All Eyes on Trendsetter in West Virginia Derby

Davant Latham's well-traveled 3-year-old gelding Trendsetter  looks to return to the winner's circle in the $400,000 West Virginia Derby (G3) Aug. 9 at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.

The Ben Colebrook trainee is coming off back-to-back thirds in the June 20 Ohio Derby (G3) at Thistledown and the May 9 Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack. Those races came after the son of Modernist   upset the Lexington Stakes (G3) field at Keeneland back in April, when he pulled away by 2 1/4 lengths under the wire to earn his first graded stakes victory. That performance earned him his career-high Equibase Speed Figure of 96.

“We think it’s a good spot for him,” Colebrook said of the 1 1/8-mile West Virginia Derby. "Trendsetter is a consistent horse that shows up every time."

He also flashed his talent at 2, when he took the non-black-type Hickory Tree Stakes last August at Colonial Downs. 

"We always thought he would go long later on (in his career)," Colebrook said. "With 2-year-olds, there aren’t many races for a horse to stretch out. And mentally, he was a little backward. But he has matured, and we were hoping he would have a big 3-year-old campaign, which he has."

Trendsetter, bred by Circle B Family Farm out of the Astrology  mare Suyapa , was bought for $130,000 by Latham at the 2025 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale from the Grassroots Training and Sales consignment.

"These minor derbies with big purses are what we targeted," Colebrook said. "If he wins, we might look for something more."

Trendsetter enters the West Virginia Derby with three wins from 10 career starts, and has competed in a trio of grade 3 races where he has never run worse than third. He is the highest-earning entrant in the field, with $495,962 in career earnings.

Seeking his fourth consecutive win is the Kenny McPeek-trained J J Grey .

A son of Street Boss  owned by Shamrock Stables, MJM Racing, and Magdalena Racing, he capped his current hot streak in the Iowa Derby July 11 at Prairie Meadows, where he won by 1 3/4 lengths over Lexington Stakes runner-up The Hell We Did .

J J Grey is out of the Fairbanks mare Norquay , an earner of more than $200,000 herself.

He enters with four wins from six starts in his 2026 campaign, showcasing career earnings of $346,988, the second-highest earner in the field. 

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Maximum Effort , third in the Iowa Derby, joins J J Grey in the West Virginia Derby.

Besides Trendsetter and J J Grey, Sunday's race includes two other stakes winners: Wayne's Law  and Bull by the Horns .

Bull by the Horns will race with blinkers off.

Meanwhile, Wayne's Law will be adding blinkers, along with Augustin Stables' Zihnal , a son of Quality Road   who ran fourth in the 1 1/16-mile Indiana Derby (G3) with a troubled trip.

"Between his pedigree and physical makeup, we feel he will go further, but time will tell," trainer Jonathan Thomas said.