Mr. Wireless Proves Best in the West Virginia Derby

Mr. Wireless had done very little wrong this season, and showed up once again Saturday to collect his second consecutive graded victory in Mountaineer's West Virginia Derby.

After finding himself in front heading into the first turn, Mr. Wireless was soon headed by Kinetic Sky and Bourbon Thunder as the duo took up position to his inside while Warrant was a couple of lengths back in fourth through an initial quarter in :23.82. Latched onto the outside flank of Bourbon Thunder following a :47.86 half, the 8-5 favorite drew on even terms with the leading Bourbon Thunder on the far turn and soon put his head in front, inching clear turning for home. Offered some left-handed encouragement by Ramon Vazquez in early stretch, the gelding drifted out slightly late, prompting his rider to switch to a right-handed stick late, but the gelding had enough left in reserve to fend off Warrant by a length at the wire. The GII Wood Memorial winner Bourbonic closed from out of the clouds to be third.

“There was inside speed and he was able to sit off those two horses,” explained Vazquez. “He put himself into a good position, and when he got the lead and he kept going.”

Added trainer Bret Calhoun, “He was in good position the whole way around, and looked like the rider was sitting on a lot of horse. He ran a trouble-free race, and when Ramon asked him, he did his job.”

In regards to the gelding's next race, he said, “I hate to get too far ahead with these things, but I'd say the [GI] Pennsylvania Derby [Sept. 25] is very possible.”

Fifth in his career bow going six furlongs at the Fair Grounds Mar. 4, Mr. Wireless gained a narrow decision next time going a mile at Oaklawn Mar. 27 before making it two straight with a score adding a sixteenth at the Hot Springs oval May 1. Narrowly defeated by Warrant in the May 31 Texas Derby, the bay asserted his dominance last time, taking the July 7 GIII Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand.

Pedigree Notes:
Mr. Wireless is out of Voussoir (Arch), also responsible for the year-older Ain't No Elmers (Goldencents), who recently made the running in the GII Honorable Miss H. at Saratoga before finishing third. The 15-year-old mare is also responsible for a 2-year-old full-sister to the West Virginia Derby winner named Ain't Broke and a Goldencents colt foal. She was bred back to Gun Runner.

Saturday, Mountaineer
WEST VIRGINIA DERBY-GIII, $500,000, Mountaineer Casino & Resort, 8-7, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:52.49, ft.
1–MR. WIRELESS, 120, g, 3, by Dialed In
              1st Dam: Voussoir, by Arch
              2nd Dam: Blu Spur, by Northern Spur (Ire)
              3rd Dam: Seeking the Blue, by Seeking the Gold
O-JIL Stable; B-John & Iveta Kerber (KY); T-W. Bret Calhoun;
J-Ramon A. Vazquez. $311,500. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0,
$670,150. *1/2 to Ain't No Elmers (Goldencents), MGSP,
$268,435. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Warrant, 118, c, 3, Constitution–Whisper Number, by First
Samurai. O-Twin Creeks Racing Stables, LLC; B-Twin Creeks
Farm (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $100,000.
3–Bourbonic, 122, c, 3, Bernardini–Dancing Afleet, by Afleet
Alex. O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $50,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1HF, HF. Odds: 1.60, 1.80, 3.90.
Also Ran: Bourbon Thunder, Kinetic Sky, Americainaed. Scratched: Channel Fury.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Bourbonic Gets Class Relief in West Virginia Derby

Calumet Farm's Bourbonic (Bernardini), overmatched in two legs of the Triple Crown after scoring a Grade II upset this spring, will step a few rungs down the class ladder Saturday when invading Mountaineer Park for the track's signature race on the calendar, the GIII West Virginia Derby.

Breaking his maiden by open lengths for a $50,000 tag Dec. 6 at Aqueduct, the homebred repeated in a starter/optional claiming spot there Jan. 17 and was runner-up in a sloppy Parx allowance/optional claimer Feb. 23. Ambitiously spotted by Todd Pletcher off that run in the GII Wood Memorial S., the dark bay rewarded his trainer's confidence with a shocking last-to-first run to get up at 72-1. Unable to factor when 13th in the GI Kentucky Derby, he improved slightly when fifth in the GI Belmont S. June 5, but was still beaten double-digit lengths.

Brad Cox starts a pair of improving sophomores, most notably Twin Creeks Racing Stables' Warrant (Constitution). Graduating second out at six panels Feb. 16 at Fair Grounds, the homebred missed by a nose in a Keeneland allowance/optional claimer Apr. 3 before filling the same slot behind subsequent GIII Matt Winn S.-winning barnmate Fulsome (Into Mischief) in the Oaklawn S. May 1. Suffering a seemingly impossibly wide trip in the Texas Derby last out May 31 at Lone Star, the chestnut proved his resolve, surging late to a three-quarter length success.

The horse he wore down that day, Mr. Wireless (Dialed In), returned to win impressively in the GIII Indiana Derby July 7 at Indiana Grand and has been given the 9-5 morning-line preference here. A victory would give trainer Bret Calhoun back-to-back West Virginia Derby trophies after he scored with Mr. Money (Goldencents) in 2019 (the race was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic).

Other contenders in the seven-horse group include Bourbon Thunder (Quality Road), third at 30-1 against elders in a Saratoga allowance for trainer Ian Wilkes July 15, and Cox's other entrant Kinetic Sky (Runhappy), who most recently chased a sizzling pace before prevailing by 1 1/4 lengths in a Churchill allowance/optional claimer June 26.

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Constitution’s Warrant Turns In Arresting Texas Derby Run

TEXAS DERBY, $300,000, Lone Star, 5-31, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.03, sy.
1–WARRANT, 124, c, 3, by Constitution
1st Dam: Whisper Number, by First Samurai
2nd Dam: Santerra, by Tejabo
3rd Dam: Sioux City, by Carson City
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Twin Creek Racing Stables, LLC;
B-Twin Creeks Farm (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Joel Rosario. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-1, $294,700. *1/2 to Ms
Locust Point (Dialed In), GSW, $675,975.
2–Mr. Wireless, 124, g, 3, Dialed In–Voussoir, by Arch. O-Jon
Lapczenski & JIL Stable; B-John & Iveta Kerber (KY); T-W. Bret
Calhoun. $60,000.
3–Rightandjust, 124, c, 3, Awesome Again–Pussyfoot, by
Tiznow. O-Wayne T. Davis; B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc.
(KY); T-Shane Wilson. $33,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1, 1 3/4. Odds: 2.90, 14.20, 7.00.
Also Ran: Super Stock, Dreamer's Disease, First Avenue, Scarred, Say It Ain't Soni, It's My House, Get Her Number.

Further validating the form of the May 1 Oaklawn S., whose winner Fulsome (Into Mischief) returned to take Saturday's GIII Matt Winn S., that one's stablemate Warrant overcame a brutally wide trip to take out Monday's Texas Derby at Lone Star Park.

Slightly worse than centerfield and purposefully kept out of the kickback five wide down the backstretch, the Twin Creeks runner was asked to improve leaving the three-eighths marker and was five or six wide into the stretch. He was able to sustain that long bid to overtake Mr. Wireless at the sixteenth pole before going on to score narrowly in the finish.

The 21st worldwide stakes winner for WinStar's Constitution, Warrant graduated second out going six furlongs Feb. 16 at Fair Grounds before finishing a nose second to barnmate Joe Frazier (Distorted Humor) in a seven-panel Keeneland optional claimer Apr. 3 and filling the same slot in the aforementioned Oaklawn S. He has a 2-year-old full-brother named War Room and his dam produced a Good Magic colt last term before returning to Constitution once more. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Grade 1 Winners Super Stock, Get Her Number Return In Monday’s Texas Derby

On the undercard of Monday's G3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park, a pair of Grade 1-winning 3-year-olds will return to action in the $300,000 Texas Derby. Contested over 1 1/16 miles on the dirt, the race drew a field of 10.

Headlining the field is the Steve Asmussen-trained Super Stock, winner of the Arkansas Derby and 16th last out in the Kentucky Derby. Owned by Asmussen's parents and country music manager Erv Woolsey, the son of Dialed In will break from the outside post under regular rider Ricardo Santana, Jr.

Asmussen has two other entrants in the Texas Derby: Scarred (Into Mischief), an allowance winner who most recently ran fourth in the Oaklawn Stakes, and Say It Ain't Soni (Frosted), a colt who broke his maiden May 15 at Lone Star by seven lengths. The latter is owned by Monkey With A Stick of Dynamite, LLC.

The other Grade 1 winner in the field is the Peter Miller-trained Get Her Number, also by Dialed In. The winner of the G1 American Pharoah Stakes last year, Get Her Number most recently ran fourth behind Super Stock in the Arkansas Derby.

Another interesting contender is Dreamer's Disease for trainer Robertino Diodoro, the sixth-place finisher in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The son of the late Laoban began his 2021 campaign with a sixth-place effort in the G3 Pat Day Mile, and should improve off that effort for his second start of the season.

The full field is as follows:

1) Scarred, Stewart Elliott, Steven M. Asmussen
2) Rightandjust, David Cabrera, Shane Wilson
3) It's My House, Reylu Gutierrez, Robert B. Hess, Jr.
4) Mr. Wireless, Ramon Vazquez, W. Bret Calhoun
5) Warrant, Joel Rosaro, Brad H. Cox
6) Say It Ain't Soni, Leandro Goncalves, Steven M. Asmussen
7) First Avenue, Weston Hamilton, Tina Rena Hurley
8) Dreamer's Disease, David Cohen, Robertino Diodoro
9) Get Her Number, Florent Geroux, Peter Miller
10) Super Stock, Ricardo Santana, Jr., Steven M. Asmussen

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