(May 7, 2009) - Saturday’s 13th running of the Grade 3, $400,000 Lone Star Derby, for 3-year-olds, to be run at 1 1/16 miles over the main track, features the 1-2 punch of Mayor Marv and Mythical Power, trained by Bob Baffert, and a trio of Steve Asmussen-trained colts in Galloping Gulch, Uno Mas, and Dumar.

Mayor Marv, owned by Mike Pegram, and Mythical Power, owned by Peachtree Stable, were last seen running in the $900,000 Sunland Derby in New Mexico, a race that produced 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who finished fourth in that contest.

Mythical Power, a winner of one of four starts for $218,000, finished second in the Sunland Derby while Mayor Marv, victorious in two of eight starts for $119,208, finished 11th in the 12-horse affair. Mythical Power, the morning line favorite at 2-1, will be ridden by Victor Espinoza, who won this race in 2006 aboard Wanna Runner, while David Flores, winner of the inaugural Lone Star Derby on Anet in 1997, will be on Mayor Marv.

“You never know how they’ll handle racing over dirt until they try it,” said Baffert of Mythical Power, who made his first dirt start in the Sunland Derby, “but he handled it fine and he’s trained well at Churchill Downs. I think he’s going to run well on Saturday.”

With regard to the sub-par performance of Mayor Marv in the Sunland Derby Baffert added, “he’s sort of a lazy horse and he got caught up in a really fast early pace. He looked great in his workout the other morning and we’re hoping that he’ll bounce back with the type of performance he’s capable of.” (Mayor Marv had a bullet 59.3 seconds, five-furlong workout over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs on Monday, May 4.)

Not to be outdone by Baffert, Lone Star Park’s all-time leading trainer Steve Asmussen will send out three in the Lone Star Derby. Galloping Gulch, owned by Zayat Stables LLC, Uno Mas, owned by Cathy and Bob Zollars and Mark Wagner, and Dumar, owned by Heiligbrodt Racing Stable.

Uno Mas and Dumar appear to be the two to focus on for Asmussen. Uno Mas, a winner of two of nine starts for $105,800, was last seen finishing a fast-closing second in the $75,000 Northern Spur at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, and Dumar, a winner of two of seven starts for $73,370, finished a troubled sixth in the Sunland Derby last time out.

Another notable in the Lone Star Derby is the Doug O’Neill-trained Cape Truth, a lightly raced colt who has been impressive in winning two of his three starts in California for $57,400 in earnings, including a win in his career debut over morning line favorite Mythical Power going seven furlongs.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of: Galloping Gulch (Chris Landeros, 15-1); Cape Truth (Michael Baze, 5-2); Uno Mas (Cliff Berry, 3-1); Red Lead (Eddie Martin, Jr., 15-1); Mayor Marv (David Flores, 6-1); Dumar (Shaun Bridgmohan, 12-1); and Mythical Power (Victor Espinoza, 2-1).

Scheduled as race 10 on the 11-race program, the Lone Star Derby has an approximate post time of 5:47 p.m.