Dragoon Guard, Running Away Headline Inaugural Virginia Derby Day Undercard Stakes
Posted on March 9th, 2026
NEW KENT, VA. (March 9, 2026) — Multiple graded stakes winner Dragoon Guard and G3 winner Running Away headline the Virginia Derby Day undercard stakes action Saturday at Colonial Downs, including the inaugural runnings of the $100,000 Royal New Kent Stakes and two divisions of the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Sandy Bottom Stakes.
The 1-mile Royal New Kent Stakes, carded as Race 5, will kick off the 50-cent Old Dominion Pick 6 (15% takeout), which covers the entirety of Saturday’s stakes action.
Trained by Brad Cox, Dragoon Guard’s resume includes the G3 Indiana Derby and G3 West Virginia Derby. Set to make his 5-year-old debut, the Juddmonte homebred concluded his 4-year-old campaign with a second-place finish to Moonlight in November’s Cherokee Mile at Churchill Downs. Tabbed as the even money morning-line favorite, Dragoon Guard drew the outside post in the six-horse field and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Among his challengers are Komorebino Omoide, winner of the G3 Steve Sexton Mile who most recently added the Stymie at Aqueduct to his stakes resume for trainer Rob Atras, and Rolando, who set the Colonial Downs track record for 1 mile when winning the 2025 Petramalo Mile for trainer Fausto Gutierrez.
The Fasig-Tipton Sandy Bottom Stakes, a 1-mile event for older fillies and mares, drew 14 entries — enough to split the race into two divisions, carded as Races 6 and 7.
Stud TNT’s G3 Monmouth Oaks winner Running Away makes her 4-year-old debut in one division for trainer Wesley Ward. The three-time stakes winner, who was pegged as the 5-2 morning-line favorite, will be ridden by Victor Espinoza. Top challengers include Passage East, winner of the Barbara Fritchie Stakes at Laurel Park for trainer Hugh McMahon and Sheldon Russell; Chasten for trainer Brad Cox with Irad Ortiz, Jr.; and Her Laugh for trainer Riley Mott with Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez.
The second division features 2-1 morning-line favorite Eunomia, who finished third in the G3 Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream Park for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. The competitive group of seven includes top contenders Queen Azteca, winner of the 2025 G 3 UAE Oaks, who is making her fourth start for trainer Rudy Brisset; Conch Fried Rice, who holds the field’s top Beyer Speed Figure, a 92 earned in her last-out allowance victory at Fair Grounds for trainer Mike Stidham; and Miss Authentic, who exits a fifth-place finish behind Nitrogen in February’s G3 Bayakoa Stakes for Eddie Kenneally.
Virginia Derby Day highlights a three-day racing festival at Colonial Downs from March 12-14, headlined by the $500,000 Virginia Derby and $250,000 Virginia Oaks, both key races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks.
First post for the Virginia Derby Day 10-race program is Noon ET.
