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Madefromlucky captures West Virginia Derby
Pletcher-trained horse Madefromlucky captures $750K West Virginia Derby
By BILL MOONEY
CHESTER, W.Va.
It figured to happen eventually, and on Saturday it did. Todd A. Pletcher, a seven-time recipient of the Eclipse Award as North America’s outstanding trainer, won the Grade 2, $750,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.
The colt who provided Pletcher with the victory was Madefromlucky, who drew clear in the final furlong to prevail by 11/2 lengths under jockey Joe Bravo. Sent off as the 5-2 favorite in the field of nine, Madefromlucky registered a final time for the 11/8-mile distance of 1:51.40 on a fast track.
Madefromlucky returned $7.20, $3.80, and $3.00 across the board. Souper Colossal, piloted by Paco Lopez, finished second and returned $8.00 and $5.20. War Story came in a half-length further back in third under local jockey Deshawn Parker and returned $6.60 for show.
Completing the order were Iron Fist, Thirtypiecesofsilver, Tale of Verve, Tommy Macho, Bent On Bourbon, and Alliseeisgold. Two horses were scratched, Tekton and Stanford (they had finished second and fifth, respectively, in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga the previous day).
Pletcher had gone winless in eight prior West Virginia Derby tries. Madefromlucky was the only horse in this year’s edition of the race with a Grade 2 victory already on his resume, which had occurred in the nine-furlong Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on May 9.
Some believed that Madefromlucky might give American Pharoah a rough time of it in the Belmont Stakes. The opposite turned out to be the case. American Pharoah completed his Triple Crown sweep, and Madefromlucky finished well to the rear.
Eight weeks separated Madefromlucky’s Belmont and Mountaineer efforts. On Saturday, he moved easily along in sixth position through the opening three-quarters, went four-wide turning for home, drew even with Souper Colossal inside the eighth-pole, and was best when it counted the most.
“Todd Pletcher put me on the best horse, and that made my job a lot easier,” said Bravo, who at age 43 now has 125 career graded victories. “Madefromlucky broke away nicely, and everybody knew the middle of the track was maybe a little better today.
“We were lucky to draw the [outer] post position that we did,” Bravo said. “I tried to take advantage of it, and when we got to the top of the lane, I knew I could pick up the horses in front of me. Madefromlucky’s really a nice, cool horse.”
“He special, we’ve known that for a long time,” said Mac Nichol, who co-owns Madefromlucky with Everett Dobson. “We were looking forward to him running a big race today, because we thought [the West Virginia Derby] would suit him. And it didn’t hurt that we didn’t have to worry about American Pharoah.”
For the 48-year-old Pletcher, it was a huge Saturday — he also won the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap with the four-year-old colt Rock Fall; and Grade 2 Bowling Green Handicap with the five-year-old gelding Red Rifle. Both of those races were at Saratoga.