THE Kentucky Derby is one of the great prizes in American sport, not unlike the Super Bowl or Final Four or Indianapolis 500 in being a cultural phenomena that crosses over socioeconomic lines and filters into the minds of millions of US citizens come the first Saturday each May.

The race dubbed the “most exciting two minutes in sports” also heavily slants toward the home team, its 143 winners often being some of the best thoroughbreds the nation has ever produced, yet the Derby is not exclusive to Americans. Twice the Derby trophy was plumbed by horses based outside the US and Ireland’s Mendelssohn will attempt to be the third when he crosses the Atlantic on a journey back to Kentucky.