A year ago, the Virginia Derby was switched from turf to dirt, became an addition on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, and lured some of racing’s top trainers and jockeys to Colonial Downs.
The reason is clear. The 1 1/8-mile race offers Kentucky Derby qualifying points of 50-25-15-10-5 to the top five finishers, with the winner all but clinching a berth in the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on May 2.
And that’s good enough reason for Hall of Fame trainer to send Buetane (the 5-2 morning-line favorite) to New Kent, Virginia, from his California base and for fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher to enter two 3-year-olds, Grittiness (12-1) and Epic Desire (15-1).
A field of 10 is entered for Saturday’s $500,000 Virginia Derby, the first on dirt, producing two runners in last year’s Kentucky Derby, American Promise and Render Judgment, the first and second place finishers who ran off the board in the Kentucky Derby.
Doug O’Neill, also based in California, sends out New York-bred Work (20-1), and Brad Cox goes with Confessional (4-1). Incredibolt, the only graded stakes winner in the field, is a generous 10-1 for trainer Riley Mott.
A $1.1 million purchase by Zedan Racing Stables, has a maiden win in his debut and just might be ready to claim a spot in the Derby after running second in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) to Ted Noffey, second in the San Vicente Stakes (G2) to So Happy and third in the Southwest Stakes (G3) to Silent Tactic and Solider N Diplomat.
Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat makes the trip to ride Buetane from the inside post.
The chestnut colt likes to settle in just off the pace, and this could work well in this field. Buetane, with six Derby points, likely needs to win to give Baffert another Derby qualifier to go with Potente, who won the San Felipe Stakes (G2) last week to pick up 50 points.
Has 10 Derby points from his win in the Street Sense Stakes (G3) but came up empty in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) in his 3-year-old debut, finishing sixth, 25 ¼ lengths behind the winner Nearly.
Is he ready for a big effort? A son of Bolt d’Oro, the bay colt has posted four solid 4-furlong workouts at Palm Meadows since the Holy Bull, most recently on March 7 when he covered the distance in 48.05 seconds, fourth fastest of 90 at the distance. His 10-1 odds make him a tempting longshot.
“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 his 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.”
Pletcher, who trains top Kentucky Derby contenders Class President, Nearly, and Renegade, takes his chances with Grittiness, who is 0-for-5 but has 11 Derby points from a fifth in the Remsen Stakes (G2) and a second in the Withers Stakes, and Epic Desire, a maiden winner in his sixth start followed by a fifth in the Sam F. Davis Stakes. Both are in tough spots here.
Also taking a shot is High Camp, the 9-2 third choice for trainer Will Walden. The bay colt staged a strong rally to win at 7 furlongs for his first victory in two starts. He will be ridden again by Hall of Famer John Velazquez.
“He’s coming into this race really well,” Walden said. “He’s had three really solid works that have gone off without a hitch. He’s fit. Obviously, the question mark is the distance. We’re happy (the Virginia Derby) is around one turn because that lets him meet that question halfway. From there, we’ll leave it in Johnny’s hands, hope for a good trip, and see what happens.”
Trained by Brad Cox, the 4-1 second choice is likely off his runner-up finish to Nearly in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 7. Last out, the gray son of Essential Quality finished off the board in the Sam F. Davis.
The Virginia Derby is the centerpiece of a 10-race program that includes the $250,000 Virginia Oaks, a Kentucky Oaks (G1) prep worth 50-25-15-10-5 points to the top five finishers. Post time for the Virginia Derby is 5:10 p.m. ET.
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
