Derby Points On The Line Saturday At Colonial Downs

[Wandering Eyes]

Less than 48 hours after Colonial Downs was coated in three inches of fresh snow, Saturday's Virginia Derby, the last 50-point prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, will have competitors and visitors alike dreaming of warmer things to come on the first Saturday in May.

Now in its second year, the newly-repositioned Virginia Derby (moved up from the track's traditional summer meet) drew a field of 10 after running with just seven entries in its inaugural edition won by the late D. Wayne Lukas's American Promise (Justify).

Several trainers of note who shipped in last year are making the return trip to Virginia Saturday with runners from the barns of Bob Baffert and Brad Cox. 5-2 morning-line favorite and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Buetane (Tiz the Law) drew the rail for Baffert in his first attempt at 1 1/8 miles after hitting the board in the GI Hopeful Stakes, the GII San Vincente Stakes and, most recently, the GIII Southwest Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 6.

Maiden winner and OXO Equine homebred High Camp (Instagrand) steps into stakes company for the first time Saturday for trainer William Walden. His gutsy effort at Gulfstream Feb. 7, in which he came six wide to prevail by a length at seven furlongs, netted him an 85 Beyer Speed Figure.

“The timing [of the VA Derby] made sense for us,” Walden said. “But more so the [step up to] going two turns, or finding out if he even wants to go two turns. I think this one-turn 1 1/8 miles, I've always seen horses that use that as a way to start going around two turns or to test distance limitations. He went from six [furlongs] to seven to stretching out and I figured this was the best way to do it.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, aboard for the colt's first two starts, stays up here.

“It's a respectable field,” Walden said of the runners assembled Saturday. “I don't think it's some of the bigger connection's 'A' horses but at the same time, I don't think it's a field to be snubbed at or dismissed by any reason. We're all here trying to accomplish the same thing. They're obviously horses who have been running well and training well, otherwise they wouldn't be here.”

High Camp | Lauren King

Having made his first two starts in Florida, Walden saw no issue with how High Camp had handled the ship to Virginia.

“Nothing phases him,” Walden said. “He's super easy. Shipped great and he's trained great the Thursday and Friday. Went to the gate Friday, stood a little bit. He's acting like he never left his stall in Florida.”

Cox sends out Confessional (Essential Quality) who will pick up a new jockey Saturday after losing Irad Ortiz Jr. to injury in a spill at Gulfstream Park on Thursday. After running second behind GII Holy Bull Stakes winner Nearly (Not This Time) at Gulfstream Jan. 2, he faltered home to finish seventh in his first start without blinkers in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Feb. 7 and will regain the headgear in Virginia.

“I'm putting blinkers back on to hopefully give him a little more confidence and go forward,” Cox said. “Maybe if he does get in some tight spots, he'll be thinking about going forward instead of looking at other horses. He didn't run as well as we expected. He broke from the inside, and I thought he was getting a good trip, but found a little trouble going into the stretch when I felt like it was really time to go forward. He's always trained well, and he's continuing to train well, so we're giving him another swing.”

As the only graded stakes winner in the field, Riley Mott's Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) capped his juvenile campaign with a strong finish to take down the GIII Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs in late October. Shipped for Florida for the Holy Bull, he was a non-factor sixth Jan. 31.

“We're going to try to redeem ourselves on Saturday,” Mott said. “We'll sure need to after that race at Gulfstream (Holy Bull). I think it was mostly just a matter of him disliking the track surface. Whether that had to do with it being deeper on the inside, I'm not sure, but he certainly didn't get a hold of it at any point.”

Incredibolt drew outside Saturday and keeps regular pilor Jaime Torres aboard.

“I'm optimistic (Incredibolt) will like Colonial's surface,” Mott continued. “It's a tighter surface, so he should be able to get more traction over it (than Gulfstream). The timing of it was right, and we've done OK shipping to Colonial. I think this spot might just fit the horse.”

Todd Pletcher saddles two side by side longshots with 12-1 morning-line shot Grittiness (Curlin) still seeking his first win having run a distant second in the Withers Feb. 6. and 15-1 shot Epic Desire (Uncle Mo) also exiting the Sam F. Davis Feb. 7.

The field rounds out with Work (American Pharoah) for Chief Stipe O'Neill, the undefeated Lockstocknpharoah (American Pharoah) who has won twice at Turfway Park for Thomas Drury Jr., Ocelli (Connect) for Whit Beckman and Clocker Special (Not This Time) who drew outside in his stakes debut for Rodolphe Brisset.

One race earlier in the second running of the Virginia Oaks, the runaway Busanda Stakes winner Dazzling Dame (Girvin) drew the rail for Brittany Russell as she looks to pick up 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Dazzling Dame | Joe Labozzetta

“I think we have to just keep testing her, right?” Russell said of her entry. “She works like she's a good filly. She's races like she's a good filly. I think Saturday will tell us a lot.”

Dazzling Dame's only blemish on an otherwise perfect record is a fourth in last year's GIII Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill in September.

“She's obviously done well with plenty of time between races,” Russell said. “She's a horse that gets a lot out of what she does in the morning. She's a big filly. There's a lot in that frame to hold together, so the time between (the Busanda and the Virginia Oaks) was always appealing.”

Morning-line race favorite Bottle of Rouge (Vino Rosso) ships in from the west for Bob Baffert having most recently taken down the Sunland Park Oaks at one mile in her 3-year-old debut Feb. 15. A Grade I winner as 2-year-old in the Del Mar Debutante, she finished her year sixth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Sandwiched between that pair, Brad Cox saddles Hit Parade (Street Sense) for Gary and Mary West. The Untapable Stakes winner at Fair Grounds late last year, she debuted fifth in the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Feb. 6. Similarly to Cox's Virginia Derby runner, Hit Parade will also be seeking a new rider.

“I liked the trip she got (in the Martha Washington),” Cox said. “I liked the position she was in when they straightened up, but then she just didn't really offer much running down the lane or finish up as well as I thought. That was a little bit of a head scratcher. She'll be facing a good group (on Saturday). We'll see if she stacks up.”

Todd Pletcher also has a pair of entries in the Virginia Oaks with Suncoast Stakes third Kadabra (Good Magic) earning a 6-1 morning-line bid inside of 10-1 shot Baffle (Violence) who is still looking for her first win.

Longshot Somemunny to Love (Munnings) rounds out the field for Flint Stites, having just broken her maiden in state-bred company at Parx Feb. 11.

Santa Anita Hits The Grass
One of two graded stakes race Saturday, the GIII San Simeon Stakes at Santa Anita lets the turf sprinters loose going 5 1/2 furlongs on the downhill course.

A field of six will line up led by Sumter (War Front) on the rail for Richard Mandella. The gelded 7-year-old last won in October but has put up two 90+ Beyer Speed Figures in his last two starts including a second in the GII Joe Hernandez Stakes to finish out 2025. Mandella also saddles GSW Seal Team (GB) (War Front) who comes off a 10-month layoff dating back to a narrow sixth in last May's GI Shoemaker Mile.

Chilean-invader Gran Oriente (Chi) (Classic Empire) earned a narrow win over course and distance in optional claiming company Jan. 23 in his third start for Marcelo Polanco. It was his first win since earning a Group 1 win in South America last May.

Phil D'Amato sends out Sorrento Sky (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) who looks to go two better after running third in this same race last year.

Sunday, turf routers get the spotlight with a field of 10 lining up in the GIII Santa Ana Stakes going 1 1/4 miles. C R K Stable's Paradise Lake (Uncle Mo) captured the GIII Robert J. Frankel Stakes Jan. 8 and will face several familiar foes here including Public Assembly (More Than Ready), Starry Night (Justify) who came up a nose short in that same race Jan. 8, and Mrs. Astor (Lookin At Lucky) who won the GIII Red Carpet Stakes two back at Del Mar.

Oaklawn Sprinters Go In The Whitmore
The GIII Whitmore Stakes at Oaklawn Park offers the weekend's only graded stakes action on the dirt with a field of seven going six furlongs.

Tejano Twist (Practical Joke) comes off a strong win in optional claiming company over course and distance March 1 for Chris Hartman and ran third in this same race last year. Hartman also saddles inside-drawn Wendelssohn (Mendelssohn) who comes in off a third over course and distance in the King Cotton Stakes Feb. 8.

He'll face the aptly-named Tough Catch (Complexity), a 4-year-old for Dallas Stewart who flashed his speed in gate-to-wire fashion on a muddy local track in allowance ranks Feb. 15 after briefly trying his hand on the Road to the Kentucky Derby last year.

Usual foe Ryvit (Competitive Edge) was a winner over Tejano Twist in his last start at Oaklawn Jan. 2 and has been third in a pair of starts at Sunland Park since for Steve Asmussen.

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