Nicanor steps up in Virginia Derby
The field for the Grade 2 Virginia Derby is about as deep and interesting as the Colonial Downs turf course is lush and wide. Virtually every one of the 10 3-year-olds in the $750,000 race stands a fighting chance, including a colt whose late older brother has become a household name in American sports.
Nicanor, a full brother to Barbaro, will be making his stakes debut Saturday in the Virginia Derby, the Colonial showcase that appears to be the best race of the weekend amid a lengthy slate of North American stakes. Nicanor is entered off impressive back-to-back turf wins at Delaware Park, and trainer Michael Matz believes the homebred Dynaformer colt is prepared to take a big step forward.
"People are always going to compare him to Barbaro, but he's a different type of horse," Matz said. "I do think he has a lot of ability. It's just taken him a little longer to come around. I feel like when the time is right, he'll show what a good horse he is."
As for his chances in a very well-matched 12th running of the Virginia Derby, Matz added: "We'll just have to see how it goes. We're going to show up and hope for the best. He's training good, and if everything goes all right, we should be right there."
Matz trains Nicanor at the Fair Hill training center in Maryland for the Lael Stables of Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who also bred and owned Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who died in January 2007.
Nicanor, with Jose Lezcano to ride, figures as one of the favorites for the Virginia Derby, a 1 1/4-mile turf race that drew the first four finishers from the Colonial Cup at the New Kent, Va., track. Battle of Hastings, a California-based gelding trained by Jeff Mullins, won that hard-fought prep over Straight Story, with Lime Rickey third, and Take the Points fourth.
The June 20 Colonial Cup unfolded in a curious way, with Battle of Hastings and jockey Tyler Baze perhaps a bit lucky to prevail. While they took a short and efficient way home, Straight Story was floated extremely wide at the quarter pole, yet still closed stoutly to miss by just a head.
Baze, part of a very strong jockey contingent in for the day, has the return mount on Battle of Hastings, while Chuck Lopez is named back aboard Straight Story.
Besides Nicanor, other capable newcomers to Colonial include Florentino and El Crespo, the respective one-two finishers in the Jefferson Cup last month at Churchill Downs, and the ever-intriguing Hold Me Back.
Hold Me Back, unraced since finishing a distant 12th in the May 2 Kentucky Derby, will be making his turf debut Saturday for owner WinStar Farm and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The colt has done his best work on synthetic surfaces, having catapulted into the top echelon of the 3-year-old division by winning the Lane's End Stakes at Turfway Park and finishing second in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
"We're just trying to get him back on track," said Elliott Walden, racing manager for WinStar. "Bill's worked him a couple times on the grass in New York and really liked how the colt got over it. Our goal actually is to make him a Grade 1 winner on the dirt, and we're thinking about maybe going in the Travers after this. But we wanted to try the grass first, and the timing of this race was just right. Obviously, he's shown ability on the synthetic, so hopefully that will transfer over to the turf."
Mott has won the Virginia Derby three times, with Orchard Park (2002), Silver Tree (2003), and Go Between (2006).
The balance of the field includes Affirmatif and Safety Valve. Affirmatif and Take the Points are trained by Todd Pletcher, who won the Virginia Derby in 2005 with English Channel and in 2007 with Red Giant.
The Virginia Derby is the second of four legs in the Grand Slam of Grass bonus series, which only Battle of Hastings, as winner of the Colonial Cup, remains eligible to sweep. The Aug. 8 Secretariat and the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Turf are the remaining legs. A sweep is estimated at more than $5 million, including purse winnings, by the series sponsor, Jacobs Investments.
The Virginia Derby goes as the 11th of 12 Saturday races, with post time set for 5:59 p.m. Eastern. It will anchor an all-stakes pick three, with the $50,000 Kitten's Joy (race 9) and the $150,000 Virginia Oaks (race 10) leading into it. The Virginia Oaks, a Grade 3 race at 1 1/8 miles, drew a field of 11 3-year-old fillies.
TVG will provide live coverage of the entire Colonial card.
