VA Derby (KYD)- $500.000 Purse
CNL- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
March 15, 2025

This weekend is one of those few times that we will be able to look at racing at CNL, as the track hosts two big races. One of them is the $500.000 VA Derby, a race that has seen significant changes from what it has been in the past, as it is moved to the dirt for the first time. For the longest time, this race had been run on the turf, but track personnel changed things up and moved it to the main track, and now it is formally part of the “Road to the KYD”. The change meant that the race lost its graded designation, something that figures to be short-lived. 50 KYD points are at stake for the winner. Just to give last year’s turf winner his props, that was Inherently, for Mb Stables. Now, who will be the first winner of this new VA Derby? Here are the possibilities:

1- The Golden Age (Mb Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Didn’t do much as a two-year-old, and was sold by Jive Inc to Mb Stables for $145.000 in January. The Golden Age had placement which showed there were high hopes, and now it will be up to Mb Stables to deliver on them. Got off to a good start last month, winning the $90.000 Hedeman Mile for NM Breds, and now makes a big jump. That said, there are no headliners in here coming into the race, so anything is possible.

2- Golic (Royalty Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- While his credentials are good, you wouldn’t think that his $187.400 in earnings would make him the highest earner in a prep race field in March, but that is the case. Golic has won two of his last four, all coming since his geld, with the big win being against CA- Breds in the CA Cup Derby. A month later, he made the trip to TAM and was fourth in the Davis Stakes, getting him some points that he can add to here. He’s my pick in a field that is a bit underwhelming for this type of purse.

3- Awakening Wonder (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Davis)- Broke his maiden in his fifth career start, and has been stakes placed ever since. Initially, he had one of those close call fifth place runs that can be agonizing, in the Grade 1 Pharoah at SA, but has not been close to making an impact in his two prep races since. With this field not being as strong, Awakening Wonder has no excuses here if he is KYD caliber. A poor run here probably means the end of his chase.

4- Ged (Keikowin Racing, ridden by M E Smith)- The trainer is off to a good start in 2025, with four wins in eleven races as of press time, and if he wants a KYD horse, he entered Ged in the perfect race. He’s mostly run on the turf, so maybe he would have liked the old school VA Derby more. His claim to fame is a N1X win a TAM thus far.

5- Mad Jung (Riggins Racing, ridden by F Geroux)- Only one win in eight career starts, and that was in a turf race back in the summer. He has been ineffective recently, and that would lead to his being gelded last month. Showed nothing in his last two, but an allowance race back in October may suggest that he’s been waiting to get back to the dirt. He’s traditionally been a closer.

6- Loyalist (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- He may not be winning, but he has hit the board five times in his seven starts with just the lone victory. Last time out, he was fourth in the SUN Derby and only missed by a length. Against this crowd, I like the combination of that result and his overall consistency of being near the front.

7- Duque (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Only six of the twelve runners in his field have won more than once, so his two victories already have him ahead of the game a little bit. The non-maiden win was his lone turf race, a starter allowance at SAR. Hasn’t done a lot to be excited about since then, but if he can duplicate that CD performance from late November again, he can contend.

8- Olumuyiwa (Riggins Racing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Up to this point, Olumuyiwa has exclusively been a sprinter, and has gone back and forth between the dirt and turf. In those races, his results have been hit and miss, though he can boast a win in the $175.000 Algonquin Stakes at WO, a race that is nothing like this one. The promise with him centers around that recent work at SA, which shows he’s been waiting for this opportunity to go long. He’s appealing to me.

9- McWicked (Mb Stables, ridden by J P Spencer)- Our third entry in the field from Mb Stables does not have much of a racing history to his point. He’s only made two starts, struggling on debut at TUP before bouncing back nicely to break his maiden against CA-Breds at SA. Will need to be a little better than that here, but I do feel that he has been improving behind the scenes even after that SA race.

10- Aiyuk (Royalty Stables, ridden by R L Moore)- Looked good early by winning his first two races, but after finishing seven lengths off the pace in the Grade 1 Pharoah, he has not done much. But that is a recurring theme with a lot of these horses, so you never can tell. Been in the middle of the field in a couple of optional claimers so far in his three-year-old season.

11- Nothing To See (Blazin D, ridden by D Cabrera)- This PA-bred will be leaving the Keystone State behind for the first time, as he races in a non-state bred race for the first time. It was his last race where he broke his maiden, coming in a sprint on yielding turf at PRX. We can see noted improvement in his mile works on the main track, and that’s what brings him here.

12- Doubting Indian (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A A Gallardo)- Last month, Doubting Indian struggled in the Grade 2 Rebel, only beating one horse. It was his stake debut and came following a stretch where he was never worse than second. The trainer gets a do-over for Doubting Indian here if he knows why that Rebel struggled happened and is confident that it is corrected. But that do-over didn’t have to mean it would be starting from post 12, again.

Prediction: 2-8-1-12

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded