Ky. Derby prep: Virginia Derby gets John Hancock, not Gaming
John Hancock, a 2-for-2 stakes winner for trainer Brad Cox, led the 10 entries for next Saturday’s $500,000 Virginia Derby, a virtual win-and-you’re-in qualifier at Colonial Downs for Kentucky Derby 2025. But it was another 3-year-old whose absence from Saturday’s draw stood out.
Gaming, who was expected to represent trainer Bob Baffert in the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile race, spiked a fever Saturday morning. Instead, Baffert “called an audible” and entered Sunland Derby winner Getaway Car for the first-ever dirt version of the Virginia Derby.
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“We’re still monitoring Gaming,” Baffert said. “And then we had to make a quick decision. We were thinking we would go with Getaway Car. It was too soon, too quick back for some of my other horses.”
Baffert said he did not think Gaming’s fever was symptomatic of anything serious, saying he may know more about the colt’s racing plans in about a week.
Getaway Car, a Curlin colt who is 7: 3-2-0 including a victory in the Best Pal (G3) last summer at Del Mar, comes back 27 days after his Sunland Park victory that earned him a 92 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form. Owned by the big partnership led by SF Racing, he will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. from post 6 and was made the 9-5 morning-line favorite.
Owned by CHC and WinStar Farm, John Hancock will have had five weeks since his narrow, gate-to-wire triumph in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs. Favored in both of his starts, the Constitution colt drew post 2 and will be ridden by Mike Smith. He is the 3-1 second choice in the program.
Cox also entered Rapture, who won by 6 1/2 lengths to break his maiden on second asking Jan. 25 in a 1 1/16-mile race at Oaklawn. The Uncle Mo colt will go from post 7 with Flavien Prat.
Studlydoright, a Nyquist colt trained by John Robb, is the only other stakes winner in the Virginia Derby field. He won the Nashua in November during the Belmont at Aqueduct fall meet. Fifth in last month’s John Battaglia Memorial on the Turfway Park synthetic surface, he will have Xavier Pérez in the irons and break from post 5.
The Virginia Derby, which is worth 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, is the ninth of 10 races and is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. EDT next Saturday at Colonial Downs. The first post is at noon.
The New Kent County, Va., track is hosting its first ever March meet, which runs from Thursday through Saturday. It will have a 41-day schedule this summer.