Steeler wins Royal Lodge, first step on new Derby path

• Steeler earned 10 points as part of a new qualifying system for the Kentucky Derby
• Churchill Downs officials expect it to take 40 points to make the field
• The series includes 36 races, but only two outside the United State

NEWMARKET, ENGLAND -- The long slog to the Kentucky Derby began Saturday in an unlikely spot with a record-setting win by Irish-born colt Steeler on a course roughly 4,000 miles from the Bluegrass State.

On a clear, dry day, Steeler won the 1-mile Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes in 1:35.67. That was the fastest time a 2-year-old has clocked for a mile at Newmarket Racecourses, the storied home of English racing.

The win garnered a purse of just more than $90,000 for owner Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai. The two-year-old colt's first-place showing also made him the first horse with a shot at qualifying for the Kentucky Derby under a new points-based system.

From the start, Steeler, the second choice at 5-2, was comfortably positioned near the front of the pack on the straight but slightly rolling bright green grass of the Rowley Mile, one of two Newmarket courses. After a dual with American-born colt Artigiano, Steeler put on a burst of speed to finish a length in front.

To Americans, the Royal Lodge might be an obscure foreign race, but it became a launching pad for the Derby earlier this year, when Derby organizers announced that eligibility for the Run for the Roses will be based on a horse's finish in 36 races from September to May. This is the first of only two races to be run outside the United States.

The top four finishers receive points toward qualifying, with the number of points available escalating in races closer to the Derby and longer distances. By winning the Royal Lodge, Steeler racked up 10 points, while Artigiano garnered four points, third-place finisher Al Waab got two points and fourth-place Birdman earned one point. Derby organizers have estimated that it will take roughly 40 points to secure a berth in the race.

But U.S. racing fans' prospects of seeing Steeler in Louisville seem remote, given that his trainer Mark Johnston was unaware that the Royal Lodge victory gave his horse a shot at the Derby.

"We're not thinking about (the Derby) at the moment," he said. "We'll take it one step at a time."

The Kentucky Derby carries less cachet in Europe. Many European trainers and owners would rather target their own classics for three-year-olds, primarily the 2,000 Guineas here at Newmarket and the Epsom Derby at Epsom Downs, says Steve Haskin, senior correspondent for U.S.-based the Blood-Horse magazine.

There's another obstacle to the emigration of European horses: the Royal Lodge, like nearly all English races, is run on turf, while the Kentucky Derby is run on dirt, meaning it will take a special breed of horse to have a good shot at the Derby. The Royal Lodge is the only turf race among the 36 races in the series.

Crossing the Atlantic to carve out a U.S. career "is not something that a lot of horses have done from Europe," says Ed Prosser, racing journalist for Britain's Racenews. "It's a long way to go, and there are other opportunities here."

Even so, some British horses voyage across the pond. The Royal Lodge has produced three Derby entrants. Daddy Long Legs, the winner of last year's Royal Lodge, showed up for the 2012 Kentucky Derby – and came in last. In 2004, Wilko also used the Royal Lodge as a stepping stone to the Derby. He won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile after the Royal Lodge and finished sixth in the Derby. In 1994, Eltish finished sixth in the Derby after taking second in the Juvenile.

Even owners and trainers willing to try their top horses at Churchill Downs, home of the Derby, might be stymied by the race's qualifying system. A horse would have to run in other U.S. races to bank enough points to make it into the Derby. If the trainers of top European horses prove themselves unwilling to subject their horses to the points-accumulation system, Derby organizers could face a tough choice.

"They try to get European horses wherever they can," Haskin says. "So if Churchill Downs can make a loophole, they will."

Contributing: Jennie Rees, Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal