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Art Collector Takes Charles Town Classic As Solid Favorite

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector validated his status as the 1.30-1 favorite by overcoming a stubborn defending champion in Sleepy Eyes Todd and taking down the top prize in the $800,000 Charles Town Classic (G2) at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia on Friday night. Ridden by Luis Saez, the son of Bernardini became the first favorite to win the Charles Town Classic since Game on Dude in 2013.

Sleepy Eyes Todd – trying to become the first repeat Classic winner since Researcher in 2010 – was sent to the lead and carved out opening fractions of 23.80 and 47.90 for the first quarter and half mile under rider Ry Eikleberry, with Art Collector glued to his flank for much of the early running. With Saez and Art Collector seizing the lead, they appeared poised to draw off for a convincing win but were fought every step of the way by the world traveling Sleepy Eyes Todd before prevailing by a length and a half at the wire.

“I thought I had him [Sleepy Eyes Todd] turning for home,” said Saez. “He looked like he was going pretty well and that's why I tried to attack pretty early. Art Collector gave me that kick but he was fighting in the stretch. It was just a great finish.”

In winning the Classic, Art Collector gave his Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott his first victory at the West Virginia oval.

California shipper Rushie finished 5 1/2 lengths back of Art Collector in third with another west coast presence in Restrainedvengence rounding out the superfecta.

On the wagering front, the $7,179,783 wagered on Friday night's Charles Town Classic card established a new single card handle record for the track, shattering the previous mark of $5,720,375 set on the 2019 Classic card.

“We couldn't be happier with the way the night unfolded, the way our horseplayers and fans responded and the record handle that resulted,” said Charles Town's Vice President of Racing and Sports Operations Erich Zimny. “It's a testament to the job that our Director of Racing, Charlie McIntosh, and the racing office staff did in putting such a deep and competitive card together that we can't wait to expand upon in 2022.”

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Equibase Analysis: Masqueparade Poised To Upset Travers

The Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes brings together a seven horse group of 3-year-olds vying for top honors in one of the most prestigious races of the summer. Oddly enough, three of the seven didn't run in the Kentucky Derby three months ago and the other four managed finish positions of fourth, sixth, seventh and 18th. Still, the combined earnings of the seven runners is over $6 million, led by Essential Quality, winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes in his last two races.

Jim Dandy runner-up Keepmeinmind is winless in six races since taking the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last fall. Masqueparade finished third in the Jim Dandy after winning the Grade 3 Ohio Derby and may be the lone front runner in the field. Midnight Bourbon won the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes in January to get on the radar among top 3-year-olds but is winless in five races since then although it must be noted he was in position to win the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Stakes last month before clipping another horse's heels and losing his jockey.

The recent one-two finishers of the non-graded Curlin Stakes – Dynamic One and Miles D, respectively, hope to improve and be competitive at this level, while King Fury hopes to rebound to the form shown when rallying from last of nine to get second behind Masqueparade in the Ohio Derby before a non-threating 10th place effort on turf in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes earlier this month.

Masqueparade could have an edge in this seven horse field as a lone front runner due to the fact none of the others have truly shown a desire to lead early in a race. Starting with his runner-up effort at a mile and one-sixteenth in March, a race he might have won if not bumped by the original winner before being place first when that one was disqualified, Masqueparade has been in front or very close the lead from shortly after the start in four straight races. When winning one of those races on May 1, Masqueparade earned a stellar 108 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure which just one point shy of the 109 figures Essential Quality has earned in three of his last four races.

Considering Essential Quality will go to post as the prohibitive betting favorite, Masqueparade offers much better value for any bets we make involving this race because he has as much of a chance to win as Essential Quality if both repeat their best recent efforts. Although Masqueparade was no match for Essential Quality last month in the Jim Dandy Stakes when third, there was a different early pace scenario that day as another horse led and Masqueparade stalked that pacesetter before making the lead with a quarter mile to go before being passed by Essential Quality and Keepmeinmind. In this situation it could be Masqueparade who dictates the early tempo and as such he has a shot to relax on the lead and get very brave to post the upset win.

Essential Quality has now won seven of eight career starts for a bankroll of $3.5 million. His only poor effort came at the distance of the Travers when he finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, but jockey Luis Saez hasn't made the same mistake of getting Essential Quality hung wide throughout the race, resulting in two strong wins in a row. The first of the two came in the Belmont Stakes with a 109 ™ figure, followed by a similarly strong effort in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga one month ago in which the colt earned a 107 figure. As such, if Masqueparade can't lead from start to finish the horse most likely to pass late to win the Travers is Essential Quality.

King Fury and Keepmeinmind both have slight chances to win and big chances to finish second or third to complete any exacta or trifecta tickets played. King Fury came up slightly ill right before the Derby and had to skip the race, then closed very well from last of nine to get second behind Masqueparade in the Ohio Derby, earning a career-best 105 figure in the process. Not finding a race to run in after that in order to prep for the Travers, King Fury was entered in the Saratoga Derby Invitational three weeks ago on turf, a surface he had never run over previously. Finishing 10th of 11 in that race, the only thing that proved was he is much more well suited to dirt and so on the return to dirt and based on his effort in the Ohio Derby, King Fury could be a factor in the Travers.

Similarly, Keepmeinmind missed by a half-length to Masqueparade in the Ohio Derby in June then by a similar margin to Essential Quality in the Jim Dandy, earning 105 then 106 figure not far enough afield from the likely favorite to discount Keepmeinmind's chances completely. Particularly the Travers being his second start of the Saratoga meeting, Keepmeinmind running as well or better as he did one month ago shouldn't surprise anyone.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase® Speed Figures, is Dynamic One (103), Midnight Bourbon (99) and Miles D (100).

Win Contenders:
Masqueparade
Essential Quality

Runhappy Travers Stakes – Grade 1
Race 12 at Saratoga
Saturday, August 28 – Post Time 6:12 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Quarter
Three Year Olds
Purse: $1.25 Million

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Champion Essential Quality ‘As Good As He’s Ever Been’ Ahead Of Saturday’s Travers

Reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox has already secured a memorable meet at historic Saratoga Race Course and will be looking to accomplish a feat that has not been achieved in 79 years when he sends out ultra-consistent Godolphin homebred Essential Quality in Saturday's Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers at the Spa.

The 152nd running of the Runhappy Travers – for 3-year-olds contesting the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, is slated as Race 12 on the packed 13-race card that features seven graded stakes among six Grade 1 contests. First post is set for 11:35 a.m.

For the third consecutive year, FOX will air the Runhappy Travers as the centerpiece of a 90-minute telecast beginning at 5 p.m. The networks of FOX and FOX Sports will air 7 1/2 total hours of live racing and analysis on Runhappy Travers Day, with coverage scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on FS1.

Cox, who has saddled Essential Quality to seven wins in eight starts, including three Grade 1 scores, won one of the most prestigious races for older horses at the Saratoga meet when Knicks Go posted a gate-to-wire triumph in the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 7. The Kentucky-born conditioner can now become just the third trainer all-time and first since John M. Gaver, Sr. in 1942 to win the Travers and Whitney in the same year with different horses.

Essential Quality offers his trainer a good opportunity to join that list, as the Champion 2-Year-Old drew post 2 with regular rider Luis Saez aboard in being installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite.

“I feel like he's as good as he's ever been,” Cox said. “If we run our race, we'll be tough. There's six other good colts in there and we still have to play our game. If we do, I think we'll be a big factor.”

The gray Tapit colt was undefeated in three 2020 starts, racking up wins in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity in October at Keeneland before returning a month later to the same track to win the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

After posting back-to-back wins to start his sophomore campaign on the Kentucky Derby trail – capturing the Grade 3 Southwest at 1 1/16 miles in February at Oaklawn Park and the 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Blue Grass in April at Keeneland, Essential Quality ran his only non-winning race with a competitive fourth in the “Run for the Roses” on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.

Undeterred, Essential Quality overcame Hot Rod Charlie's blistering fractions to run down his rival in the 1 1/2-mile Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 5 – giving Cox his first win in a Classic – and followed that effort, which netted a personal-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure, with a half-length win over Travers-rival Keepmeinmind in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy going 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga on July 31 in the local Travers prep.

“He's sharp, mentally. He's sharper this race than going into the Jim Dandy,” Cox said. “My plan all along was to have him peak in this spot. Our goal since the Kentucky Derby was to have him at his best Travers Day and from a mental and physical standpoint, I feel he's right where we want him.

“I think he's a classic-distance horse,” Cox added. “He's proven that already. I like the post. Hopefully, with a good trip, we'll get the job done on Saturday.”

Essential Quality has already amassed a field-high $3.5 million in earnings and will team with a familiar face, as Saez – the meet's leading rider – has been aboard for all eight of his previous starts.

“He fits him real well,” Cox said. “Luis is riding him with a lot of confidence. He thinks the world of him. He's been able to breeze him his last two works up here and he's super excited about the opportunity on Saturday. I don't give Luis many instructions with this horse. It's just 'do your thing' and it tends to work out.”

Cox's chase for history includes trying to join Gaver, Sr., who won the 1942 Travers with Shut Out and the Whitney with Swing and Sway, and James G. Rowe, Jr., who won the Travers with Twenty Grand and Whitney with St. Brideaux in 1931.

Keepmeinmind will attempt to thwart that bid for history, earning another opportunity to oppose Essential Quality. Owned by Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm, the son of Laoban ran a hard-charging second to the Runhappy Travers morning-line favorite in the Breeders' Futurity and ran third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The duo met up twice more in the spring, when Keepmeinmind finished fifth in the Blue Grass and seventh in the Kentucky Derby.

The Robertino Diodoro trainee competed in the Triple Crown's second leg, running fourth in the Preakness in May at Pimlico, before earning additional black type with a third-place Grade 3 Ohio Derby performance in June at Thistledown. Keepmeinmind matched his career-best 97 Beyer for closing on Essential Quality in the Jim Dandy last month, finishing second, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of fellow Travers foe Masqueparade.

Listed at 6-1, Keepmeinmind will have the services of Joel Rosario, who rode him for the first time in the Jim Dandy, from post 3.

“He's getting better and better,” Diodoro said. “The horse is overdue and he deserves a win. We definitely think the extra distance will help him big time and it's a huge plus having Rosario on the horse for the second time.”

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, the runner-up to Rombauer in the Preakness, has not raced since clipping heels with Hot Rod Charlie and unseating rider Paco Lopez in the Grade 1 Haskell in July at Monmouth Park.

The son of Tiznow, who started his sophomore campaign with a win in the Grade 3 Lecomte in January at Fair Grounds, will look for a better trip in his first Saratoga appearance. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who set the all-time wins record for a North American thoroughbred conditioner earlier this month with a big Whitney Day at Saratoga, will look to add another milestone at the famous track in seeking his first Travers score.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be in the irons for Midnight Bourbon [9-2] from the inside post.

“He's a big horse and time should benefit him a bunch as he gets bigger and stronger and more mature,” said David Fiske, bloodstock advisor to Winchell Thoroughbreds. “He'll have to break well but I should expect to see him on or near the lead.”

FTGGG Racing's Masqueparade bested King Fury by a half length in the Ohio Derby, extending his winning streak to three, before finishing third in a Jim Dandy contest that will see the trifecta rematch in the Travers.

The Upstart colt's top three speed figures in his seven-race career have come in his last three starts, starting with an optional claiming victory in May at Churchill before graduating to stakes company. After showing an affinity for Saratoga last out, Masqueparade will stretch out to 10 furlongs for the first time for trainer Al Stall, Jr.

Stall, Jr. said Masqueparade, who drew post 6 with Miguel Mena aboard, will be looking for a better trip after leaving from post 2 in the five-horse Jim Dandy, with Dr Jack [to his inside] and Weyburn [outside] possibly putting undue pressure on his charge.

“I love the draw. It's completely different than the Jim Dandy draw,” Stall, Jr. said. “We're very happy with that. Being on the outside, we can chase some speed. If there's no speed, we can lay very close. He can be more comfortable. In the Jim Dandy, he was trapped inside between speed horses, so we couldn't get anything done because they were shuffling us back and we were last on the backside. Now he can float away from there and see how things go. He's got good natural speed, so I really like where we are. I think he deserves a chance.”

Stall, Jr. will be saddling his first Travers starter and is looking for the personal Whitney-Travers double, with Blame having won the 2010 Whitney.

Mena, who has been riding predominantly at Ellis Park and Indiana Grand Race Course, has been aboard for all of Masqueparade's starts and will travel to the Spa on Saturday. Masqueparade is listed at 8-1.

Three Chimneys Farm's King Fury, runner-up in the Ohio Derby, trained at Saratoga through an imposed quarantine due to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 in their barn, causing him to miss the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and instead return in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 7, where he finished 10th after a wide trip in his turf debut.

“He came out of it fine. He just got hung wide on the second turn,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “I really feel like he needed a run. It was going to be a couple of months between races otherwise. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to run in the Jim Dandy, but he will be prepared for this.”

King Fury, a son of Hall of Famer Curlin, started his juvenile year with high expectations as a $950,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Select Yearling Sale across the street from the Spa. After notching a win in the Street Sense in October at Churchill, King Fury made the grade with his 2 3/4-length score in the Grade 3 Lexington going 1 1/16 miles over a sloppy and sealed Keeneland track in April.

His previous start on dirt saw him rally from last-of-9 to get second in the Ohio Derby, and McPeek said a better trip on the fast track could have made the difference.

“I think he should have won. He got shuffled back at one point during the race and I think if that hadn't happened, he wins handily,” McPeek said. “He's a very good horse and he's going to relish a mile and a quarter.”

Jose Ortiz, aboard for the Saratoga Derby Invitational, will return to ride King Fury [15-1 odds] from post 7.

Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One – second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April at Aqueduct – showed his affinity for the Saratoga track last out, rallying from last-of-seven to close strong, besting Miles D by 1 3/4 lengths in the Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga for his first stakes victory.

Dynamic One, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, rebounded from an 18th-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby to garner a personal-best 97 Beyer in the Curlin. The Union Rags colt did not break his maiden until fourth asking in March at the Big A but enters with momentum as Pletcher seeks his third Travers score.

“He obviously didn't fire in the Kentucky Derby, but his maiden races were pretty fast,” Pletcher said. “He showed he belonged in the Wood. We were happy with the way he was training going into the Curlin, that appears to be his most professional race so far so hopefully he's going into his best.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Dynamic One [post 4, 6-1].

The Travers is one of the few stakes to elude four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, who will send out his 12th all-time starter in this race with Peter Brant and Robert LaPenta's Miles D, who handled the jump to stakes company with a runner-up effort in the Curlin.

The son of Hall of Famer Curlin has improved his Beyer Speed Figures in each of his three starts, including a 95 last out when running 1 3/4 lengths back to Dynamic One in his Saratoga bow.

Miles D [post 5, 12-1 odds] will pick up jockey Flavien Prat's services, with the rider looking to extend his success in the division aboard multiple horses. Prat guided Rombauer to victory in the Grade 1 Preakness and piloted Hot Rod Charlie to a close second behind fellow Travers-contender Essential Quality in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, earning a placing in all three legs of the Triple Crown, as he was aboard for Hot Rod Charlie's third-place Grade 1 Kentucky Derby finish.

“He's obviously a bit of a longshot in the race, so he's going to have to step up,” Brown said. “I'm thankful to have a horse in the race and hopefully he runs the race of his life and will be right there.”

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Art Collector Headlines Field Of 10 For Friday’s Charles Town Classic

With back-to-back front-running victories last year in Keeneland's Blue Grass Stakes (G2) and the Ellis Park Derby, Bruce Lunsford's homebred Art Collector stamped himself one of the leaders of the 3-year-old division.

In a 2020 racing season turned topsy-turvy by the COVID-19 pandemic, Art Collector stormed into an unusual October edition of the Preakness Stakes (G1) as one of the principal favorites. When the field crossed the finish line, however, Art Collector had checked in a dispiriting fourth, having never made the lead, the hallmark of his best efforts. He went on to the Breeders' Cup and was a well-beaten eighth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), and when he returned to the races seven months later, this past June, he was off the board again in the ungraded Kelly's Landing at Churchill Downs.

Perplexed, Lunsford decided to shake things up and sent the son of Bernardini to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's barn in Saratoga. On August 6, Art Collector raced for the first time under Mott and scorched a quality field in the Alydar Stakes, his imposing velocity back on full display.

Now, Mott will find out if Art Collector is all the way back, sending him out as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in a field of ten Friday night in the 13th running of the Grade 2, $800,000 Charles Town Classic for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles at Hollywood Casino at Charles Races.

The Classic, celebrating its 10th anniversary as Charles Town's first graded stakes race, highlights a packed 13 race card that will see total purses top $2 million. Post time for the first race is 5:00 P.M.

Mott is one of the premier trainers in the history of racing, with more than $300 million in career earnings and horses like the great Cigar and Royal Delta on his resume. Even after decades in the sport, getting a horse like Art Collector still excites him, and that he runs in the Classic off just three weeks rest – uncharacteristically short for Mott – is a sign of high confidence.

“We're glad to have the opportunity to have a horse like him in the barn,” Mott said. “It's nice to have a horse you can take to these kinds of races, and you have some sort of chance.

“It's a little bit risky coming in on that short rest, but it's a nice race to participate in and the purse money is very good. If we had another week it would be a lot better, but that's the only drawback.”

Mott's lone other Charles Town Classic starter, Ron the Greek, finished a close-up third behind Game on Dude and Clubhouse Ride in the 2013 edition.

Jockey Luis Saez, the leading rider this summer at Saratoga, will fly in for the mount.

Like Art Collector, every horse in the Classic has a resume laced with success as well as something to prove.

Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables' five-year-old millionaire Warrior's Charge has been a top racer since 2019, but hasn't won since taking the Razorback (G3) at Oaklawn Park in February 2020. Yet he has placed in three graded stakes including last time out in the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs, where he got pinballed around at the start only to rally courageously for second behind top-flight handicap horse Maxfield.

Normally a constant pace presence or front-runner, Warrior's Charge showed maturity and a new dimension in the Stephen Foster, giving confidence to trainer Brad Cox that he's not so one-dimensional.

“Maxfield is a cut above that group, but he ran second,” Cox said of the Stephen Foster. “But it showed [Warrior's Charge] doesn't have to go to the front and can pass horses. It wasn't the way we thought it would play out, and we were happy with the way it played out.”

Cox admitted he didn't know how Warrior's Charge would run Friday, only that he expects a good race.

“I'm not a big instruction giver to begin with,” he said. “Florent [Geroux]'s riding him, and he knows the horse really well. We always try to break with the speed and be involved with all of our horses. Good jocks don't need instruction and bad ones don't listen. He's training well at Ellis Park, and we'll ship Wednesday.”

“We have to hopefully get a good trip and hopefully he likes Charles Town. There are 800,000 reasons to try it.”

Trainer David Fawkes comes into the race with Harold Queen's homebred six-year-old Noble Drama, a win machine making his first start outside of Florida.

The evening will be extra special for Fawkes as this is the 10th anniversary of him winning the Classic with Duke of Mischief, the first year the race was graded.

Charles Town has announced that Duke of Mischief, who stands stud at nearby Flowing Acres Farm, will lead the Classic post parade.

“I haven't seen him in 10 years,” Fawkes said. “[VP of Racing & Sports Operations] Erich Zimny called me about a week ago and the farm manager called me. Now, I've gotta win.”

Fawkes just might. Noble Drama, who comes from off the pace has won four of his past seven starts and two in a row. He's a Sunshine Millions Classic winner with multiple stakes victories.

“He's gotten really good this year, and he came off that layoff [in May] like a monster,” Fawkes said. “I know bull rings. You've got to pick your horses, and I think this is the right one. First of all, it's how he's built. He's not a real big horse. He should be comfortable on the tighter turns. I never lean on him at all. I put a couple horses in front of him last work and he went 47 and three and galloped out in 59 and 1. He wasn't even breathing.”

Angel Cruz has the call on Noble Drama on Friday night.

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Jim and Donna Daniell's Rushie has at times shown glimpses of being a top horse in his own right, and he will ship in from California for trainer Michael McCarthy. The four-year-old son of Liam's Map finished third last year in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and third behind Art Collector in the Blue Grass before breaking through with a commanding win in the Pat Day Mile (G2) at Churchill Downs.

After finishing seventh behind the overwhelming Knicks Go in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Rushie returned in April and missed winning the Oaklawn Mile by a nose. McCarthy said he thought the race portended good things to come, but Rushie ran fourth in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) and then dueled on the lead and tired to sixth in the San Diego Handicap (G2) last time out on July 17.

“The horse has been training well and had a bit of a head scratcher in the San Diego,” McCarthy said. “I have no reservations about this. I thought this would be a big year for this horse. He ran so well in the Oaklawn Mile. He's got a stamina pedigree. It's been frustrating, but he's got a lot of ability, and we hope he can get it all together on Friday.”

Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza will ride Rushie in the Charles Town Classic.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will send out John Fanelli, Cash is King and LC Racing's Ny Traffic, another runner who has flashed tremendous promise and is looking for a breakthrough performance.

The gray four-year-old son of Cross Traffic finished second last year in the Louisiana Derby (G2) and Matt Winn (G3) before nearly knocking off Horse of the Year Authentic in the Haskell (G1), beaten only by a nose.

Ny Traffic tailed off in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and has failed to regain his best form this year, although he showed glimpses with a good second in the Salvator Mile (G3) in June at Monmouth.

He also likes to be involved in the pace early.

“He's a tactical type of horse,” Joseph said.

Tyler Gaffalione, who rode Ny Traffic in his last start at Monmouth, has the mount once again.

The horse that beat Ny Traffic in the Salvator Mile was Informative, who won at odds of 79-1 and comes from the barn of one of racing's long-shot kings, trainer Uriah St. Lewis.

St. Lewis won the 2018 Jockey Club Gold Cup with Discreet Lover at 45-1, who ran the following year in the Charles Town Classic. Last year, his Forewarned checked in seventh in the Classic.

Informative, a four-year-old son of Bodemeister, comes into the Classic off a fifth-place finish behind Max Player and Mystic Guide in the 1 1/4 mile Suburban (G2) at Belmont Park.

“I work with him, work with him; we're trying with him every day,” St. Lewis said. “We took him to Pimlico [for an allowance], and he ran a good race, so we decided to go to the Salvator Mile and won that. Then we went to the Suburban, and we got beat, but it was still only nine lengths to those types of horses.”

At 20-1 on the morning line, St. Lewis will have the services of Jose Ferrer in the irons as he attempts to pull the upset.

2020 Charles Town Classic winner Sleepy Eyes Todd will attempt to do what the prior seven horses in his shoes failed to accomplish – defending his title in West Virginia's richest horse race. He waltzed home by 7 1/2 lengths last year and then took down two more graded stakes races before moving up and running consecutively in three of the world's richest races – the $3,000,000 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (fourth), the $20,000,000 Saudi Cup (fifth) and the $12,000,000 Dubai World Cup (10th).

Sleepy Eyes Todd, owned by Thumbs Up Racing and trained by Miguel Angel Silva at Canterbury Park, hasn't raced since April, when he finished third in a stakes race at Fonner Park in Nebraska.

Ry Eikleberry has the mount on Sleepy Eyes Todd in the 2021 Classic.

Bourbon Lane Stable and Six Column Stables will run seven-year-old Bourbon Calling, who won the seven-furlong Russell Road on the Classic undercard last year at the track and has twice placed in graded stakes.

“We know he likes the track,” said trainer Ian Wilkes. Sometimes it's not the best horse that wins [at Charles Town] because that track is a little different.”

Bourbon Calling was prepped for the Classic by finishing third in the West Virginia' Governor's Stakes (G3) on August 7 at Mountaineer Park.

Joining Rushie in making the trip from out west is the versatile Restrainedvengence, a six-year-old California shipper owned by Kelly Brinkerhoff and Bob Grayson and trained by Val Brinkerhoff.

The gelded son of Hold Me Back is a graded stakes winner on grass, placed in Grade 1 races, and is a stakes winner as well on dirt. In his most recent start, on July 24, Restrainedvengence finished sixth, beaten just 3 1/4 lengths by leading turfer United in the Eddie Reed (G2) at Del Mar.

Brinkerhoff had two decades of experience riding bull ring tracks and as a trainer breaks and prepares his babies at Dixie Downs, a six-furlong track in St. George, Utah, before bringing them down to California.

He believes with that past experience that Restrainedvengence will take nicely to Charles Town.

“I trained him a little on Dixie Downs,” said Brinkerhoff, who decided to re-route his horse from the Del Mar Mile to take a shot in the Classic. “This is a really good horse. He's never thrown in a clunker.”

Jockey Edwin Maldonado, a former leading rider at the old Fairplex in Pomona, California, will ride.

“He's excellent on this type of track,” Brinkerhoff said.

Air Token completes the full field of ten for the Charles Town Classic on Friday.

The Classic, which is slated to go postward at 10:18 P.M. EST, will be part of three sequences of interest to horseplayers – a mandatory payout of the Charles Town Pick 6 jackpot, which commences with Race 8, a $100,000 Guaranteed Pick 5 beginning in Race 9 and a $100,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 that starts with Race 10.

$800,000 CHARLES TOWN CLASSIC (G2)

August 27, 2021

Race 12 – Post time 10:18 PM EST

1. Warrior's Charge, Florent Geroux, 118, Brad H. Cox

2. Noble Drama, Angel Cruz, 118, David Fawkes

3. Rushie, Victor Espinoza, 118, Michael W. McCarthy

4. Bourbon Calling, Brian J. Hernandez, Jr., 118, Ian R. Wilkes

5. Informative, Jose C. Ferrer, 120, Uriah St. Lewis

6. Ny Traffic, Tyler Gaffalione, 118, Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.

7. Sleepy Eyes Todd, Ry Eikleberry, 118, Miguel Angel Silva

8. Art Collector, Luis Saez, 118, William I. Mott

9. Restrainedvengence, Edwin A. Maldonado, 120, Val Brinkerhoff

10. Air Token, J.D. Acosta, 118, Jose Corrales

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