D. Wayne Lukas has himself another Kentucky Derby runner.

BC Stables LLC’s American Promise, a horse Lukas himself described earlier this week as “like a big, awkward teenager,” showed he’s all grown up now, laying waste to the field in the $500,000 Virginia Derby. With the Virginia Derby’s 50 Kentucky Derby points to the winner, American Promise has secured a spot.

“Right now we’re going to enjoy the moment,” said winning rider Nik Juarez. “Happy to get the 50 points to get into the Derby.”

A mount there would be the first for Juarez.

American Promise, a hulking chestnut Justify colt, took a half-dozen tries to break his maiden, finally doing so at the end of December at Oaklawn Park. In two subsequent outings, he had been sixth (disqualified to seventh) in the Grade 3 Southwest and a distant fifth in the Grade 2 Risen Star.

“We were so disappointed early on through the winter,” recalled Lukas prior to the Virginia Derby. “He’s balanced now, and I think he is going to develop into a nice horse, hopefully this spring. As a May foal, he’s been immature in his early runnings.”

He’s a baby no more.

When the gates opened in the Virginia Derby, the Bob Baffert-trained Getaway Car – the 4-5 favorite off a hard-fought win in the Sunland Park Derby – zipped to the early advantage. But Juarez immediately steered his mount to press the favorite, and those two zipped through an opening half-mile in 45.20 seconds, with American Promise just a head behind the chalk.

“It was a perfect ride,” said Lukas’ assistant Sebastian Nicholls. “We wanted him to be close and to stalk the pace with Bob Baffert’s horse, and it worked out perfectly.”

Getaway Car gave way rounding the turn, and American Promise seized the lead by a length after three quarters in 1:08.39. From there the outcome was never in doubt: the final margin was 7 ¾ lengths, and the running time, 1:46.41 for nine furlongs on a fast main track, a new track record, albeit at a rarely run distance.

“That was a huge performance by (American Promise),” said Irad Ortiz, Jr., who rode Getaway Car.

Render Judgment, who wore blinkers for the first time, was part of the early fray but then back off to allow the Baffert and Lukas runners to knock heads, came on to be second, three parts of a length ahead of the late-running Omaha Omaha. Getaway Car was fourth, just ahead of Studlydoright.

American Promise receives 50 points on the road to the Kentucky Derby and now has 55. Render Judgment earned 20 points and now has 29, while Omaha Omaha’s 15 push him to 26. Getaway Car has 46 after logging 10 points, while fifth-place finisher Studlydoright picked up five more and now has 11.

American Promise now has two wins from nine starts and earnings just shy of $445,000. He paid $16.80 to win, and with double-digit runners second and third, the exacta paid $94.50 for a buck and the trifecta returned $356.65 for fifty cents.

One race prior, Fondly wore down a stubborn foe in Anonima and then held off Early On to win the Virginia Oaks by a half-length. The Oaks offers the winner 50 Kentucky Oaks points.

“Down the stretch she kept coming all the way to the wire,” said Ortiz, who rode the winner. “My filly stepped up today.”

Fondly is now two-for-two in her young career. She is trained by Graham Motion for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

Juarez, American Promise’s rider, is named to ride Innovator, another Lukas-trained, BC Stables-owned runner, in next week’s Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park, the first 100-point race on the Derby trail.

Asked how he might split this colt and that one, were he to win next week, Juarez in essence said words that have been true for a long time in Triple Crown racing: In D. Wayne he trusts.

Lukas has won four Kentucky Derbies and 15 overall Triple Crown races, and though his last Derby came last century – with Charismatic in 1999 – his most recent Preakness came just last year with Seize the Grey.

“Luckily, Mr. Lukas has a long line of doing this himself, and he’s made a long career of doing that,” Juarez said. “So I’m just the guy who’s lucky enough to be named on his horses and have a great relationship in the barn. It’s such an honor to ride for a Hall of Famer like Mr. Lukas and to head to the Derby for him, it’s a dream come true.”