The WV Derby (Grade 3)- $500.000 Purse
MNR- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
August 4, 2024

Last year, Fractious and J R Velazquez teamed up to win the WV Derby at MNR, as Terabyte picked up the victory. This combination would get the job done again, as Velazquez was aboard Edward The Good, and would lead the gelding to an impressive two length victory. Terabyte went on to finish second in the BC Dirt Mile later that year, so perhaps Edward The Good can continue going down that path. These are the two wins for Fractious in the WV Derby, but J R Velazquez is actually a three-time winner of the race now. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:46.98, and that is a new stake record! Let’s take a look at it now:

(½ Mile- :47.20)- Three horses battle it out for the early lead down the frontstretch and around the opening turn. Once they reach a half mile, there is very little to separate the top two, but it is Gaslight out in front by a nose for Mb Stables over TwinTowersRacing’s Derby Dreams. Asgar’s Run Forty runs right between them and is within a length early in the backstretch. After a break of about two lengths, we have our eventual winner from Fractious, Edward The Good running side by side with Cinco de Mayo (D J C Racing Stables). It’s three lengths back to the trailer, Inherently (Mb Stables).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.11)- Early in the final turn, Gaslight and Derby Dreams are still side by side battling for the lead and neither has shown to have an advantage over the other as of yet. Run Forty has lost some ground to them, and closing in on that one, while running on the outside, is Edward The Good. He’s now a length ahead of Cinco de Mayo while Inherently is still several lengths further back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Entering the top of the stretch, Derby Dreams has prevailed over Gaslight but has a bigger problem behind him in the form of Edward The Good. That one had handled the turn very well and was now only about a length from the front while being about to pass Gaslight. Run Forty was dropping out of contention, Cinco de Mayo was not getting involved, and Inherently was still way out of it.

(Finish- 1:46.98)- With a furlong to go, Edward The Good would take over the top spot, and with no one else coming from behind, the race was his at that point. However, that did not mean he was going to take it easy on the rest of the field, as he continued to pull away all the way to the wire, winning the race by two lengths while setting a stake record. Derby Dreams completes the exacta, with Gaslight running third. Cinco de Mayo didn’t do much, but still finishes fourth, ahead of the tiring Run Forty and the forgot he was in a race Inherently.

About The Winner- Edward The Good, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a three-year-old gelding by Advisor, and is out of Bye Bye Beautiful. He was bred in Florida by Patterson Stables as a third quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Fractious when he was still unraced in private sales for $25.000 last December. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in seven starts and his third stake win, all of which are graded. His career earnings are now $896.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :47¹  1:11  1:35¹  1:46⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 3 Paid 9.10
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 3 – 1 Paid 49.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES