Heading into the latest edition of the $300,000 West Virginia Breeders Classic for state-breds, more attention was focused on one of the horses that was not there instead of the 10 horses that actually loaded into the starting gate for the annual feature for this division.

Defending champion and reigning West Virginia-bred horse of the year Coastal Mission bypassed the race in favor or pointing for the Grade III, $250,000 Forty Niner Stakes at Aqueduct Race Course on October 26, which trainer Jeff Runco is hoping will serve as an ideal prep for the Grade II Cigar Mile five weeks later.

But even with Coastal Mission remaining in his barn stall on Saturday night, Runco still had plenty of representation in the Classic with two-time hero Muad’dib, who arrived roughly $50,000 shy of the $1 million plateau in his career for owner David Raim; and Runaldo, who had been competing primarily in two-turn allowance races this year and was seeking his first stakes score while trying three turns for the first time.

Regardless of the presence of the two Runco trainees, sophomore star Jubawithatwist (Gustavo Larrosa) was made the 3-5 favorite for owner-trainer Kristy Petty, although he had been idle since running fourth in the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial six weeks earlier. Jubawithatwist had also been entered in a three-turn allowance prep last month but was a late scratch that night.

When the gates opened in the latest edition it was a host of longshots that displayed the best early speed. But when the field hit the far turn for the second and final time, Muad’dib, Jubawithatwist and Runaldo occupied the top three spots and would decide the outcome in the final furlong. At times the three seemed inseparable, but in the final strides it was Runaldo who prevailed by three parts of a length, with Jubawithatwist edging Muad’dib for the place spot. It was 10 more lengths back to the rest of the field.

A four-year-old Creative Cause gelding trained by Runco for owner-breeder Huntertown Farm LLC (Eric Steinman), Runaldo notched his third win from nine seasonal outings by getting the one mile and one eighth in 1:53.24 as an overlooked 7-1 shot. Runaldo actually was named for his trainer-jockey combo, borrowing the front half from Runco and the first name from the rider.

“We had been hoping to run him three turns for a long time,” Runco said. “I called Eric early this week and told him he was going to get in and he was going to run big, so he flew in from California for this race. I knew once he was able to get to the rail before the clubhouse turn that he would be fine. Then when he rallied at the top of the lane, I thought he was going to win it.”

“He got floated a little wide on the first turn, but once he got settled he was really good,” Bocachica said. “When he started his move on the far turn I knew that I had a good chance. He was coming into the race perfect. I was a little disappointed not to be able to ride Coastal Mission here. I think he would have won. But Jeff knows the horse and now I’m looking forward to riding him in New York.”

The win was Runaldo’s fifth from 12 career starts. The winner’s share pushed his bankroll to nearly $230,000.

“This is the biggest race that we’ve ever run in,” Steinmann said. “Jeff was confident that he would run well. We had a lot of success together with Star of Night. She was also by Creative Cause, and she was our first really good West Virginia-bred. It all began [in West Virginia] with our friendship with O’Sullivan Farms and the Funkhousers. We realized that West Virginia was a great place to breed and race.”

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