Roughly one week after the race was postponed by heavy rains and intense lightning that brought a premature end to the Saturday night card, Charles Town offered the latest edition of the $75,000 It’s Only Money Stakes for West Virginia-bred older males as the penultimate race on a Friday card contested over a very fast track.

The It’s Only Money featured a compact group of stellar West Virginia-bred sprinters looking to emulate the race’s namesake. It’s Only Money, owned and trained by Tim Grams, won the inaugural $50,000 Charles Town Dash on July 4, 1999 in a then-track record clocking of 50.36 for the 4 1/2 furlongs.

Heading into the latest edition of the It’s Only Money Stakes, much of the attention was focused on defending champion Duncan Idaho (Arnaldo Bocachica) who went off the 1-2 favorite from the rail for trainer Jeff Runco and owner David Raim. Riding a three-race win streak, the full-brother to millionaire Muad’dib and multiple graded stakes winner Late Night Pow Wow was looking to prevail off a modest 10-week respite.

Looking to upend the odds-on choice were a pair of trainees for conditioner Anthony Farrior, Honeyquist, the 2-1 second choice, and Youthinkthatsfunny, the 7-1 third choice. Three other state-bred males, Time to Rock, Little Roo Roo and Jefferson Native, were also looking to play the spoiler role.

Both Duncan Idaho and Honeyquist broke very sharply while Time to Rock missed the break and spotted his rivals five or six lengths at the outset. Duncan Idaho and Honeyquist dueled down the backside and by the opener in a brisk 21.32 seconds and continued to battle through the far turn and by the half-mile mark in 45.18 while well clear of the others.

“When he breaks like that, he’s tough to beat,” Bocachica said. “He’s really quick. When he broke that well, I knew he was going to win. The rail is not always the best place, but he broke so good I knew they weren’t going by him.”

At the top of the lane, Duncan Idaho disposed of Honeyquist, and the odds-on favorite easily held safe the late bid of Youthinkthatsfunny for a two-length score while stopping the timer in 51.81. A five-year-old Fiber Sonde horse, Duncan Idaho now boasts four straight wins to start the season and sports 14 wins and $350,000 banked from 21 career tries while successfully defending his title in the It’s Only Money Stakes.

“I thought he came into it pretty good,” Runco said. “He had been off nearly three months, so I wasn’t overly confident. But he’s really good when he breaks like that. I’ll try to find another race for him before the next stakes [in August].”

“I usually don’t get too nervous before his races, but I was really nervous before this one,” Raim said. “I knew there were a lot of really fast horses in there and breaking from the rail is not always ideal. But once he broke like that I knew he was going to be okay. He’s a talented horse and Jeff always does a great job with him. It’s just a shame that there are no other tracks where he can run 4 1/2 furlongs.”

One race earlier, Love the Lad (Larry Reynolds up) forged a very mild upset in a one-turn maiden special weight dash for West Virginia-bred three-year-old fillies when she outfought stablemate Our Memories following a prolonged duel and edged away late to a length score. A sophomore daughter of Golden Lad trained by Tim Grams and owned and bred by Grams Racing, Love the Lad prevailed at first asking by getting the distance in 52.91 as the 3-1 third choice, giving the Grams-Reynolds team a double on the card.

Grams and Reynolds had been at it again several races earlier. Maggie’s Girl lived up to her billing as the 4-5 favorite in a two-turn allowance for state-bred fillies and mares when she broke alertly along the rail and gained command along the fence through the clubhouse turn, kept 6-5 second choice Zip Start at bay through the first three calls, then edged clear late to a two-length score. A five-year-old daughter of Uncle Lino trained by Tim Grams and also owned and bred by Grams racing, Maggie’s Girl notched her first win in four seasonal tries and now owns a 12-4-2 slate and roughly $290,000 banked from 21 career outings after getting the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:18.87.

“She needed a race like this to get her confidence back,” Grams said. “We tried her on the turf at Pimlico and she didn’t really care for that, then she didn’t break that sharp in the Fancy Buckles last out. Tonight she made the lead, and she did it easily.”

“She has a lot of natural early speed and when she breaks sharp she’s really good,” Reynolds said. “That last start in the stakes she just didn’t break that well and she never got involved. Tonight she made the front easily and she was going easily the whole way and I finally shook off [Zip Start] leaving the furlong pole.”