Trainer Steve Asmussen has been winning the Riley Allison at Sunland Park since it was a race for 2-year-olds. He’s kept on winning it since it was reshaped into a 3-year-old prep for the Sunland Park Derby, and on Sunday will attempt to win a ninth Riley Allison when he saddles Way Beyond. The $100,000 Riley Allison Derby is a one-mile race that anchors Sunday’s card of four stakes designed to serve as stepping-stones to the Sunland Derby Day card of six stakes on Feb. 15. Asmussen has won three runnings of Riley Allison Derby and before that won five runnings of the Riley Allison Futurity from 2001 to 2010. Way Beyond could go favored in the field of nine, when he meets Zia Park Juvenile winner Walter the Mason, Lost in the Fog Juvenile winner Mischief Maker, and the promising Truly Unbelievable. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Way Beyond is looking for his first win around two turns after running fourth in the $100,000 Jean Lafitte at Delta Downs won by Oscar’s Hope and fifth in the $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park won by Express Kid. “He’s trying, he’s keeping good company,” Asmussen said of nailing down a two-turn win. Jockey Keith Asmussen, who was to have returned to the saddle Friday night at Sam Houston after being sidelined by injury since November, reunites with Way Beyond from post 2. “Keith has won on him,” Asmussen said. “I think [the horse] will suit Sunland. He’s got a little versatility, but he did come from off of it when he did win.” Way Beyond, who will add a set of blinkers, closed from ninth for a nose win in a maiden sprint at Churchill Downs in September. Following the start, he came back and was third in a first-level allowance sprint won by Oscar’s Hope. Ed and Susie Orr own Way Beyond, who brings one of the field’s best collections of Beyer Speed Figures into the Riley Allison. Truly Unbelievable also is looking to secure his first win at two turns. He was an 8 3/4-length debut winner in a maiden race at Remington Park in September, then was second in an entry-level allowance at two turns on turf in November. Truly Unbelievable enters the Riley Allison Derby off an uncharacteristic ninth in the Zia Park Juvenile. “I really believe we can throw that race out, especially after listening to [jockey] Ramon [Vazquez] and what he had to say about the whole race,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said. “The first two jumps out of the gate Ramon said he knew he was in trouble. He just hated the surface. He said the whole race he tried to get him to the outside, tried a couple different things, and he would not take a liking or get a hold of the racetrack.” Diodoro said he also feels the strategy that was decided upon that day ended up working against Truly Unbelievable. “I don’t think this horse wants to be rushed,” he said. “Ramon and I talked about sending him because the track was playing so speed-biased and I really think we took him out of his element. Between the surface and the way we sent him, I really believe you can throw the race in the garbage.” Diodoro said he’s hopeful Truly Unbelievable is a horse meant for two turns. “Just the way he trains,” he said. “He’s not built like a sprinter – he is going through a little bit of growing right now – but just the way he trains. All his works, his gallop-outs, he definitely seems like a horse that wants to go two turns.” Truly Unbelievable will break from the rail under Orlando Mojica. Borderplex Not a Lady will attempt to give Asmussen a second consecutive win in the $65,000 Borderplex when she leads a field of five. Not a Lady will be cutting back to one turn for the 6 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies. She won at a mile last out in the $75,000 Toby Keith at Remington Park. It was her third win in her last four starts, among them a maiden special weight sprint at Remington. “I’m trying to keep her winning,” Asmussen said. “It was a good run from her last time, obviously the outcome we were looking for, and before that she was a solid second in the stakes at Delta. I hope the Borderplex is the right next step for her, with our eyes toward the Sunland Oaks.” The Sunland Oaks, which is a one-mile race, will be run Feb. 15. Asmussen has won the last two editions of the race, one for Winchell Thoroughbreds, which races Not a Lady. Fort Bliss The millionaire Ryvit will be looking for his third straight win when he returns to stakes company in the $75,000 Fort Bliss at six furlongs. Overall, he’s won three of his last four starts, with his lone loss a close second in the $100,000 Zia Park Sprint. He enters off a pair of allowance wins at Remington and Oaklawn Park. “He’s in peak form,” Asmussen said. “He’s run four very solid races in a row and I think this is a good spot for him.” ◗ Lookinforbargains makes her first start since winning the Zia Park Distaff in November in the $65,000 Bold Ego, which drew 12. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.