CNL: Stowaway headlines Golden Horseshoe ‘cap
Va. Derby mini-meet kicks off March 12
Press Release
March 6, 2026
In the best form of his career, P413 Racing’s Stowaway headlines the inaugural $100,000 Golden Horseshoe Handicap, which drew a competitive field of seven older males for the 1 3/8-mile affair.
Buoyed by a sellout crowd for its inaugural running one year ago, Virginia Derby week is set for March 12-14, with a three-day slate of racing, including seven stakes or handicaps, entertainment and special promotions leading up to Saturday’s marquee stakes program. First post is 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday and Noon ET Saturday.
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The Golden Horseshoe is scheduled as Race 7 of Thursday’s eight-race program.
Shipping in from Fair Grounds, Stowaway recently earned a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure when he finished third to Not This Boy in the Tenacious before a disappointing fifth in the G3 Mineshaft. On a track that favored speed, Stowaway broke sharply but was taken back in the Mineshaft, leaving him to watch the leaders battle as Hit Show prevailed. On Thursday, the 7-year-old gelding trained by Whit Beckman drew post 3 and will receive the services of Martin Chuan.
Though none of the seven entrants have a win at the Golden Horseshoe distance, Jeffrey Drown’s Digital Ops boasts an allowance win at 1 3/16 miles, as well as a strong performance in the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone, finishing one length back in second to Parchment Party last summer at Saratoga. Tyler Gaffalione will ride Digital Ops for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
Currently leading the colony in earnings at Gulfstream Park’s Championship Meet, Gaffalione has five calls on Thursday’s card at Colonial Downs.
The field also includes a couple of names familiar to Mid-Atlantic racing fans. Trainer Lynn Ashby will send out Curio Racing’s eight-time winner In the Dance, a Laurel Park allowance winner Dec. 13. Mike Gorham will counter with On Your Left Racing’s four-year-old Omaha Omaha, winless since scoring in a Laurel Park allowance in late 2024 but having finished in the money in the Jerome, Withers, and Virginia Derby.
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