China Horse Club and WinStar Farm have qualified a second runner into the 2025 USD5,000,000 G1 Kentucky Derby after a game River Thames vied for the win in the G1 Bluegrass Stakes before finishing third.
The performance lifted River Thames to 17th on the Kentucky Derby Points Standing with 50 points, potentially putting him on a path alongside Tappan Street (1st G1 Florida Derby) for America’s most famous race.
“River Thames ran a great race and ran right through the line. At the top of the straight it looked like it could go a number of ways,” said Christie DeBernardis, China Horse Club’s Representative for the Americas.
Todd Pletcher
“Irad [Ortiz] thought he handled the distance fine but we will talk with Todd [Pletcher] and see how he comes through the run before finalizing what is in the best interests of River Thames.”
The achievement of qualifying two runners into the Kentucky Derby is testament to the merit of the racing programme the Winstar Farm and China Horse Club share. It is the second time WinStar Farm and China Horse Club have qualified two runners in the iconic event, having been represented by eventual first and third place getters Justify and Audible in 2018.
The performance of River Thames continued a marvelous week of results for China Horse Club and partners worldwide. Earlier in the Keeneland programme, Invictus and Gunmetal, raced in partnership with WinStar Farm, stamped themselves as progressive colts.
Their wins following on from a blistering debut in Britain by Gladius (raced in partnership with Qatar Racing and David Howden) and the G3 Kindergarten Stakes triumph by North England in Australia at the opening day of The Championships.