’Brien dominance in this race in 2023, when his Deepone prevailed, and the high-percentage trainer tries to do it again with City of Dubai. The Mehmas colt’s best form is at a mile, with a smart debut win at Killarney and a close second in the Churchill S. at Gowran. Shortening up to seven furlongs last time, City of Dubai was only fifth in the Futurity (G2), but he’ll probably appreciate stretching back out.

Aidan’s son, Joseph O’Brien, fields a pair of outsiders in Venetian Power and Tommy Quick. Venetian Power won a historically informative Killarney maiden prior to finishing a troubled fifth in the Churchill. Tommy Quick was a sneaky seventh in his lone start at the Curragh, beaten only 3 1/2 lengths despite greenness and traffic, and the well-bred son of Triple Crown star American Pharoah could take a giant step forward.

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