American colt Greenwhich Village entered for 2026 Epsom Derby

A son of Quality Road, the Bob Baffert-trained Greenwich Village has won three of his four starts to date and was last seen out when successful in the mile Pasadena Stakes on turf at Santa Anita on Sunday.

The most recent challenger from the United States was the Michael Dickinson-trained Wolf Prince, eighth to Commander In Chief at 40/1 in 1993.

Tom Ryan, of joint-owners SF Racing, said: “We are incredibly grateful to The Jockey Club for extending an invitation to the Betfred Derby for Greenwich Village. It was a wonderful and unexpected surprise for all of us, and something we don’t take lightly. It’s a very intriguing opportunity, and we’ll be giving it serious thought as we map out his path from the winter into the spring.

“We’ve loved seeing how he’s progressed, stretching out from six and a half furlongs to a mile on the turf, and he keeps finding and finishing through adversity, which is what you want to see from a developing three-year-old.

“He’s a big, powerful colt — and he’s bred to keep moving forward as distances increase. The Derby distance is the great unknown.

“We will be guided by Bob Baffert when it comes to making a decision. When we originally purchased him, we had the Kentucky Derby in mind. It would be quite a pivot if he ended up in Epsom Downs.”

The 88 entries also include two from Japan - Akkan (Takeshi Okumura) and Choreo Sequence.

Choreo Sequence won a newcomers’ race when making his debut at Tokyo in December and was last seen on February 10th, when a close fourth in the Group Three Kisaragi Sho over nine furlongs at Kyoto.

The colt’s trainer, Yuta Sato, said: “The Derby, with its near 250-year history, is a truly magnificent race that I have long admired.

“Although we are still at the consideration stage, the owner (Hiroyuki Kawakatsu) has entrusted us with a horse of tremendous potential, and for that reason we have decided to enter him in the Derby at Epsom Downs.

“Choreo Sequence’s dam line traces back to Germany, and his pedigree includes the names of outstanding sires such as Sadler’s Wells and Monsun, both produced by Europe’s great horsemen.

“It is a great honour to be able to include the Derby as an option for such a well-bred and promising horse. At the same time, we will continue to assess his condition carefully as we consider the best path forward.”

Although no Japanese-trained runner has ever lined up in the premier Classic, the 2023 winner, Auguste Rodin, was sired by leading Japanese stallion Deep Impact.

The 2026 Betfred Derby, the 247th running, takes place at Epsom Downs on Saturday 6th June with a record total prize fund of £2 Million.

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