Bolshoi Ballet (IRE)

Bolshoi Ballet won two Group 3 stakes races in his first two starts of 2021. This Irish-bred son of the late Galileo won the P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown on April 24, then took the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Stakes at the same track on May 9.

Off those two wins, Bolshoi Ballet was the favorite in the Group 1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom on Jun. 5. However, he was no factor and ended up a well-beaten seventh.

Undeterred, Bolshoi Ballet was shipped to the United States to run in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park on Jul. 10. He made his American debut a winning one, rushing by his rivals late to win going away under Ryan Moore, for trainer Aidan O'Brien. That marked the second win in the race for O'Brien, and the first win for Moore.