Who are the international contenders in Kentucky Derby 152?

May 02, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Danon Bourbon breezes at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)

Three international runners will compete in the Kentucky Derby (G1), earning their way in through qualifying races on the Euro/Mideast Road and the Japan Road.

Interestingly, it’s a homecoming for two of them, Japan Road invitee Danon Bourbon and Dubai-based Six Speed, who were born in Kentucky and sold abroad as yearlings. But Japanese-bred Wonder Dean has familiar names in his pedigree as a descendant of Kentucky Derby champions Sunday Silence and Charismatic.

Here are the key points to know for the trio of international hopes at Churchill Downs.

Danon Bourbon – Japan Road invitee

Summary: Undefeated colt is long on talent but relatively short on experience, with the tactical running style to work out a good trip. Read more details in his International Scouting Report on TwinSpires.com.

Pedigree: By $2 million-earner Maxfield, a Churchill aficionado like his own sire, Street Sense, who turned an historic 2006 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1)/2007 Derby double here. Street Sense is himself a son of 2002 Dubai World Cup (G1) romper Street Cry, who also dominated that summer’s Stephen Foster H. (G1) at Churchill. Danon Bourbon is out of a daughter of the classic influence Tapit.

Record: Unbeaten in three starts in Japan, all racing at right-handed tracks. After crushing his first two starts at Kyoto by a combined margin of 15 lengths, he won the final scoring event on the Japan Road, the Fukuryu S. at Nakayama, in race-record time.

中山10R伏竜ステークスは #ダノンバーボン が3馬身半差の完勝🏇

これでデビューから3戦3勝の無敗となりました✨ pic.twitter.com/IXXbyOtd8Z

— JRA公式 (@JRA_Special) March 28, 2026

Trainer and jockey: Trainer Manabu Ikezoe has conditioned a couple of Grade 1 winners in Japan. He just earned another notable win earlier on Saturday with World’s End in the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2). Jockey Atsuya Nishimura currently ranks sixth (by wins) in the overall jockey standings.

Wonder Dean – Euro/Mideast Road winner

Summary: UAE Derby (G2) winner has the stamina as a relentless closer, but Dubai historically has not been a successful launching pad to Louisville. Read more details in his International Scouting Report on TwinSpires.com.

Pedigree: From the sire line of 1989 Derby-winning Hall of Famer Sunday Silence, Wonder Dean is by Dee Majesty, a Japanese classic winner on turf. Dee Majesty is himself by the great Deep Impact, who swept Japan’s Triple Crown on turf. But there’s plenty of dirt proficiency in the maternal half of Wonder Dean’s pedigree. His mother is by the prolific dirt campaigner and $9.6 million-earner Wonder Acute, himself a son of 1999 Derby star and Horse of the Year Charismatic.

Record: Consistent type who’s never run a bad race on dirt. Promising as a two-year-old in Japan, he broke his maiden at Nakayama and placed against smart rivals in a pair of allowances. His better-than-appears fourth in the Saudi Derby (G3) set him up for a career-best victory in the UAE Derby, where he proved his stamina by rallying from off a strong pace.

Jockey and trainer: Ryusei Sakai is famous as the regular rider of globetrotting champion Forever Young, the near-miss third in the 2024 Derby. In the same edition of the Run for the Roses, trainer Daisuke Takayanagi sent out T O Password to finish a respectable fifth. They’ve delivered the two best results for Japanese contenders so far in the Derby, and now they team up with Wonder Dean.

Six Speed – Second on Euro/Mideast Road

Summary: UAE 2000 Guineas (G3) winner couldn’t carry his speed all the way in the UAE Derby, and he faces a stiffer challenge here. Read more details in his International Scouting Report on TwinSpires.com.

Pedigree: By the red-hot sire Not This Time, who romped in the 2016 Iroquois (G3) at Churchill. Not This Time is himself a son of “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway, a champion on the European turf who missed by a neck (to Tiznow) in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) beneath the Twin Spires. Six Speed is out of a royally-bred Medaglia d’Oro mare from the extended family of 2006 Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat and 2010 Derby hero Super Saver.

Record: Racing exclusively at Meydan, Six Speed improved from a debut third to win three in a row during the Dubai Carnival. His most impressive performance was a five-length conquest of the UAE 2000 Guineas over 1600 meters (a “metric mile”). He tried to wire the about 1 3/16-mile UAE Derby, only to be outstayed late by Wonder Dean and relegated to second.

Jockey and trainer: Six Speed picks up an American rider in Brian Hernandez Jr., who engineered Mystik Dan’s rail-skimming upset in the 2024 Derby. Hernandez is also known for his partnership with 2024 Horse of the Year and Kentucky Oaks (G1) queen Thorpedo Anna.

Trainer Bhupat Seemar’s previous Derby runner, Summer Is Tomorrow, trailed in 2022. A former assistant to Hall of Famer and six-time Derby winner Bob Baffert, Seemar recently clinched his third training title in the United Arab Emirates. His biggest career win came with Laurel River in the 2024 Dubai World Cup.

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