]Moutonshoek’s inform stallion The United States hails from one of the best families in the stud book.
The son of Galileo’s wonderful family received yet another boost when classy three-year-old Zihnal won the G3 West Virginia Derby

Augustin Stable’s homebred Zihnal, with only a maiden victory on his record in four
starts, broke through in a big way with a strong victory in the $400,000 West
Virginia Derby for 3-year-olds Sunday at Mountaineer. Zihnal broke well from the middle of the starting gate and stalked front-running
Wayne’s Law through moderate fractions until the far turn in the 1 1/8-mile race. He took over on the turn and extended his lead to 6¼ lengths at the
finish in 1:52.47 for the distance.

“He got a very good ride, a Johnny V(elazquez). ride,” trainer Jonathan Thomas said. “We
always thought highly of Zihnal, and he showed some of that tonight. He was ridden the
way we had been wanting him to be ridden.”

When asked what could be next for the lightly raced Zihnal, Thomas said: “We’ll
keeping scouting out races for him. We may look at the (G1) Pennsylvania Derby (Sept. 19 at Parx Racing).”

A son of Quality Road, Zihnal’s fifth dam is legendary producer Mill Princess, the fourth dam of G1 Ranvet Stakes winning sire The United States.

The latter was responsible for six black type winners in South Africa including the G1 winners Kingdundee and Tin Pan Alley. Kingdundee, winner of the 2026 G1 World Pool Cape Flying Championship, is set to continue his career overseas.
The United States has 14 lots on offer at the August Two Year Old Sale.