Once On Whiskey leads prospective West Virginia Derby 2018 field

Bob Baffert-trained Once On Whiskey tops the probables listed for next Saturday's Grade 3, $500,000 West Virginia Derby, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds at Mountaineer.

A $150,000 yearling purchase by Karl Watson, Michael Pegram and Paul Weitman, Once On Whiskey made his stakes debut a winning one last out when he rallied to win the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby under jockey Flavien Prat. The Bodemeister colt broke his maiden second time out and finished third in allowance optional claiming before heading into the Los Alamitos Derby, which was the first time Once On Whiskey raced two turns. The Los Alamitos Derby was also the same distance as the West Virginia Derby.

Baffert has also been successful with West Coast shippers in Mountaineer’s premier race, winning three previous years. He most recently won in 2016 with Cupid.

Mountaineer's assistant racing secretary, Mark Patterson, named six probables and four possible runners in all for the 22nd West Virginia Derby.

Draft Pick, runner-up by a head in the Los Alamitos Derby, is also listed as a West Virginia Derby probable. Trained by Peter Eurton for C R K Stable LLC, the son of Candy Ride was a 2 ½-length winner of the 1 1/16-miles, Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes after breaking his maiden. He was then made the second choice behind Ax Man in the Los Alamitos Derby and nearly won it until Once On Whiskey got his head down at the wire.

Other probables are Caloric, seventh in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby and most recently fourth in an allowance at Presque Isle Downs for trainer Odin Londono Jr.; King Cause, a Doug O’Neill trainee who last finished fourth in the Los Alamitos Derby; Lionite, winner of the Prairie Mile Stakes and third in the Iowa Derby, who is trained by five-time West Virginia Derby winner Steve Asmussen; and Mr Freeze, a Dale Romans trainee who was runner-up in the Iowa Derby after winning his first two career starts.

Possibles include Rugbyman, who was runner-up in the Easy Goer before returning to finish fourth in the Grade 3 Dwyer for trainer Graham Motion; The Tabulator, trained by Larry Rivelli, who returned a winner this year in the Golden Circle Stakes but has since finished seventh in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens and Iowa Derby; Telekinesis, winner of the Plate Trial Stakes before finishing fifth in the Queen’s Plate; and High North, winner of both the Northern Spur Stakes and Iowa Derby this year.

On the undercard, the Grade 3, $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes, run at 1 1/16 miles, received graded stakes status for the first time this year. Mountaineer also features the $75,000 Senator Robert C. Byrd Memorial Stakes, a six-furlong sprint; the $75,000 West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker’s Cup at one mile and 70 yards on the turf; the $75,000 West Virginia Secretary of State, for fillies and mares going six furlongs; the $75,000 West Virginia Senate President’s Cup, for fillies and mares going one mile and 70 yards on turf; and the $75,000 West Virginia Legislature Chairman’s Cup, a four-and-a-half furlong sprint. All undercard stakes are for horses age 3 and up.

Entries for the West Virginia Derby and the other eight races on the Aug. 4 card will be drawn Monday, July 30. There will be a special post time of 2 p.m. ET for the first race.