Through the first two starts of his career for Javier Contreras, Septarian has displayed plenty of promise and potential. The two-year-old has already recorded a pair of victories at two different ovals while exhibiting the same tactical approach.

Contreras owns and trains Septarian, who remained perfect through the early stages of his career November 8 when he rallied from just off the pace to overhaul even-money choice Say Me True to score by 1 ¾ lengths in a six-furlong allowance/optional claimer at Laurel Park. Septarian got the distance in a solid 1:10.45 on a fast main track as the 9-2 fourth choice with Juan Nunez aboard.

“He ran really well the other day at Laurel,” said Contreras. “He finished up really nicely. He’s always shown me that he has plenty of ability, and he’s much more mature than a lot of two-year-olds that I’ve ever trained. He doesn’t even need a lead pony when he goes out on the track.”

Septarian had previously won his career debut at Charles Town September 19 in a one-turn maiden special weight dash, chasing down even-money choice Blessednotlucky for a two-length score while stopping the timer in 52.01 for the 4 1/2 furlongs as the 2-1 second choice with Nunez aboard. Blessednotlucky was 10 lengths clear of the third-place finisher.

“Ever since the first time I took him to the track he acted like a nice horse,” Contreras said. “He just seemed to get better and better with each work. He broke well in his debut and he just kept lengthening his stride through the stretch. He definitely acts like he wants to go even longer.”

Because Septarian is not West Virginia-bred – he was bred in Kentucky by International Equities Holding, Inc. – Contreras had no option to run him in the recent local stakes. There are a couple of two-year-old allowance races in the Charles Town book December 11-12 that might become Septarian’s next start. But for the moment, Contreras is considering hunting bigger game.

“There’s another stakes race at Laurel [the $100,000 Heft Stakes] toward the end of the year [December 28] that I am considering running him in,” the trainer said. “He already has a win over the track, so it might be worth a shot.”

Septarian is a gelded son of Protonico out of the Amadeus Wolf mare Amadeus Melody. In his only trip through the sales ring, he RNAed at the Keeneland January 2023 mixed sale.

Contreras is perhaps best known for his success with West Virginia-bred star Late Night Pow Wow, heroine of both the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks and later the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel. In a career that began in 1985, Contreras has won more than 920 races, with his charges earning over $17 million in purse earnings.

NOTES Maggie’s Girl won for the fourth time in six outings Saturday on the undercard of the West Virginia Futurity, taking an allowance contest by 1 ¼ lengths under pilot Larry Reynolds, with Happy Clouds a hard-trying second. Maggie’s Girl is a homebred for trainer Tim Grams. It was one of Grams’s three Saturday winners…

Wednesday’s action likely marked the end of a busy and eventful racing season for Bradley Do Right, who finished sixth (behind Cecil the Great) in a seven-furlong state-bred allowance. A homebred for trainer Keturah Obed-Letts, Bradley Do Right won once in 16 starts this year and was on the wrong end of an unusual occurrence Sept. 21, when he was literally left at the gate. “He was going to be the last horse loaded in post 10, and the starter didn’t see him back there and sprung the latches,” said Obed-Letts. “He was very apologetic afterward, but I was hoping to run him back on Breeders Classics night.”

While it’s not uncommon at tracks around the country for horses to be declared non-starters when still being handled in the gate, this one was a bit unusual. Charlie McIntosh, the track’s director of racing operations, said the track had since added new protocols as a fail-safe against a repeat and that he brought the race back as an extra, which allowed Bradley Do Right to run in a six-horse field two weeks later. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s one of those things that happens and you can’t just reload them in the gate and start over again. But we did try to make it right with Keturah to give the horse another opportunity to run, and we added this new protocol, this additional step, which should solve the problem,” McIntosh said…

Also possibly concluding his season this past weekend was Pork Chop Pete, who won an allowance Friday evening. Another Contreras trainee, the Golden Years gelding was first or second in nine of 10 starts, including four wins. Though unable to break through in stakes company this season, he did finish second in four different stakes en route to earning $125,648…

CHECK OUT THE LATEST OFF TO THE RACES RADIO!