BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Winless in four starts this year, all in stakes, Baalbek Corp.’s Wayne’s Law tries to break through with a victory Sunday night in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort. The Florida-bred colt trained by Amador M. Sanchez will face seven other 3-year-olds going nine furlongs.
A victory in a Grade 3 outside Florida would produce a $5,000 Export Incentive for breeder Margaret McFarland, paid by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association.
Wayne’s Law was a seven-and-a-quarter-length winner of last year’s Aventura Stakes going a mile at Gulfstream Park and started this year finishing second to Renegade in the $210,000 Sam F. Davis (Listed) stakes on the Triple Crown trail that ran through Tampa Bay Downs on February 7. Sanchez kept Wayne’s Law at Gulfstream for his next three races, starting against the best of his class in the Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby on March 28. He stumbled at the start of the Florida Derby but recovered to set the pace through five furlongs before finishing fifth behind winner Commandment.
He was off the board in his only race on grass in the $96,000 English Channel on May 2 then was third in his last race, the $91,000 Carry Back won by Florida-bred Langvad going seven furlongs on June 27.
Wayne’s Law has won two of eight career starts with a second and three thirds with earnings of $177,730. Baalbek bought him for $25,000 out of last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale where he was consigned by JP Thoroughbreds.
Diego Herrera will ride Wayne’s Law from post seven and they are 8-1 on the morning line.
J J Grey tries to stretch his winning streak to four, going back to a five-length victory in a first condition, $100,000 optional claiming going a mile-and-a-sixteenth at Oaklawn Park on May 2. He has won two stakes at Prairie Meadows, taking the $50,000 Prairie Mile on June 13 and the $250,000 Iowa Derby (Listed) going a mile-and-a-sixteenth on July 11.
The grey or roan son of Street Boss is trained by Ken McPeek for Ron Hutcherson’s Sharmrock Stables, MJM Racing and Magdalena Racing and has earned $346,988 from five wins in 10 starts.
The morning line favorite at 2-1, J J Grey has post four and will be ridden by Emmanuel Esquivel.
Rounding out the field are Nehalem and jockey Kevin Gonzalez, Baytown Dreamer will have Deshawn Parker in the irons, Kazushi Kimura rides Trendsetter, Zihnal has John Velazquez named to ride, Maximum Effort has Ramon Vazquez in the saddle, and Micah Husbands will captain Bull by the Horns.
Return to the August 8 issue of Wire to Wire
