After racing last behind a furious pace, Bob and Cathy Zollars’ REAL DANDY (Yankee Victor)
rallied on the outside to win the $750,000
West Virginia Derby (G3) at
Mountaineer Park on Sunday.
Collared to run off the pace by jockey Mark Guidry in the early going, Real
Dandy sat at the back of the 11-horse field while Ablo (Lite the Fuse) and
Bernie Blue (Bernstien) battled through fast fractions of :23 1/5 and :47. Ablo, who had
the lead by only a head through the first two checkpoints, folded, and 3-1 favorite
Devilment (Peaks and Valleys) came up to challenge while racing a close second behind Bernie
Blue, who reached the six-furlong point in 1:11 3/5. Real Dandy circled the
field around the second turn under urging from Guidry and surged wide into the upper stretch,
rallying quickly on the outside to complete the 1 1/8-mile affair in 1:50 1/5
over a fast track.
The Steve Asmussen trained Real Dandy hit the wire a 1 1/4-length winner to return $16.20, $7.60 and
$5.60 at 7-1. Magna Graduate (Honor Grades) followed to give back $5.40 and
$4.60, rounding out the $84.60 perfecta at 4-1. Finishing the $1,290.80 trifecta
(7-8-11) was Anthony J. (Tiger Ridge), who paid $10.80 for the show at 26-1. Shamoan (Ire) (Monashee
Mountain), Dover Dere (Cherokee Run), Diamond Isle (Gilded Time), Pinpoint
(Peaks and Valleys), Golden Man (Suave Prospect), Devilment, Bernie Blue and
Ablo rounded out the order of finish. Southern Africa (Cape Town) was scratched.
Bred in Kentucky by Thomas-Lakin-Kintz, the bay colt is out of the winning
mare Berga (Jade Hunter) and is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner
Premeditation (Afternoon Deelites), an unnamed yearling filly by Siphon (Brz), and a 2005
colt by Yonaguska. Real Dandy was purchased by his owners for $75,000 at the
2003 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Real Dandy added a first stakes score to his record, which now reads
15-3-6-2, and has accumulated $695,375 in lifetime earnings.
Among his four black-type placings is a second in the Risen Star S. (G3) as well
as third place finishes in the Lone Star Derby (G3) and Northern Dancer Breeders’ Cup S. (G3).