Charles Town Oaks the Highlight of Seven-Stakes Card at Charles Town

With seven stakes races on the agenda, the Saturday card at Charles Town is shaping up to be a memorable day of racing with large fields and some very talented horses in action.

Let’s take a quick look at all the action….

Race 5: West Virginia-bred two-year-olds will sprint 4 ½ furlongs in the Henry Mercer Memorial Stakes, in which #1 Windsors for It—a fast maiden winner of this track and distance in July—looms as the one to beat off a third-place finish in an open allowance race at Laurel Park last time out. #4 Bootsie Boy and #7 Hard Being Me are other local maiden winners with a chance to contend.

Race 7: With seven wins from 10 starts at Charles Town, #8 Runnin’toluvya looks like a true “horse for the course” in the seven-furlong Frank Gall Memorial Stakes. But #7 Grumpelstiltskin has likewise shown a strong affinity for Charles Town, and #3 Weekend Liberty—while not a frequent winner—has cracked the trifecta in 20 of her 25 lifetime starts.

Race 8: The local two-year-old fillies will get a chance to shine in the 4 ½-furlong Rachel’s Turn Stakes, in which #2 Parisian Diva, #3 Lima Crush, #7 Amelia Bedelia and #10 Battleground Star—all maiden winners over this track and distance—figure to settle the race between them. Parisian Diva, a 7 ¼-length debut winner just two weeks ago, could wind up as the favorite.

Race 9: #3 Unrideabull has already won three stakes races at Charles Town, so even though he’ll be making his seasonal debut in the 4 ½-furlong Last Enchantment Stakes, he has to be considered the horse to beat. Among his rivals are the local veterans #1 Rip Current, #6 Last Plunge, and #10 George Town Cat, who have combined to make a staggering 145 starts at Charles Town.

Race 10: With 10 wins from 21 starts at Charles Town, #2 Lake Ponchatrain will hope to make the locals proud in the seven-furlong Pink Ribbon Stakes for fillies and mares. But victory is far from a certainty since she’ll be facing some talented out-of-state shippers such as #6 Starship Reina, who has won three of her last four starts for trainer Jorge Navarro; #7 Grace’s Treasure, a multiple stakes-placed runner shipping in from Kentucky; and #9 My Magician, winner of the Politely Stakes at Laurel Park last year.

Race 11: The feature race of the day is the seven-furlong $300,000 Charles Town Oaks for three-year-old fillies, a race that has attracted the Forward Gal Stakes (gr. III) winner and Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) participant Take Charge Paula. But since Take Charge Paula is winless in her last five starts, the race could be ripe for an upset, so watch out for horses like the four-time stakes winner #10 Bronx Beauty, the Azalea Stakes winner #8 Alter Moon, the up-and-coming allowance winners #5 Alberobello and #6 Awesome Mass, and the 6-for-7 local representative #3 Late Night Pow Wow.

Race 12: #8 Moonlit Song is 13-for-19 at Charles Town and should be a clear choice to prevail in the seven-furlong Sadie Hawkins Stakes, though #6 Anna’s Bandit is a stakes winner over this track and shouldn’t be underestimated while competing at Charles Town for only the third time in her career.

Post time for the first race of the day is 5:00 p.m. Eastern.