Local Sports

Zinhal races to West Virginia Derby win

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. -- Augustin Stable's homebred Zinhal, with only a maiden victory on his record in four starts, broke through in a big way with a strong victory in the Grade III $400,000 West Virginia Derby for 3-year-olds at Mountaineer Casino, Resort & Races on Sunday, August 9.

He was ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who also won the West Virginia Governor's Stakes with Bracket Buster in the previous race.

Zinhal broke well from the middle of the starting gate and stalked front-running Wayne's Law through moderate fractions until the far turn in the 1 1/8-mile race. The Quality Road gelding took over on the turn and extended his lead to 6 ¼ lengths at the finish in 1:52.47 for the distance.

He paid $8.20 to win as the second choice. Favored J J Grey, usually a front-runner, sat in fourth for about three-quarters of a mile and faded to sixth.

"He got a very good ride, a Johnny V. ride," trainer Jonathan Thomas said. "We always thought highly of Zinhal, and he showed some of that tonight. He was ridden the way we had been wanting him to be ridden."

When asked what could be next for the lightly raced Zinhal, Thomas said: "We'll keeping scouting out races for him. We may look at the (Grade I) Pennsylvania Derby."

Second choice Trendsetter, who entered the West Virginia Derby with a win and two thirds in Grade III stakes in his last three starts, broke well, dropped back and then rallied to easily finish second over Bull by the Horns.

"It was a funny trip," trainer Ben Colebrook said. "He broke well and then (jockey Kazushi Kimura) decided to take back. We also gave the winner six pounds, but I'm not taking anything away from the winner. He ran a blinder tonight."

Colebrook said he was pleased with the effort and consistency from Trendsetter, who now has won or placed in seven stakes, four of them graded.

GOVERNOR'S STAKES

Bracket Buster, in his first race since last October, helped make the early pace for the first seven furlongs and pulled away to 15-length victory in the $200,000 West Virginia Governor's Cup at 1 1/16 miles on the Derby undercard.

Ridden by John Velazquez for trainer Victoria Oliver and owners BBN Racing and Bowen Thoroughbreds, Bracket Buster broke sharply from post two and dueled with Neoequos from post one from the start of the race and down the backstretch. After a brief inside bid by Mogul nearing the far turn, the top pair put space on the rest of the field.

Bracket Buster, who paid $6 to win as the slight choice, cleared Neoequos nearing the top of the stretch and continued strong to the finish. Warp Nine closed well for second, with Neoequos third.

Velazquez, who was aboard Bracket Buster when he broke his maiden as a 2-year-old at Keeneland in 2024, said he wasn't surprised by his performance. "He was very good tonight," Velazquez said.

Oliver earlier said the Mountaineer stakes was one of the options for the Vekoma colt's return, primarily because of the distance and the two turns.

"Fortunately, we made the right choice," Oliver said. "He ran fantastic."

When asked if the way Bracket Buster won was a surprise, Oliver said: "Yes, because he was coming in off a long layoff. No, if I he had had a race under him before this one."

Bracket Buster, who was second in the Grade I Travers Stakes last year, now has four wins, two seconds and one third in 12 starts for earnings of $908,706.

Total pari-mutuel handle for the Derby program was $2.55 million despite three races being taken off the turf and a dirt race scratching down to a two-horse field. Still, the figure up was up 2.4% from last year's handle of $2.49 million.