CT: Wide-open group to contest Confucius Say
Full field to tangle in bid for division supremacy
The Biz
June 12, 2026
Familiar faces square off Saturday night at Charles Town Races when a competitive group of West Virginia-breds lines up for the $75,000 Confucius Say Stakes at seven furlongs.
Charles Town’s older male division of state-breds is missing two big stars of previous years in Coastal Mission, a $1.1 million earner unraced since last September; and last year’s Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders’ Classic winner, Teachintherelease, also unraced this year.
Without those two, the division becomes a complete puzzle, and just about every runner who might have a piece will be in Saturday’s contest.
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At the center of the discussion is Pascaline, the 5-2 morning-line favorite for trainer Arnaud Delacour. A $40,000 yearling purchase, the four-year-old has made four local starts, going off at even-money or less in all of them, but has just one win and was bested by two of his rivals in this contest in Spotafreeone and Juba’s Hat Trick.
Trainer Jeff Runco, meanwhile, sends out a formidable three-pronged attack headed by Spotafreeone, the 3-1 second choice. The four-year-old has won six of nine career starts and is 6-for-7 at his home track. In his most recent start, he dead-heated for the top spot with Ray of Sunshine, and they were 10 clear of the rest. A winner of last year’s Russell Road and Robert G. Leavitt stakes, Spotafreeone has done little wrong in his brief career and appears poised for another stakes breakthrough.
Runco also saddles veteran Muad’dib, whose résumé towers over the field. The nine-year-old has bankrolled more than $1.1 million while winning 18 races, including numerous stakes. At age 9, his recent form has been more workmanlike than spectacular, but he still possesses the late kick that has made him one of the most accomplished West Virginia-breds of his generation.
The third member of the Runco trio, Runaldo, is another proven performer with eight wins and more than $340,000 in earnings, including a win in the 2024 Sam Huff Breeders’ Classic. While he has not visited the winner’s circle this season, he has remained competitive and could benefit if the early pace becomes contested.
Owner-trainer Cindy McKee may saddle a pair, though as of Thursday, she was continuing to weigh her options.
Im the Director drew into the main body of the race but enters after a pair of off-color outings and may be forced to scratch with a minor foot issue.
“He’s better than what he was, but I had him out in the road this morning and he is not 100%,” McKee said. “And if he’s not 100%, he doesn’t run. I’m not running a horse against those kind of horses and expect him to perform at the top when I know he’s not at the top.”
If Im the Director – or another runner – scratches McKee’s other runner, Catch the Humor, will draw in. The five-year-old Girvin gelding opened his campaign with an allowance score May 30 and owns one stakes win, in the 2024 Russell Road on WVBC night.
“I don’t know if he’s quite ready for a stake yet, but it came up and I’m gonna try,” McKee added.
One of the more intriguing runners is Ray of Sunshine, who has won three of four starts since moving into the Stephen Murdock barn. Blessed with abundant early speed, the four-year-old has controlled the tempo in each of those victories and figures to be one of the main pace factors from the outset.
Among the deeper closers, Xcellent Start merits respect, though at this point of his career, he may want more than seven furlongs to show his best. The six-year-old owns 11 career victories and exits a credible fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special. A winner over the Charles Town seven furlongs, he could be running at tired horses in the final stages.
Direct Appeal and Nocashrefunds round out the field. Direct Appeal has finished in the money in six of seven starts this season, while Nocashrefunds has proven dangerous when able to dictate terms and owns eight career victories.
The race may ultimately come down to whether the speed can carry the distance. Ray of Sunshine, Im the Director, and Nocashrefunds all do their best work near the front, while Spotafreeone, Pascaline, Muad’dib, and Xcellent Start have shown the ability to sit and pounce.
The Confucius Say is the eighth on a nice-race program that kicks off at 7:00 p.m.
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