Fear the Cowboy hits the road again, this time to Mountaineer

Fear the Cowboy will be breaking new ground in his career when he runs next month at Mountaineer Park. It will be the first West Virginia start for the 5-year-old horse, who has spent most of the spring and summer at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La.

“He’s run at 11 different racetracks,” trainer Efren Loza Jr. said.

Loza said Fear the Cowboy is targeting the $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes on Aug. 5. The horse is coming off a second-place finish by a head to Eagle in the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial Stakes on July 15 at Indiana Grand.

Loza sent Fear the Cowboy to Keeneland after the Schaefer because the travel time to Mountaineer will be much shorter than shipping back out of Louisiana. Fear the Cowboy ran second in last month’s $100,000 Evangeline Mile before the start in Indiana. He was beaten a half-length by Iron Fist, who in his next start won the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows.

Fear the Cowboy’s most significant win came in the Grade 3 Skip Away in February at Gulfstream Park. He’s also raced at Gulfstream Park West, Tampa, Delta Downs, Canterbury, Fair Grounds, Sam Houston, and Sunland Park. Fear the Cowboy is a winner of 7 of 23 starts, and is owned by Kathleen Amaya and Raffaele Centofanti.

Loza said Jesus Rios will ride Fear the Cowboy in the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes.

Fear the Cowboy is not the lone stakes starter Loza will have Aug. 5. He will run Look Into My Eyes in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and Jilotepec in the $60,000 Prelude at Louisiana Downs. Taco, a stakes winner who has not run since finishing second in the Pasadena in March at Santa Anita, will not be ready for an intended start in the Prelude, Loza said.