This year’s NRHA Derby finals delivered the kind of competition horsemen dream about. With the top five horses marking a 228 or higher, the margin for error was virtually nonexistent, and every maneuver mattered.
Yet amid a night filled with standout performances, one run separated itself from the rest.
When the final score was announced, it was $10 Million Rider Andrea Fappani and Alpha Viking (Gunnatrashya x Rock It With Sass) sitting atop the leaderboard with a 236, the second-highest score ever recorded in NRHA competition.
The championship was worth $100,000, but for Fappani, the significance of the run extended far beyond the paycheck.
One Finals, Three Horses
The only rider to qualify all three of his horses for the Level 4 Open finals, the NRHA Hall of Famer entered finals night with a different plan for each horse.
The week between the preliminary round and finals gave horses time to recover, but it also challenged trainers to have them peaking at exactly the right time.
“I felt that I came in with three nice solid horses and they showed really well in the go-round,” Fappani said. “I wanted to be as consistent as possible. When you’re marking 223s, 224s and 225s and they’re consistent, that’s all you can do to set yourself up for a good situation later on in the week.”
Rather than emptying the tank in the preliminary round, Fappani focused on putting together strong runs while ensuring each horse would have something left for Saturday.
“It’s always a little bit of a balance,” he said. “You don’t want to leave everything you’ve got in the go-round and then you’re scrambling for the finals.”
That balancing act looked different for each horse.
Best Is Yet Too Come (Gunner x Wimpys Little Chic), a promising 4-year-old stallion that missed the NRHA Futurity after suffering a minor injury, was entered in both the Derby and the 4-Year-Old Stakes as Fappani continued building the horse’s confidence and experience.
“He’s a special horse, and we didn’t want to risk re-injury, so we took our time bringing him back,” Fappani said. “I showed him in the 4-year-old event at NRBC and did well. I wanted to build on the run we had there and see how he handled two rounds. He was good. He was a 223 in the first round and then a 225.5 in the finals.”
That score earned Best Is Yet Too Come, who is owned by Tim J Anderson Clark Reining Horses LLC, a paycheck worth $9,347.69.
Another of Fappani’s finalists, Do You Havethe Dream (Magnums Chic Dream x Gunna Be Custom), required an entirely different approach.
“Most of the horses that I show give you their best when they’re maybe a little more tired,” Fappani said. “She’s a mare that gives you her best in the first 30 minutes of the ride.”
The mare marked a 225 and earned $8,527.98 for owner Devin Warren.
Those differences are what make horse management one of the most important—and challenging—parts of preparing for an event like the Derby.
“Physically and mentally, every horse is different,” Fappani said. “There are horses that can stay there for two weeks straight. There are horses that can only stay there for one ride, and then you’ve got to back off, or you’re going to lose it.”
Yet even with two strong performances already behind him, Fappani knew his final horse of the night would present a different challenge.
Alpha Viking was talented. Of that, there was little doubt. But after only a handful of shows together, Fappani was still learning exactly what the stallion was capable of.
Learning What Makes Alpha Viking Tick
Owned by Alpha Quarter Horses LLC and Vargo Quarter Horses, Alpha Viking entered the Derby as a horse Fappani believed in, but one he was still learning.
“I got Alpha Viking last year after Casey Deary showed him at the 100X Tulsa Classic and had all winter to get together with him and figure him out,” Fappani said. “The first show I rode him at was in Tulsa in March just to get to know him, and he showed really well there. That run gave me the confidence to pick him for the NRBC and the Derby.”
What Fappani discovered throughout the spring was a horse that seemed to get better under pressure.
By the time Alpha Viking entered the pen Saturday night, Fappani had already shown his other two finalists and had a clear picture of what it would take to win. Drawn late in the second section and one of the final horses to work, the stallion represented both Fappani’s last ride of the Derby and one of the final chances to challenge the leaderboard.
Going for Broke in the Finals
Dany Tremblay and Americas Superstar had already posted a 232 for owners Smith Ranch, setting the mark everyone else would have to beat.
Fappani knew a conservative run wouldn’t be enough.
He also knew he was venturing into uncharted territory.
After discussing the strategy with the horse’s owners, the plan was simple: if Alpha Viking felt locked in, they were going to take a chance.
“I said, if I push him, there’s a chance that we may not win a dime tonight because I’ve never pushed this horse to what I’m planning on pushing him,” Fappani said. “But the owners said, if he feels good and he feels locked in, just go for it.”
From the opening maneuvers, Alpha Viking responded.
Fappani increased the speed in the turns and challenged the stallion in a way he had never done before. Rather than losing cadence or accuracy, Alpha Viking elevated his performance.
“When he handled it and he turned as good as he’s ever turned, I thought we had him where we needed to be,” Fappani said.
With every maneuver, confidence grew.
“I decided to leave my hand down and try to beat that 232,” he said.
The farther the run progressed, the more it became clear that Alpha Viking wasn’t simply answering the challenge—he was exceeding it.
“Every maneuver, he was locked in,” Fappani said. “At the highest speed, he was still with me the whole time.”
A Score for the History Books
As the run came to a close, Fappani knew he had something special.
What he didn’t know was just how special.
The judges rewarded Alpha Viking with a 236, securing the NRHA Derby Championship, a $100,000 payday, and a place alongside one of the most iconic performances in reining history.
The only higher mark remains the 236.5 Fappani posted aboard Custom Legend at the 2007 NRBC.
“It’s pretty cool,” Fappani said. “I’m very proud of having two derby horses with the highest and second-highest scores.”
For a competitor whose career includes virtually every major accomplishment in reining, the significance of the moment wasn’t found in the paycheck or the trophy.
Instead, it came from the reaction of the crowd.
“It’s more about the people reaching out and saying that they’re going to remember it for a long time,” Fappani said. “They’re going to tell their kids they were there watching that type of run.”
The victory pushed Alpha Viking’s earnings to nearly $200,000 and established the 5-year-old stallion as one to watch at the next major event.