Sometimes the path of least resistance is the best course of action. That certainly applies to J J Grey, who is favored to extend his winning streak to three on Sunday night in the $400,000 West Virginia Derby (G3) at Mountaineer Park.
The greater glory for 3-year-olds is attached to the sport’s high-profile Grade 1 stakes like the Triple Crown, the Haskell and the Travers. Clashing with the big boys can be the equivalent of chasing fool’s gold. There is plenty of money to be made in the second-tier stakes against easier competition. J J Grey (the 2-1 favorite) is a case in point.
The gray colt started his career on turf for trainer Kenny McPeek. After a dull grass effort in an allowance race at Keeneland in April, McPeek made the full-time switch to the main track and was immediately rewarded with an allowance win at Oaklawn Park.
It’s been all dirt since then, including a hard-fought front-end win in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows. Along the way, J J Grey has banked almost $350,000, a nice return on a $24,000 yearling purchase.
“He has natural speed, but he's also a fighter,” McPeek said. “He has been a real pleasure and keeps getting better and better.”
Maximum Effort (9-2) needs to get a bit better to post his maiden win. He was a rallying third in his last two outings: the Texas Derby and the Iowa Derby, 3 ½ lengths behind J J Grey. It’s always interesting to see trainers have confidence in older maidens to run in stakes races. The most prominent example this year is the still winless Ocelli (0-for-10) who ran third in the Kentucky Derby (G1) at 70-1.
Maximum Effort is winless in eight, a fact that does not daunt trainer Steve Asmussen.
“He has plenty of talent, and he is coming around to himself,” Asmussen said. “We’ve had success in the West Virginia Derby, and we hope to continue the trend. It does appear to be a wide-open race.
“He didn’t come out of the gate that well in the Iowa Derby, so I thought it was a fairly strong race for him. And he does have speed.”
Asmussen holds the West Virginia Derby training record with six wins.
Trendsetter (5-2) is a cut below the top 3-year-olds, making this spot ideal. He pulled a 32-1 upset in the Lexington Stakes (G3) that earned him a handful of Kentucky Derby qualifying points but not nearly enough to make the starting lineup
Since then, Trendsetter has twice finished third in Grade 3 stakes: the Peter Pan and the Ohio Derby. His mid-pack stalking style should keep him in contention as J J Grey and Maximum Effort set the anticipated pace.
The West Virginia Derby is set for 7:55 pm (ET), and it headlines a nine-race program, which begins at 5 p.m. and includes the $200,000 West Virginia Governor's Stakes.
The field for the $400,000 West Virginia Derby (G3), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds)
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
