Skippylongstocking Back To Defend Charles Town Classic Title

Skippylongstocking, back to defend his title, headlines a field of ten set to contest the 16th running of the $1,000,000 Charles Town Classic (G2) at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races on Friday, August 23.

The Classic joins the $750,000 Charles Town Oaks (G2), the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial (L), the $500,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon, and two $75,000 restricted stakes on Charles Town's biggest card of the year, which gets underway at 5 p.m. ET.

Owned by Daniel Alonso and trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., Skippylongstocking took the 2023 renewal of the Classic by five lengths in wire-to-wire fashion. Since his Classic triumph, the son of Exaggerator has added wins in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and Challenger Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs, along with third place efforts in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and Stephen Foster (G1).

Skippylongstocking is exiting a fifth-place effort in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. The 5-year-old will look to join Researcher, Imperative, and Art Collector as two-time winners of the Classic.

"We thought he ran a pretty good race in the Stephen Foster, so we wanted to give him a try at Saratoga," said trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. of his horse's effort in the Whitney. "We always had this race in our minds after how well he ran last year, but he had to give us every right sign. And he's come out of the race super and I feel like he's sitting on a big, big effort."

Joseph will also send out Lord Miles, who took down the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct last year before finishing a fast-closing second to Damon's Mound in the Robert Hilton Memorial on last year's Charles Town Classic undercard.

"I feel like he's running into form," said Joseph. "He liked the track last year at a distance that was a bit short. We put the blinkers back on last time and we feel like he's rounding back into form and everything's aligning for him to run a big race."

Two-time Charles Town Classic-winning trainer and Hall of Famer Bill Mott will be represented by Bendoog. The son of top sire Gun Runner began his career in Dubai before coming stateside and joining Mott's stable. He's coming off of a solid runner-up effort in the Suburban (G2) at Saratoga.

Charles Town-based conditioner Jeff Runco also has two Charles Town Classic wins on his résumé, and he's back with another shot at his third win in the race as he sends out Coastal Mission in this year's renewal. The West Virginia-bred son of Great Notion has kept top company throughout 2024, and Runco says all has gone according to plan for his charge.

"It was late last year when we started thinking about how to get to the Classic," said Runco. "With these kind of horses, you have to plan things out well in advance. And you hope it all works out. And it has worked out so far. He's ready to go. I was glad to get the extra time after the race at Aqueduct because he needed it to get him ready for this race. He's going to need a good trip and the right kind of ride. It's a pretty even, solid race, so you have to have a good break and get a solid position. He's been training fantastic. I think he's got a really good chance."

Warrior Johny, like Skippylongstocking, is wheeling back in the Classic after contesting the Whitney. And his trainer Phil Bauer is happy with what he's seen since that effort.

"The horse is training superb and came out of the Whitney really well," said Bauer. "So we figured, 'why not?' We were originally deciding between the Whitney and the Classic, and since he didn't really run in the Whitney, we figured we'd give it a shot. The start has been his Achilles heel. He doesn't really have a quick first step out of the gate, but the steps right after that are good. Joel knows the horse, and he'll be there for him at the finish."

This year's Kentucky Derby (G1) and Oaks (G1) winning trainer Ken McPeek will be represented by Frosted Departure. The son of Frosted is coming off a near lifetime-best effort in the Deputed Testimony Stakes at Laurel Park. Trainer Gary Scherer sends out Velocitor off a series of solid efforts in the Midwest.

Rounding out the field are Piroli, Komorebino Omoide, and Double Crown.

Friday night also offers some terrific wagering opportunities for horseplayers with a $100,000 guaranteed Late Pick 5 that kicks off in Race 9, 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 $23,330 which gets underway in Race 8.

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