Month: August 2023

Just weeks ahead of the ten-year anniversary of his first win in the Charles Town Oaks, trainer Tom Amoss is hoping history repeats itself with Hoosier Philly. His star filly will take on nine others with two alternates in the $750,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3) – now the richest three-year-old filly sprint race in North America, and the most lucrative race on the undercard of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races' marquee night of the year that features the $1,000,000 Charles Town Classic (G2).

The two graded stakes on the program are joined by the $350,000 Robert Hilton Memorial, the $250,000 Russell Road, $250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon, and four $75,000 restricted stakes on Friday night, which gets underway at 5 p.m. ET. The night also offers some terrific wagering opportunities for horseplayers with a $100,000 guaranteed All-Stakes Pick 5 that kicks off in Race 7, a $100,000 guaranteed Pick 4 that starts with Race 10 and a mandatory distribution of the Charles Town 6-12 jackpot carryover that currently sits at $50,456 which gets underway in Race 8.

Hoosier Philly had all the hype this winter as the early Kentucky Oaks (G1) favorite. Trainer Tom Amoss, whose aforementioned Charles Town Oaks win came with Maggi Moss' So Many Ways, hailed her as the best horse he had ever trained. But while the first half of 2023 had a few hiccups for Hoosier Philly, she's coming off of an impressive front-running score in the Monomoy Girl Stakes at Ellis Park, and showed that there is still plenty of time for the daughter of Into Mischief to prove Amoss right.

“She's tactical,” said Amoss of his filly. “She has good early quickness, so she can adjust to however the race unfolds. She'll have no trouble with the turns. I've always had a good time up there [at Charles Town] and we're looking forward to getting back there Friday night.”

Another past Oaks-winning trainer will be well represented in this year's running, with trainer Chad Brown sending out a pair of graded stakes placed Klaravich Stable runners in Interpolate and Undervalued Asset.

“Both fillies seem like they fit class-wise and would potentially fit a two-turn seven furlong race,” said Brown. “Obviously the purse is a big attraction. And having two riders that we know well is also a plus.”

Junior Alvarado will have the call on Interpolate, with last year's Oaks-winning rider Tyler Gaffalione up on Undervalued Asset. Brown's first Charles Town Oaks win came with Gary and Mary West's Book Review in 2012, a victory Brown remembers fondly.

“Book Review was a big win for us. She was a very nice horse who went on to finish her career with Bob Baffert. Our stable is a lot bigger now and I like to think I'm maybe a bit wiser now, too.”

The person who saddled Book Review that night eleven years ago? Then-assistant trainer Cherie DeVaux, who will be sending out Vahva in this year's edition. What's more is that Vahva's dam, Holiday Soiree, finished second in the Charles Town Oaks to none other than Book Review in that 2012 contest.

“It's been a long time,” said DeVaux of that night in 2012. “I remember that was a marathon day for us. We started at Parx and then down to Charles Town. I remember it was very well-attended and the fans really support the product there.”

As for Vahva, DeVaux says, “she has been training really well. She has been two turns, but the distance of those races were a bit too long. So we think the two-turn seven furlongs should be a good fit.”

Prior to sending out a pair of runners in the Charles Town Classic, trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. will send out Imonra in the Oaks. The daughter of Violence is coming off a runner-up effort in the Iowa Oaks (G3).

“I think a mile or a mile and 1/16th is probably her best distance, but the two-turn configuration will off-set that a little bit,” Joseph said. “She became graded stakes placed last time and we're hoping to do one better this time around.”

Trainer Arnaud Delacour sends out Opus Forty Two, runner-up last out in the Delaware Oaks (G3). And while that race was a two-turn mile and 1/16^th, she also has a seven furlong stakes win under her belt this winter in the Gasparilla at Tampa.

“This race should be a good spot for her,” said Delacour. “She's got tactical speed. Hopefully she can break well and get a good position. But we'll see. We have been very happy with her since her last race. It was a good performance.”

Chismosa ships in from California for trainer Rafael DeLeon. The daughter of Charles Town Classic-alum Clubhouse Ride is coming off a pair of runner-up efforts in Sunshine State stakes, including a game second to older filly Eda in the Great Lady M Stakes (G2) at Los Alamitos.

Trainer Michael McCarthy sends out Lily Poo for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. The versatile daughter of Tapiture has run well on all three surfaces, but appears to be getting back to her preferred dirt surface, where she has tallied a pair of graded stakes placed performances in the Summertime Oaks (G2) and Indiana Oaks (G3).

Rounding out the field are Late Frost for Charles Town Oaks-winning trainer Michael Matz, Metaphysical for trainer Jeff Hiles, and both Twice as Sweet for Brendan Walsh and Perfect Wish for Jayde Gelner on the also-eligible list.

The Charles Town Oaks is scheduled as Race 10 on the night with a post time of 9:44 p.m. ET.

$750,000 CHARLES TOWN OAKS (G3)

August 25, 2023
Race 10 – Post time 9:44pm ET
Fillies 3YO, 7 Furlongs
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer

1. Vahva, John Velazquez, 118, Cherie DeVaux
2. Late Frost, Jaime Rodriguez, 120, Michael Matz
3. Interpolate, Junior Alvarado, 120, Chad Brown
4. Metaphysical, Joe Talamo, 118, Jeff Hiles
5. Chismosa, Tiago Pereira, 118, Rafael DeLeon
6. Hoosier Philly, Edgar Morales, 120, Tom Amoss
7. Imonra, Trevor McCarthy, 118, Saffie Joseph, Jr.
8. Lily Poo, Arnaldo Bocachica, 120, Michael McCarthy
9. Opus Forty Two, Daniel Centeno, 120, Arnaud Delacour
10. Undervalued Asset, Tyler Gaffalione, 118, Chad Brown

Also Eligible:

11. Twice as Sweet, Declan Cannon, 118, Brendan Walsh
12. Perfect Wish, Floyd Wethey, Jr., 120, Jayde Gelner

The post Hoosier Philly Should ‘Have No Trouble With The Turns’ In $750,000 Charles Town Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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When the unfortunate news broke last week of the passing of Bruce Lunsford's two-time defending Charles Town Classic champion Art Collector due to complications of laminitis, it not only left a hole in the barn of trainer Bill Mott, but also in the race he was looking to become the first three-time winner of. As a result, a full field of ten runners with one alternate will head to the gate on Friday night as the $1,000,000 Charles Town Classic (G2) looks to crown its first new champion since Sleepy Eyes Todd took the 2020 edition of West Virginia's richest race.

Grade 1-winner Doppelganger, multiple graded stakes winner Skippylongstocking, and late entrant Giant Game will now find themselves vying for favoritism in this year's Charles Town Classic. The Classic joins the $750,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3), the $350,000 Robert Hilton Memorial, the $250,000 Russell Road, $250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon, and four $75,000 restricted stakes on Charles Town's biggest card of the year, which gets underway at 5 p.m. ET. The night also offers some terrific wagering opportunities for horseplayers with a $100,000 guaranteed All-Stakes Pick 5 that kicks off in Race 7, a $100,000 guaranteed Pick 4 that starts with Race 10, and a mandatory distribution of the Charles Town 6-12 jackpot carryover that currently sits at $50,456 which gets underway in Race 8.

Trainer Brittany Russell will send out Doppelganger, winner of the Carter Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct this April. The four-year-old son of top sire Into Mischief is coming off a win in the Battery Park Stakes at Delaware Park. Russell also took advantage of her stable's proximity to Charles Town to get Doppelganger a work over the track and under the lights, which can be a variable for many runners racing at Charles Town for the first time. Working between races last Thursday, Doppelganger was credited with a half mile in :46.60 seconds, and a robust gallop out in :59.40, indicating his readiness for Friday's contest.

While Doppelganger has the lone North American Grade 1 victory in this year's field, Skippylongstocking may attract more attention at the betting windows in this year's Classic. The 4-year-old son of Exaggerator has consistently kept good company in his races, with the Classic set to mark his 11th consecutive start in graded stakes company.

“He's a hard-knocking horse that tries really hard every time,” said trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. “He danced in a lot of the big dances as a 3-year-old, you know, the Preakness (G1), the Belmont (G1), and then the West Virginia Derby (G3). So we know he likes it in West Virginia and hopefully he can pull off the double with the Charles Town Classic.”

Joseph will also send out O'Connor, who achieved Group 1-winning status in his native Chile. While he has yet to win a graded stakes stateside, Joseph feels his charge is rounding back into form at the right time.

“O'Connor was coming off a layoff last time out and he missed some training, so he probably needed that one,” said Joseph of his horse's third place finish in the West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3). “We think he's coming into this one in much better shape and I think we'll see an improved effort.”

Giant Game took the field gate-to-wire in the Cornhusker Handicap (G3) two races back, defeating two Classic entrants in Skippylongstocking and Call Me Fast. The improving son of Giants Causeway for trainer Dale Romans followed up that effort with a fifth-place finish in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, which saw him lead to the midway point of the far turn before tiring. Giant Game projects to be the pacesetter in this year's Classic, with Martin Garcia named to ride.

Call Me Fast was another late addition to this year's Classic field, with his connections choosing to supplement the gelded son of Dialed In to the race. Call Me Fast exits four consecutive tries against Grade 3 company.

“He's been keeping pretty good company lately so this was a logical spot,” said trainer Mike Puhich. “I thought he ran a credible race at Prairie Meadows [in the Cornhusker Handicap (G3)], and showed he deserved a shot at the $1 million.”

Call Me Fast will have the services of Joe Talamo in the irons, and will also be putting blinkers back on for the Classic.

“We took the blinkers off before the Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland to teach him how to settle, and he definitely did. But we're putting them back on for this race so that hopefully he'll put himself into the race a little earlier. But he's versatile. And he's breezed on a six-furlong track before his first start and he just rattled around the turns, so I don't see that being an issue.”

The runner-up in last year's Classic, local hopeful Muad'dib, is not coming into this year's race in the same raging form as last year. He entered last year's Classic a perfect 10-for-10 in his career. While he would taste defeat for the first time that night, he was hardly disgraced by finishing second to a horse of Art Collector's caliber.

His form since that night could be described as workmanlike. It includes four wins — all by margins of less than a length — and two more defeats, though each came with legitimate excuses according to two-time Charles Town Classic-winning trainer Jeff Runco. And while Muad'dib's resume may not be as pristine as it was going into last year's event, he does have the benefit of two more races under his belt this season than he did last year.

“He's really good right now,” said Runco. “He had a couple of issues towards the end of last year and we got those rectified. But he's doing good and he's ready to stretch back out.”

Trainer Raymond Ginter, Jr. supplemented a pair of graded stakes winners to the Classic in Kelso Handicap (G2) winner Double Crown and General George (G3) winner Eastern Bay, both for owner Built Wright Stables, LLC.

Rounding out the field are Perfect Flight for Peter Miller, Dash Attack for Ken McPeek, and a second local entrant Martin Man for trainer Wade Sanderson, who wound up as the lone alternate for this year's field.

The Charles Town Classic is scheduled as Race 11 on the card with a post time of 10:25 ET.

$1,000,000 CHARLES TOWN CLASSIC (G2)

August 25, 2023
Race 11 – Post time 10:25 pm ET
3&up, 1 1/8 Miles
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer

1. Eastern Bay, Jeiron Barbosa, 121, Raymond Ginter, Jr.
2. Giant Game, Martin Garcia, 121, Dale Romans
3. Perfect Flight, Junior Alvarado, 119, Peter Miller
4. Doppelganger, Jevian Toledo, 124, Brittany Russell
5. Skippylongstocking, Tyler Gaffalione, 121, Saffie Joseph, Jr.
6. Double Crown, Jeiron Barbosa, 119, Raymond Ginter, Jr.
7. Call Me Fast, Joe Talamo, 119, Michael Puhich
8. Dash Attack, John Velazquez, 119, Kenneth McPeek
9. Muad'dib, Arnaldo Bocachica, 119, Jeff Runco
10. O'Connor (CHI), Trevor McCarthy, 119, Saffie Joseph, Jr.

Also Eligible:

11. Martin Man, Victor Rodriguez, 119, Wade Sanderson

The post Charles Town Classic: Doppelganger, Skippylongstocking, Giant Game Expected To Vie For Favoritism appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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