Bracket Buster makes 4-year-old bow in West Virginia Governor's
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Trainer Victoria Oliver has been meticulous in finding the right spot for Bracket Buster to make his 4-year-old debut. After scratching at Colonial Downs last weekend and cross-entering at Ellis Park, the colt will finally return in the $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes on Sunday at Mountaineer Park.
“We’ve had a few setbacks getting him back, and we knew we were going to miss the Keeneland meet and most of the Churchill meet,” Oliver said. “So we just took our time getting him ready so we could have him for the fall and in the winter races.”
In a strung-out Grade 1 Travers field last year, Bracket Buster made a statement as the distant runner-up behind Sovereignty. In the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park next time out, he went off at 2-5 odds and kicked clear by 3 1/4 lengths.
Oliver said she nearly wrapped up the colt’s 3-year-old campaign there, but she decided to give him a test against older horses in the Grade 3 Fayette at Keeneland in October. He finished fourth, 3 1/4 lengths behind the salty veteran Hit Show.
Bracket Buster tested longer distances last summer, but Oliver said she does not plan to stretch him out too far as a 4-year-old. In the West Virginia Governor’s, the 5-2 morning-line favorite will turn back to 1 1/16 miles for the first time since his seven-length romp in the $150,000 Pegasus at Monmouth Park in June 2025.
Neoequos and Hall of Fame both ran in the Grade 3 Hanshin at Churchill Downs in June and will stretch out slightly from that mile race. Neoequos earned a career-best 97 Beyer for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., but he was overwhelmed in the deep field and ran on for fifth.
Hall of Fame, a 5-year-old trained by Steve Asmussen, rallied for third that day in what appeared to be a renewed effort. After stringing together four triple-digit Beyers early last year, he slipped in form and took nine months off, returning in May with work to do.
“I think this is the right spot to get him back on track,” Asmussen said. “He’s capable of better than he’s done so far this year, but I’m out of excuses. It’s time to run.”
Trainer Robertino Diodoro said he wanted to give Itsmybirthday more distance last month, but he ultimately ran in the $100,000 Iowa Sprint at Prairie Meadows and closed for second. The 4-year-old is still looking for his first stakes victory and has finished second in his three most recent tries.
“He had a little setback, roughly a year ago, and he’s come back bigger and better than he was before,” Diodoro said. “Sometimes, things happen for a reason.”
Mogul, a Chilean-bred trained by Amador Sanchez, made his North American debut at a mile in May, dueling to win a first-level allowance at Gulfstream Park. He will step up to stakes company off a short layoff.
“The two turns is going to be really good for him,” Sanchez said. “My brother [Rodrigo Andres Sanchez Quinteros] trained this horse in Chile. I know he’s a champion.”
Warp Nine, an outsider trained by Harold Wyner, shipped to Saratoga last month and won a $130,000 allowance with a career-best 99 Beyer.
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