Phillybuster and jockey Mario Alberto Lopez Marmolejo will break from post six as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in Sunday's XLIII Derby Las Américas at Hipódromo de las Américas in Mexico City.

© Miguel A. Espinoza

By Louanne Wainscott, StallioneSearch

MEXICO CITY, MEX–JULY 18, 2026– Sunday's nine-race program at Hipódromo de las Américas in Mexico City will feature two of the country's premier Quarter Horse events. The day opens with the XXVI Clásico Jodys Glory Trials, in which 12 promising juveniles will compete in two 350-yard trial heats for 10 qualifying spots in the $46,775 Clásico Jodys Glory Final on August 9. Later in the afternoon, the spotlight shifts to the XLIII Derby Las Américas, where six talented three-year-olds will battle for an approximate purse of $20,200 in one of Mexico's most prestigious sophomore stakes.

The Clásico Jodys Glory Trials will be contested in the first two races on the card, with first post at 15:00. Only the 10 fastest qualifiers will advance to next month's championship final. See the related story for a complete preview of the trials and the leading contenders.

The featured stakes action continues in race five with the XLIII Derby Las Américas. A competitive field of six sophomores will sprint for the approximately $20,200 purse, with Phillybuster installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite.

Phillybuster has found his best form since relocating to Mexico. After opening his three-year-old season with a fifth-place finish in the Easily A Possum Classic, he broke through with a win in the AMCCCCM Derby and followed it with another stakes win in his most recent start. The gelding has now won three of 11 career starts and earned nearly $40,000.

Racing for Rancho Las Gaviotas, Phillybuster, the son of Apollitical Jess out of the Rushago mare Ima China Rush. He was bred in the United States by MJ Farms and was originally purchased for $97,000 at the 2024 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale, then repurchased for $30,000 at this year's Heritage Place Winter Mixed Sale. Alfredo Rabanal trains the talented gelding, who will break from post six with Mario Alberto Lopez Marmolejo aboard.

With rising two-year-olds vying for a place in the Clásico Jodys Glory Final and an accomplished group of sophomores competing for the XLIII Derby Las Américas title, Sunday's card at Hipódromo de las Américas promises an exciting afternoon of Quarter Horse racing.

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