The WV Derby (Grade 3)- $400.000 Purse
MNR- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
August 3, 2025

Top jockeys and purse money will make their way to MNR on Sunday for the annual WV Derby, a Grade 3 that has $400.000 at stake. Unfortunately, that amount represents a low point for the race (not counting the period when it was a free race), as it is a $100.000 deduction from where it had been since 2018, and much lower than the high point of $750.000. Still, it’s a nice chunk of change, and we will have a field of seven taking part in it. This will include the top three finishers from the IND Derby last month. Fractious has won the last two races, doing so in 2023 with Terabyte, and last year with Edward The Good, but that streak will come to an end here, as while he may be back, he does not have an entry in the WV Derby. Here’s a look at those that are entered:

1- The Golden Age (Mb Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- The top two from the IND Derby will start in the first two posts, and wear the number of their finishing position in that race. For The Golden Age, that victory was his fourth in six races since being acquired by Mb Stables in private sales and emphatically put an end to any concerns over the two races that immediately preceded it. Other recent wins include the SA Derby and the VA Derby, and that makes him a formidable foe here to win another state’s derby. Likely to be the post time favorite.

2- Candy Fear Party (Martyparty, ridden by P Husbands)- Finished his two-year-old season on a three-race winning streak, but was not able to duplicate that success early this year as he struggled in preps. The turning point for him may have been in the SA Derby, even though he was just fifth there, but still finished within a length. Since then, he’s resumed hitting the board and ran his best race of the year in the runner up performance at the IND Derby. He was gaining on The Golden Age in that race and has a little more distance to get him this time around.

3- Declaration (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by G Corrales)- In seven starts, Declaration only has his maiden win to speak of, but he also never runs a bad race. He’s hit the board in five of those starts, including the Grade 3 Winn at CD two months ago. He’s been fourth in the other two, and that includes the Grade 3 Ruby Stakes, so we can’t just say he has not been facing top company. He had a heavy race schedule during the spring, so it is good that he has had his two months of rest as he looks to become a force during the summertime.

4- Galaxy Brain (Axeman, ridden by F Geroux)- Earlier this year, he was on the KYD trail a bit, but after a poor performance in the LA Derby, Axeman dropped him back into overnights. He’s now won his last two, each with come from behind efforts, first in a PRX allowance, and then in an optional claimer at ELP. Now, with some positive momentum, Galaxy Brain gets his next chance to take on some top three-year-olds. We’ll need to keep an eye from him in the stretch with his running style.

5- Keto (Mb Stables, ridden by B Curtis)- Is Mb Stables about to unleash his next juggernaut on the virtual racing world? Keto is an unknown horse at this point, with only two races under his belt. Debuted at PEN and did not show much but must have gotten a nice bump after that, as he bounced back to break his maiden at SAR. He works well, and Mb’s not going to worry about throwing one into the fire this quickly.

6- Brooklyn Bash (First Flight Stable, ridden by Ar Bocachica)- Three third place finishes in KYD prep races were enough to get this horse into the KYD, a race that he ran in for Wood Duck Stables, who bought him from Riggins Racing before the KYD. After running in the KYD and PRK for that one, Brooklyn Bash was again sold, this time to First Flight Stable. He debuted for his new trainer in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes and was again third. Works well and is certainly capable of doing two spots better here.

7- Red Font (John Henry, ridden by M E Smith)- Like Brooklyn Bash, Red Font also ran in the KYD for Wood Duck Stables, with his second place run in the FL Derby going a long way to get him there. Was a non-factor in the KYD, but much better in the PRK, where he ended up running third. That race would end his time with Wood Duck, who sold him just one day before they sold Brooklyn Bash. Red Font did not run well in the BEL, though perhaps that’s a better effort that the actual finishing position indicates. He was much better last month in the IND Derby, running third. I expect a strong run from him on Sunday.

Prediction: 1-7-3-6

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES