(Trainer Ken McPeek, who conditions Gowell’s Delight / Photo by Coady Media)

From the Colonial Downs Media Team:

GOWELLS DELIGHT ENTERS $250,000 VIRGINIA OAKS AFTER SOLID SECOND IN G2 RACHEL ALEXANDRA

Virginia Derby Week Sees Millionaire Book’em Danno Headline Friday’s $150,000 Boston Handicap

New Kent, Va. (March 9, 2025) – Exiting a second-place finish in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Fern Circle Stables’ Gowells Delight was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the $250,000 Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs.

The co-feature of a special three-day meet beginning Thursday, March 13, the 1 1/16-miles Virginia Oaks will be held on Saturday, March 15, together with the 1 1/8-miles $500,000 Virginia Derby. The winning horse in each race will receive 50 points toward the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) or Kentucky Derby, presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), respectively. The second- through fifth-place finishers will earn 25-15-10-5 points on a sliding scale.

First post for Saturday’s 10-race card is 12:00 p.m. Eastern time. The Virginia Oaks is scheduled as Race 8, followed immediately by the Virginia Derby.

Debuting at two turns in December at Fair Grounds, Gowells Delight beat seven rivals by 5½ lengths. Trainer Ken McPeek threw the daughter of Practical Joke into deep waters for her encore, where she ran a troubled fourth in the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park. After showing a new dimension when setting the pace in last month’s Rachel Alexandra, Gowells Delight proved no match for the undefeated Good Cheer, but with her runner-up finish, she boosted her Oaks qualifying points to 16.5. One of two entered in the local oaks by McPeek, Gowells Delight drew post 3 and will be piloted by Brian Hernandez, Jr.

Drawing to the immediate outside of her stablemate, Magdalena Racing and Steve Crabtree’s two-time winner Anonima will ship to New Kent fresh off her first stakes try, when she ran sixth to Quietside in the Honeybee (G3) at Oaklawn. Installed at 6-1 in the morning line, Anonima will receive the services of Colby Hernandez.

Though she’s only started once, Fondly won her debut in style on Valentine’s Day at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Graham Motion. Demonstrating her push-button potential when overcoming two spots of trouble, the Upstart filly won going away and earned an 84 Brisnet Speed figure. Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Fondly was tabbed as the 7-2 second choice in the line and will break from the far outside post under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Sent off as the favorite last out in the Cincinnati Trophy at Turfway Park, WinStar Farm’s Girl Math only managed to run fifth across the Tapeta surface where she broke her maiden I the start prior. With three second-place finishes on main track at Churchill Downs on her resume, the Rodolphe Brisset trainee will return to the dirt for the Virginia Oaks and reunite with jockey Luan Machado who was aboard for her maiden score. Set at 5-1 in the morning line, the daughter of McKinzie drew post 7.

Looking the part in her first try going two turns, C2 Racing Stable, Ken Reimer, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch, and Bradley Kent’s Early On exits a 5¼-length maiden score at Gulfstream Park for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. Flavien Prat, the 2024 Eclipse Award-winning jockey, is named to ride the Union Rags filly, who drew post 5 and was made 8-1 in the morning line.

The complete field for the $250,000 Virginia Oaks from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line odds):

  1. Icona Mama (John Velazquez, Flint Stites, 8-1)
  2. Low Key (Mike Smith, Tom Amoss, 10-1)
  3. Gowells Delight (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Ken McPeek, 3-1)
  4. Anonima (Colby Hernandez, Ken McPeek, 6-1)
  5. Early On (Flavien Prat, Saffie Joseph, Jr., 8-1)
  6. You’ll Be Back (Javier Castellano, Tom Amoss, 9-2)
  7. Girl Math (Luan Machado, Rodolphe Brisset, 5-1)
  8. Fondly (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Graham Motion, 7-2)

    Virginia Derby Week Sees Millionaire Book’em Danno Headline Friday’s $150,000 Boston Handicap

Virginia Derby week stakes action begins on Friday, March 14 at Colonial Downs with sibling Virginia-restricted overnight handicaps, and Atlantic Six Racing’s millionaire Book’em Danno headlines a field of 11 males in the $150,000 Boston Handicap.

First post for Friday’s eight-race program is 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. The seven-furlong Boston is slated as race 7.

New Jersey-bred, Book’em Danno is the epitome of the classy Thoroughbreds who qualify as Virginia-certified. Trained by Derek Ryan, Atlantic Six Racing’s son of Bucchero won the 2024 Woody Stephens (G1) at Saratoga, one of five stakes scores on his resume. The Boston will be the first start of Book’em Danno’s highly anticipated 4-year-old campaign. Paco Lopez gets the call and the pair will leave from post 6.

Top among his competition is Double B Racing Stables’ multiple graded stakes winner Repo Rocks. Trained by Jamie Ness, the 7-year-old Virginia-bred sits just shy of $1 million in career earnings. Drawing the rail, Repo Rocks will be guided by jockey Andrew Wolfsont.

The six-furlong $150,000 Stellar Wind Handicap, female counterpart to the Boston, also drew a field of 11, including Morgan’s Ford Farm’s homebred Binnie. The Virginia-bred daughter of Great Notion has won four of her five starts for Maryland’s reigning champion trainer Brittany Russell. Sheldon Russell takes the call.

The Stellar Wind is scheduled as race 6.

Fields for both race can be found on Equibase: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CNL031425USA-EQB.html.

All Virginia-restricted races are open to Virginia-bred, -sired, and -certified horses. More information can be found from the Virginia Thoroughbred Association at: https://www.vabred.org/virginia-certified-horses-residency-program/.

The Virginia Derby meet begins Thursday, March 13 with an 8-race program with an anticipated first post of 12:35 p.m. Eastern.