Photo:

NYRA / Walter Wlodarczyk / Coglianese Photo

The Grade 3, $500,000 Virginia Derby will be run on Saturday at Colonial Downs as the summer meeting nears its end. A field of 12 3-year-olds, led by the 3-1 morning-line favorite Deterministic, will race 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

The field contains three horses who appeared on the Kentucky Derby trail, five who are stakes winners and one in a graded stakes. All of the horses are winners on the grass, four have a victory in their most recent start, and they came to the Virginia Derby from five different tracks.

Here is a full-field analysis for the Virginia Derby with the official track morning-line odds. Scheduled as race 10 of 12, post time is set for 6:15 p.m. EDT.

1. Herchee, 5-1. Twirling Candy – Helen Pitts / Edgar Morales – 2: 2-0-0 – $112,390. Herchee won both starts of his career in one-mile turf races with a maiden victory at Churchill Downs in June and a first-level allowance at Ellis Park. Speed figures fit with the rest of the field, but the inside post position could present a problem for this horse who pressed the pace in his only races. Toss.

2. Grand Mo the First, 4-1. Uncle Mo – Victor Barboza Jr. / Paco Lopez – 8: 3-0-4 – $259,200. Grand Mo the First came back from a three-month layoff to win a turf stakes at Gulfstream Park against a six-horse field. His name is familiar from his pair of third-place finishes on the Kentucky Derby trail in the Tampa Derby (G3) and the Florida Derby (G1) that led to an 18th-place finish in the run for the roses. It looks like Grand Mo the First is a better horse going the mile distance on the turf. Win contender.

3. Deterministic, 3-1. Liam’s Map – Christophe Clement / Manny Franco – 6: 2-1-1 – $367,750. Deterministic is the only graded-stakes winner in the field with his victory in the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct on the road to the Kentucky Derby. The win was in the second start of his career. Two more tries on the main track were unproductive before he was switched to the turf. Deterministic was second in the Manila (G3) at the Big A and third in the Saratoga Derby (G1). He is the leading money winner in this field. Trainer Christophe Clement had three winners at Colonial this summer. Clement won the 2008 Virginia Derby with Gio Ponti, and jockey Manny Franco was a winner in this race in 2016. The one to beat.

4. Izzy d’Oro, 30-1. Get Stormy – Kelly Blake / David Cohen – 7: 2-0-0 – $139,225. Izzy d’Oro broke his maiden in his fourth start at Gulfstream on the synthetic surface in March and then returned to win a turf allowance at Keeneland with a front-end effort. In two subsequent starts in turf stakes on the grass he set the pace and faded at Monmouth Park and Saratoga. Toss.

5. Frontline Warrior, 30-1. War Front – Shug McGaughey / Victor Cheminaud – 7: 1-1-1 – $117,512. As a son of War Front, Frontline Warrior has made all seven of his starts on the turf. He broke his maiden in his third try last October at Keeneland and then raced in three stakes and an allowance with a fourth-place finish topping the results. Last seen, he was fifth in the Kent at Delaware Park after a three-month layoff. Trainer Shug McGaughey won this race last year with Integration and in 2011 with Air Support. Toss.

6. In a Jam, 6-1. Preservationist – Mark Casse / Mychel Sanchez – 14: 3-3-4 – $259,941. In a Jam broke his maiden in his sixth start, which happened in January at Gulfstream going a mile after pressing the pace. He won an allowance in his next start and ran in five stakes at three tracks. In a Jam was a winner at Gulfstream in June on the synthetic track. Last month, he was third in the Secretariat (G2) at Colonial after running into traffic at the 1/8 pole. The Virginia Derby will be the longest race of his career. Win contender.

7. Desvio, 8-1. Yoshida – Madison Meyers / Ben Curtis – 7: 3-0-0 – $168,680. Desvio began his career on the turf in November and then raced four times on the main track at Laurel Park. He got his maiden victory on the dirt by nine lengths. In May he was moved back onto the grass and won his last two starts, an allowance at Pimlico and then in the Kent. Desvio has not raced since the beginning of July, when he became a stakes winner. Win contender.

8. Massif, 30-1. Sky Mesa – Brittany Russell / Sheldon Russell – 11: 2-3-2 – $171,875. Massif has 11 career starts, and they were all on the grass. He broke his maiden at Colonial last summer by more than seven lengths. The homebred ran a series of races where he was slow out of the gate, and rallied late but got too far behind. In July Massif won a restricted allowance at Colonial after staying closer to the lead. He was eighth in his most recent start. Toss.

9. Echo Lane, 15-1. Treasure Beach – Rohan Crichton / Antonio Gallardo – 15: 4-2-3 – $146,903. Echo Lane was claimed in November for $25,000 and then won a maiden claimer at that level in his next start. He raced seven times since then with a state-bred allowance victory at Gulfstream on the turf and a starter allowance at Colonial last month after pressing the pace. Toss.

10. Oscar’s World, 12-1. Oscar Performance – Brian Lynch / Martin Garcia – 8: 2-2-1 – $137,854. Oscar’s World was another maiden winner at Gulfstream, which he did in February during the championship meeting as an odds-on favorite. He was second in an allowance on the Tapeta at the Florida track before running 11th in the Transylvania (G3) at Keeneland. His last two starts at Ellis Park produced an allowance win and a fourth in an August stakes race. Use underneath.

11. Fulmineo, 15-1. Bolt d’Oro – Arnaud Delacour / Victor Carrasco – 11: 3-4-1 – $272,275. Fulmineo got his maiden win at Colonial a year ago on the turf in his second start, leading to a second in the Pilgrim (G3) at Aqueduct. That got him into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, where he ran into traffic in the stretch to finish five lengths behind the winner. Since then, Fulmineo tried the Kentucky Derby trail and eventually returned to the turf and won a pair of stakes in a row at Pimlico and Colonial. Last month the Saratoga Derby (G1) was too tough and he finished last. Win contender.

12. Zverev, 10-1. Oscar Performance – Cherie DeVaux / Jorge Ruiz – 8: 2-0-1 – $135,030. Zverev needed five tries to break his maiden and then did so on the synthetic track at Turfway Park in March. In June he won an allowance at Churchill on the grass earning a fast speed figure after pressing the pace. A month ago, he was sixth in the Hall of Fame (G2) at Saratoga, where he got bumped around and pinched back at the start. Live long shot.

Summary: In the Virginia Derby field of 12, four horses have a class advantage on the turf, Deterministic, In a Jam, Fulmineo and Zverev.

Zverev is from the barn of Cherie DeVaux, who won several big races during the summer. If you excuse his troubled trip in the Hall of Fame (G2), he can be a live long shot. Fulmineo won a pair of turf stakes in a row recently, and no other horse in the field did that. In a Jam was third in the Secretariat (G2) after having traffic trouble in the stretch. Deterministic’s only two turf starts were in graded stakes and resulted in top three finishes, making him the horse to beat.