Rapture, Getaway Car Headline Virginia Derby

The excitement building in Virginia around the first-ever spring meet at Colonial Downs will come to a head March 15 as the $500,000 Virginia Derby makes its debut on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The one-turn, 1 1/8-mile contest will serve as a fitting anchor to the three-day weekend as a contentious field of 10 sophomores will compete for Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale.

KING: Colonial Downs Readies for Three Days of March Racing

Some of the sport's biggest names are supporting the new venture in the entry box, including CHC and WinStar Farm, who entered two Brad Cox trainees in John Hancock  and Rapture .

According to a March 10 Daily Racing Form report, John Hancock will scratch and instead be pointed to the March 22 Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. That leaves the door open for Rapture to carry the stakes spotlight for his connections for the first time.

The son of Uncle Mo teamed with jockey Flavien Prat at Oaklawn Park Jan. 25 to break his maiden with an eye-catching performance at second asking. Stalking the pace from an outside post, Rapture assumed command at the top of the lane and drew off to a 6 1/2-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile maiden event.

"We've been high on him and he's progressed forwardly after breaking his maiden," said Cox. "He's the type of horse we believe the longer the better. The mile-and-an-eighth shouldn't be an issue at all."

Second choice on the morning line at 5-1 with the scratch of his stablemate, Rapture's promotion to stakes company will prove no easy task as he will face a proven graded stakes-winning Bob Baffert trainee in cross-country shipper Getaway Car , who sits as the 9-5 morning-line favorite for owners SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan.

The Curlin   colt raced in deep water throughout his 2-year-old season while competing against Citizen Bull , Gaming , and Journalism . Class relief proved the perfect starting point to a 3-year-old campaign as he ended a four-race losing streak with a hard-fought nose victory in the Feb. 16 Sunland Park Derby.

The grade 3 winner's first trip to the East Coast sees him acquiring the riding services of Irad Ortiz Jr.

On Your Left Racing's Omaha Omaha  should benefit if both of the favorites challenge each other early and get caught posting quick opening fractions. The deep-closing son of Audible  , trained by Michael Gorham, overcame a slow half-mile in :49.13 during the Feb. 1 Withers Stakes to reach third, his second placing in as many starts on the Derby trail.

His closing kick could be further aided depending on the tactics of BC Stable's American Promise  and Greenwell Thoroughbreds' Authentic Gallop , who have both shown some early pace in the maiden or allowance levels.

Three Diamonds Farm's Calling Card  and Baccari Racing Stable, Dream Walkin Farms, MJM Racing, and Rocket Ship Racing's Render Judgement could also benefit from a hot pace as they have typically settled in the back half of the field in prior starts.

Mens Grille Racing's two-time stakes winner Studlydoright  and West Paces Racing, Pavilion Racing, Brown Road Racing, Twin Sports Racing, and Cypresshead Racing's Georgia Magic  round out the field.

Insights From Thoro-Graph

• Calling Card ran a big one (4 1/2) in his third start but has been tailing off since.

• American Promise gradually worked his way down to a 5 in December. Progressive 3-year-olds should be matching or improving on their tops (best efforts) at least every other race, and this one has not gotten back to that level in two starts, but his short-term pattern could lead to a good effort now.

• Omaha Omaha is yet another one with an isolated back figure (5 1/2) he hasn't gotten back to and a neutral pattern since.

• Getaway Car is the most solid of these, but he's still where he was in October (5). He has lots of figures that make him strong here, but he's in the same position Owen Almighty  was last week—unless he goes forward right now, he's just an early developer. Owen Almighty definitely did.

• Rapture went forward to a 6 in just his second start. Until he levels off or bounces, we won't know what this colt's ceiling is, and if one of these is going to be a contender in major 3-year-old races going forward, it's probably this one.

Thoro-Graph performance figures are calculated based on a race's time with adjustments for beaten lengths, track speed, ground loss, weight carried, and when necessary, wind. The lower the number, the better the race. Sheets for the Virginia Derby are accessible here. Learn more about how to analyze Thoro-Graph data at www.thorograph.com/basics.