Two-time Charles Town Classic victor and Grade 1 winner Art Collector leads a list of 99 nominations for the Classic Town Classic and Charles Town Oaks, which closed this past Friday. The Classic and Oaks will both be run on Charles Town's biggest night of the year – Friday, August 25 – a card that features nine stakes races with $2.9 million in purse money on the line.
Owned by Bruce Lunsford and trained by Bill Mott, Art Collector will be taking a slightly different route to West Virginia's eastern panhandle than he did in 2021 and 2022. In both of those years, Art Collector won the Alydar Stakes at Saratoga three weeks prior to his run in the Classic. Thanks to a win in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park this January, Art Collector was not eligible for the Alydar this year. He followed up his Pegasus triumph with two respectable runner-up performances in the New Orleans Classic (G2) and Alysheba (G2).
The now six-year-old Art Collector will look to become the first horse to win three renewals of the Charles Town Classic. Last year saw Art Collector become the first horse since Researcher to win West Virginia's richest race in back-to-back years, while also joining Imperative and the aforementioned Researcher as the only two-time winners of the Classic.
Trainer Brittany Russell nominated a trio of runners for the Classic, headlined by 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. He's joined in the nominations by stablemates Be Better – owned by Repole Stable, who sent out Caixa Eletronica to victory in the 2012 Charles Town Classic — and Hello Hot Rod.
Two-time Charles Town Classic victor Todd Pletcher has three nominees as well, led by 2021 Cigar Mile (G1) winner Americanrevolution. Joining him in the nominations are fellow Pletcher trainees Bright Future and Weyburn. Trainer Brad Cox also has three Classic nominees. The five-year-old millionaire Warrant is perhaps the most established of his contingent, but both Best Actor and Zozos profile as up-and-comers in the handicap division.
Two runners from this year's Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga find their way into the nominations: 2022 Blue Grass (G1) winner Zandon for trainer Chad Brown, and multiple graded stakes winner Last Samurai for Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, the latter of which ran fifth in last year's Charles Town Classic.
Trainer Doug O'Neill has a pair of Classic nominees, led by multiple Grade 2-winner Slow Down Andy. He's joined in the nominations by stablemate Katonah. Fellow California-based trainer Peter Miller nominated 2020 Del Mar Futurity (G1) winner Get Her Number along with Perfect Flight.
A pair of Florida-based trainers also nominated multiple horses for this year's Classic. Trainers Saffie Joseph, Jr. and Juan Alvarado have five nominations between them, Joseph represented by multiple Grade 3-winner Skippylongstocking and O'Connor, with Alvarado nominating three runners for Arindel Farm: Ghostzapper (G3) winner Clapton, Octane, and The Skipper Too.
The runner-up in last year's Classic will be back in search of the biggest win of his career, as Charles Town-based and Charles Town Classic-winning trainer Jeff Runco once again sends out Muad'dib. In the 2022 Classic, Muad'dib raced on even terms with Art Collector for the first six furlongs of the contest, before the latter edged away to a 4 ¼ length victory.
Other graded stakes winners nominated to the Classic include recent Cougar II (G3) winner Order and Law for Charles Town Classic-winning trainer Bob Hess, Jr. and Greenwood Cup (G3) winner Ridin With Biden for trainer Robert Reid, Jr.
This year's Charles Town Oaks (G3) received a $250,000 purse hike to $750,000, making it the richest sprint stakes for three-year-old fillies in North America. The nominations are headlined by Grade 1 winners Chocolate Gelato and Leave No Trace, Grade 2 winners Hoosier Philly and Southlawn, and Grade 3 winners Crypto Mo, Foggy Night, and Promiseher America. Over half of the 65 nominees (33) are stakes winners, with seven of the non-stakes winners having achieved graded stakes placed status.
Trainer Brittany Russell leads the way with six nominations for the Oaks, followed by Chad Brown's five, Todd Pletcher's four, and Brad Cox's three. Nine other trainers nominated two runners for the race.
Entries for the August 25 Charles Town Classic card will be taken on Tuesday, August 22.
Nominations for three more unrestricted stakes all run at seven furlongs – the $350,000 Robert Hilton Memorial for three-year-olds, the $250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon Stakes for older fillies and mares, and the $250,000 Russell Road for older horses – close this coming Friday, August 11.
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