Mountaineer Race Track Zanjero, rear, ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, edges Bwana Bull to win the West Virginia Derby yesterday at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, W.Va. Click photo for larger image.

CHESTER, W.Va. -- The aggravating thing about Zanjero's earlier performances in graded stakes was his tendency to drive close to or take the lead, then get distracted and surrender it.

That wasn't the case yesterday as he held off a late, determined lunge by Bwana Bull to win by a nose in the Grade 3, $750,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Race Track.

Ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, Zanjero clocked a relatively slow winning time of 1:53.04 for the 1¹/₈-mile distance. The 3-1 second choice in the field of eight, Zanjero returned $8, $4.60 and $2.80.

Bwana Bull went off at 20-1 under Mountaineer-based jockey Dana Whitney and finished six lengths in front of third-place Moyer's Pond.

Fourth-place Sam P. was another length back, and Delightful Kiss, the 2-1 favorite and Ohio Derby winner, finished fifth.

Only once before has a West Virginia Derby been decided by so narrow a margin -- this occurred when Wardlaw beat American Trader by a nod of the head.

"[Bwana Bull] was crowding us as we went down the stretch, but Zanjero had a little bit of a late surge in him, and that was enough to keep us in front," Bridgmohan said.

"Inside the eighth-pole, I could smell victory," said Whitney, who had won the 2001 edition of the West Virginia Derby with Western Pride. "Another couple of strides, and we would have had it."

Owned by the mother-and-son team of Joan and Ron Winchell, Zanjero is trained by Steve Asmussen, who gained his second West Virginia Derby victory. Asmussen also won the richest and only graded race in West Virginia with Real Dandy in 2005.

Zanjero has made 11 starts, with three victories and six placings among them, and his $450,000 share of the West Virginia Derby purse elevated his career earnings to $772,016.

Norjac, an 85-1 long shot, covered the first quarter-mile in 24.13 seconds, the half in 48.41. Zanjero then drove to the front and registered a 1:13.24 for three-quarters and 1:39.9 for the mile.

"Well, they sure enough weren't quick, but that was OK," said jockey Mark Guidry, who was attempting to gain his third consecutive West Virginia Derby win with Moyer's Pond.

		Today Race: The Haskell Invitational. Where: Monmouth Park, Oceanport, N.J. Distance: 11/8 miles. Favorite: Curlin is even money with Street Sense at 5-2. Curlin won the Preakness Stakes and finished second in the Belmont. Purse: $1 million. Of note: The Breeders' Cup will be run at Monmouth Park in October for the first time in the history of the series.

"But the track was very safe -- and I'll take that over a fast time any day."

Zanjero, bred in Kentucky, was bought for $700,000 by the Winchells at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is by 1994 North American sprint champion Cherokee Run, and his pedigree includes Affirmed and Alydar, who dueled in the 1978 Triple Crown events.

As a two-year-old, Zanjero finished second in the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct. This year, he had been second in the Northern Dancer Stakes at Churchill and third in the Risen Star Stakes, Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Following the West Virginia Derby, Ron Winchell indicated Zanjero would next run Labor Day in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park.

"It's a $1 million race," Winchell said. "And, if he does well in that, we may try on the bigger boys later in the year."

The nine-stakes card at Mountaineer had a total purse distribution of $1,542,950, the highest of any track in North America yesterday. Total wagering handle from all sources was $2,604,786.