CHARLES TOWN PICKS AND HORSES TO WATCH: September 17

Sleepy Eyes Todd
Sleepy Eyes Todd won the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic. Photo by Coady Photography.

Charles Town Races has an eight-race card on tap for this evening. Post time for the opener is 7:00 p.m., and we’ve got Charles Town picks.

Carryovers: Jackpot Pick 6, $27,340

Check out our other handicapping here!

RACE NUMBERCONTENDERSCOMMENTS
Race 34-2-3-6Two-year-old state-bred maiden fillies square off in this contest, and top choice #4 Hessica (9-5) ran too well to lose last out. The Kristy Petty trainee was the middle runner in a three-horse vanguard early before disposing of those rivals, but she couldn’t contain the late run of the favorite and had to settle for second. That race was a full second faster than the other division on the same card… We’re gonna give another crack to #2 Princess Halo (15-1), especially if we get something like the morning line. She got left at the gate in her debut — which is pretty much death going 4 1/2 furlongs — and she swung way wide leaving the turn. For all that, she ran on willingly, making up a lot of ground and finishing sixth while just missing fifth. If she can get out of the gate today, she’ll rate a big shot here… #3 My Juba (2-1) has been second, albeit a well-beaten second, twice against similar… #6 Castle Lights (10-1) was part of the pace duel with Hessica last out before fading from the scene. Interesting to see Bocachica pick up the mount…
Race 36-1-3-7First-level allowance for state-bred distaffers here, and all of the horses here that have previously tried this level have holes in their resume, which pushes us in the direction of #6 Feel the Love (7-2). The Crystal Pickett trainee took seven tries to graduate but did so nicely last out, sitting off the pace and then powering home to win by two. Maybe the lightbulb’s gone on… Morning line favorite #1 Cedars Bulls Eye (5-2) has run a couple of good races at this level, including last out when second, but the four tries without a win against allowance rivals mean you have to look with a bit of a skeptical eye… #3 Walk a Fine Line (12-1) comes out of the same race as Cedars Bulls Eye, finishing fourth that day, two lengths behind that rival. On the plus side, that was a credible effort in her first try against winners and first going two turns, and she made a decent middle move into contention before flattening out late. She can move forward here… #7 Moonlit Shadow (3-1) has done perhaps her best work on the engine, and this contest, in which she breaks from the outside and there’s not a lot of front-end speed, might be a good spot to try that again…

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