WVBC: Sophomores steal the spotlight
Ryan’s Run, At a Premium dazzle in victory
Ted Black
October 12, 2026
While the Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders Classic and the Cavada both featured proven commodities and recognizable names among the older state-bred runners, perhaps the two most impressive performances on the 40th WVBC night were delivered by a pair of three-year-olds.
While there were certainly some upsets on the evening, both At A Premium and Ryan’s Run delivered as promised in their respective WVBC events for state-bred three-year-olds of both genders.
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At a Premium, a sophomore daughter of Great Notion trained by David Walters for owner-breeder Jill Daniel and Michael Miller, shook loose from God’s Pride to capture the $75,000 West Virginia Lottery BC by three lengths in 1:25.54 as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite. Regular pilot Jeiron Barbosa was in the irons.
“She’s been really good all year,” Walters said of At a Premium, who also attracted a staggering sum of nearly $370,000 in show wagers from a total pool just shy of $430,000. “She had a little lung infection after the [Grade 2, $750,000 Charles Town] Oaks that showed up. It was nothing serious, just something we needed to keep an eye on. She missed eight days of training, but she’s been going hard since the start of the year.”
Laurel Park has a pair of stakes for sophomores coming up Nov. 28 – the $100,000 City of Laurel at seven furlongs for the boys and the Safely Kept at the same distance and purse for fillies – and Mahoning Valley offers a $200,000 stakes for 3-year-old fillies and a $300,000 stakes for three-year-old boys Nov. 23.
But Walters said he’s inclined to pass.
“This will probably be it for her this year,” he said. “I had entertained thoughts of trying a stakes at Laurel in late November, but I think I am going to pass on it.”
At a Premium, who boasts five wins and just shy of $290,000 from six career starts, has been the odds-on favorite in all of them and sports a pair of stakes victories. Walters had bypassed a chance to face older rivals in the $125,000 Cavada on the card, noting that At a Premium could get two more opportunities to capture that event.
Zip Start won the Cavada on Saturday night in 1:26.55, a full second slower than the West Virginia Lottery.
At a Premium earned an 88 Beyer speed figure for the win, just below her career-high of 91.
Then two races later on the card, Ryan’s Run (Arnaldo Bocachica) delivered an even more impressive performance in the $75,000 West Virginia Russell Road Breeders Classic for state-bred three-year-old boys. Under jockey Arnaldo Bocachica, he broke well to duel with Coach Siggy through the clubhouse turn and down the backside, finally shook free from that foe then drew clear late to an 11 1/2-length score. A sophomore son of Runhappy trained by Jeff Runco and bred and owned by his and his wife Susan Runco’s Coleswood Farm, Inc., Ryan’s Run recorded his fifth win from six starts and pushed his bankroll toward $215,000 while stopping the timer in 1:24.56 for the seven panels.
Ryan’s Run’s Beyer fig of 99 was the best of his career.
“He came into this race super and I thought he ran really well tonight,” Runco said of Ryan’s Run, who recorded his third stakes victory on the season. “I really didn’t expect him to get pressed for that long. But he’s really good. We retired two of the better ones this year [Muad’dib and Coastal Mission] and then this one comes along and he’s really nice, too. I was hoping to start scaling back, but then a horse like this guy comes along and keeps me young.”
As was the case with the filly and mare events, three-year-old Ryan’s Run recorded a much faster clocking than the older male equivalent of that race, the $75,000 Onion Juice Breeders Classic, won by Dorado in 1:26.06 for the seven furlongs.
While Walters admitted that he will likely turn At a Premium out for the remainder of the year, Runco may try Ryan’s Run in an open stakes this fall either at Laurel Park or Mahoning Valley.
“The way he finished tonight, I think he’s got another race in him,” Runco said. “We’ll probably find another spot for him at Laurel or Mahoning. He’s been really good all year. But I think he’s definitely got another race in him this year.”
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