Cheyenne Stable LLC’s Mondego will face 10 fellow 3-year-olds when he goes postward in the $500,000 Virginia Derby Saturday at Colonial Downs.
The bay son of Lope de Vega (IRE) is shortening back in distance slightly after the 1 ¼-mile Belmont Derby (G1), where he finished third, a length behind the winner, and the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby (G1) in August.
The Virginia Derby is at 1 1/8-miles on the turf, which is the same distance that Mondego broke his maiden at Keeneland in April and took a Belmont allowance on June. 2.
Trained by Christophe Clement, Mondego will be ridden for the first time on Saturday by Trevor McCarthy. He drew post 6 in the 11-horse field.
The Virginia Derby is the 10th race on a stakes-laden card, with a post time of 6:20 pm ET. It can be seen on FanDuel TV.
