From the hills of West Virginia to the neat shedrow of the bulging 73-horse Stable That God Loves, the cheers were loud and long when Madefromlucky came off the pace with a powerful stretch run to easily defeat his eight hard-charging rivals by 1-1/2 lengths in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby Saturday at Mountaineer Park in Chester, WV.
Considered a horse for the course and potential upset threat to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes, the talented, chestnut colt owned by Mac Nichol of Erin, Ont. and Everett Dobson, one of the owners of the Oklahoma Thunder of the NBA, improved his record to four wins in 10 starts and banked $482,400 this season, one per cent of which will be donated to the Standardbred Chaplaincy of Canada through the Stable That God Loves.
Madefromlucky, who has been tackling the sport’s best three-year-olds and won the Gr.2 $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes earlier in the season, was ridden to victory by jockey Joe Bravo. The victory marked trainer Todd Pletcher’s first win in the West Virginia Derby, a one and one-eight mile test for three year-olds.
Following the race an elated Mac Nichol, who has enjoyed a multitude of success as a Standardbred owner said "Madefromlucky was much the best today. He won going away and pulled up just fine."
Madefromlucky is the lone Thoroughbred and the stable star and top money-winner in the 73-member Stable That God Loves, a major fundraising initiative for the Standardbred Racetrack Chaplaincy of Canada, which is dedicated to providing for the emotional, physical , spiritual and human needs of the horse racing work force in southern Ontario.
(Racetrack Chaplaincy/Stable That God Loves)