Moreno Wins Charles Town Classic, Shared Belief Eased
The largest event on the West Virginia horse racing calendar took an unexpected turn of events on Saturday as Shared Belief, the top horse in the nation, was eased midway through the Grade 2, $1.5 million Charles Town Classic, leaving Southern Equine Stable LLC’s Moreno to power through to a track record-breaking victory.
True to custom, Moreno broke on top but was quickly challenged for the lead by Warrioroftheroses, who seized the early advantage. Closely tracking early fractions of :23.19, :47.18 and 1:12.03, Moreno, ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, kicked past his rival in the third and final turn of the six furlong course.
Moreno turned four-wide for home and began to draw clear. Defending Charles Town Classic champion Imperative unleashed a late charge on the inside to close the gap for second. Moreno held on to win by two lengths while breaking the track record for 1 1/8 miles by more than a full second.
The final running time was 1:48.81, officially 1.05 seconds faster than Researcher’s 2009 record for the distance.
Meanwhile, Shared Belief, in his first race outside of California for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, broke slowly from the gate and never menaced, settling in eighth as the field as nine passed the wire for the first time. In the Clubhouse turn, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith took the 4-year-old Candy Ride gelding out of the race and eased him in the backstretch.
“He just seemed to slip in behind and wasn't comfortable,” Smith said after the race. “The safe thing to do at that point was to get back in one piece.”
West Virginia State Veterinarian Dr. Elizabeth Daniel examined Shared Belief following the race.
“When I got to the horse, I saw a little soft tissue swelling in the right stifle,” said Dr. Daniel. “We gather it’s something that happened leaving the starting gate. He didn’t appear to be travelling well from the time he left the gate.”
Moreno picked up his third graded stakes win and a $900,000 payday in the Charles Town Classic. The 5-year-old son of Ghostzapper improves his overall record to four wins, eight seconds and four thirds from 26 starts with total earnings of more than $3.8 million.
“I wanted to send for the lead, but the other had more speed,” said Velasquez. “I wanted to put him in good position. I wanted to keep him busy. I had a lot of horse. I need to stay busy. The horse, you need to stay busy. At the three-eighths pole I asked him and he didn't stop. He went OK.
“The trainer told me all the time stay busy and don't give him a break. I wanted to ask him all the time and he ran.”
“We separated ourselves from the pack, me and Warrioroftheroses,” said winning trainer Eric Guillot. “I'm thinking, he's going to come back. It's a different kind of speed - everyday overnight stakes vs. Grade 1 horses. The trick is it wasn't like he had the lead all the way turning for home. We took over at the three-eighths pole. The configuration of the track - short stretch, three turns - and the horse is doing great. The horse hasn't done a whole lot wrong. People misunderstand how good this horse. In the words of the great Johnny Campo: ‘I'm a horse trainer, pal.’ It's that simple. Very humble. they named the pie after me. Humble pie.”
The Charles Town Classic was the third meeting of Moreno and Shared Belief, who both experienced less-than-ideal trips in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last fall. Moreno made his season debut in the Santa Anita Handicap, finishing second to Shared Belief, before posting a third-place finish in the Grade 2, New Orleans Handicap on March 28.
Page McKenney finished third, while Vyjack was fourth.
With the heavy, 1-5 favorite finishing off the board, the 7-1 second choice Moreno returned $16.00, $12.00 and $23.20 across the board. Imperative paid $41.60 and $71.20 for place and show. Page McKenney paid $45.60 to show.
Written by Heather Pettinger