Valiant Heart Z and jockey Jorge Garcia win the Restricted Grade 3 $131,287 Delta Downs Louisiana Bred Derby on July 11 at Delta Downs.

© Hodges Photography

By Emily Paulk, StallioneSearch

VINTON, LA–JULY 11, 2026–Valiant Heart Z extended his winning streak to four races on Saturday night, defeating San Lorenzo Bossman by 1¼ lengths in the Restricted Grade 3 $131,287 Delta Downs Louisiana Bred Derby at Delta Downs.

Ridden by Jorge Garcia, Valiant Heart Z covered 400 yards in :19.553 while earning a 105 speed index. The bay gelding dueled for the lead early before finding another gear in the stretch to pull away from his rivals.

Owned by Luis Armando Castellanos and trained by Santiago Villaseca, Valiant Heart Z was bred in Louisiana by Slash Z Quarter Horses. The $25,000 LQHBA Yearling Sale graduate is by All American Derby (G1) winner Gold Heart Eagle V and out of the stakes-placed Valiant Hero mare YM Valentine.

Winning connections of Valiant Heart Z. © Hodges Photography

The victory was worth $65,643 and boosted the gelding's earnings to $152,288. He now sports a record of 11-6-3-1 and has won four consecutive races, including the LQHBA Louisiana Million Invitational Stakes.

Following the race, Castellanos shared the story behind acquiring the talented gelding.

“I’m gonna tell what happened with him,” Castellanos said. “When I bought him, I was looking for another horse and I got confused. When I bought him, he wasn’t the one I was going to buy. He’s a good horse. Since I bought him, I said, well, I think he’s going to be the one that’s going to be for me.”

Castellanos credited his team and family for the gelding's success.

“Santiago Villaseca has done a lot of good work on it,” he said. “Today he (Valiant Heart Z)  proved that he can run. He’s a runner.”

“We're all happy,” he continued. “Thanks to my trainer and all the people working behind all this. A lot of people don't see what is going on behind all this. When you win the races, there are a lot of people behind this. All my family, my wife, my kids, they all support me, so I'm glad to win this race today.”

San Lorenzo Bossman finished second under Leonardo Rodriguez. The Rogelio Marquez Jr. trainee dueled with the winner throughout before settling for second while earning a 98 speed index in :19.771.

Owned by Juan Garcia and bred by Robicheaux Ranch, Inc., the colt is by champion Apollitical Blood and out of the Mr Jess Perry mare Runawa Renee. The runner-up now has a record of 9-3-2-2 with earnings of $107,024. Last season, he finished fourth in the Grade 1 LQHBA Louisiana Million Futurity.

Marquez praised his colt's effort after the race.

“It's tough facing Valiant Heart Z, who is such a strong runner,” he said. “Our horse has been on the verge of winning so many big races. I am very proud of him.”

He added, “I joked with breeder Ryan Robicheaux that I own the best runner-up 3-year-old in Louisiana. I always respect the horses bred by Robicheaux Ranch and have learned a lot from Ryan.”

CM Dashing Cartel completed the trifecta under Noe Castaneda. The Jose Lopez trainee races for Diamond R Investment Farms LLC and Lauro Garcia Jr. and was bred by Cory Ron Mouton. The gelding is by One Dashing Eagle and out of the Carters Cartel mare Ellas Cartel.

CM Dashing Cartel earned a 94 speed index after covering the distance in :19.946. The third-place finisher now owns a record of 12-3-2-3 with earnings of $91,072. Earlier this season he was a finalist in the Old South Derby and was runner-up in both the Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes (G2) and the Gillespie County Fair Firecracker Futurity.

Stay In The Fastlane finished fourth and was followed by Mardi Gras Train, Tomacc, Tdz Thelouisianawave, Ceds Fast One, Rogue Candy, and Mjs Heart.

*Additional editorial coverage provided by Martha Claussen.

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