CHARLES TOWN CANCELS THURSDAY, PLUS LOOK AHEAD

Racing at Charles Town. Photo by Coady Photography.
  • userThe Biz
  • dateFebruary 18, 2021

Charles Town Races has canceled its Thursday, February 18 card because of the winter storm socking the Mid-Atlantic.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Maryland and West Virginia, and the forecast predicts five to seven inches of accumulated snow and sleet, along with extremely slippery conditions.

Charles Town previously was forced to cancel February 10.

LOOKING AHEAD

Friday’s card features a pair of maiden special weight races… The third, a 4 1/2-furlong test for sophomores, looks likely to come down to the Ronney Brown-trained Golden Answer (8-5) and Moss Boss (7-5), trained by Ernesto Perez. The latter ran second and the former was third, a length apart, last time out. Perez will also send out Master of Disaster (6-1), a Khozan gelding who’s been trying his luck without much success at Gulfstream. He’ll get Lasix for the first time here. And David Walters will send out Jess’s Reserve (8-1), who was a well-beaten fourth on debut but had some trip trouble…

The fifth, a maiden contest for state-bred three-year-olds, looks to run directly through the Jeff Runco-trained Choco Roco (8-5), who was the runner-up in a January 29 contest that’s produced half the field in this one. Harry Potter fans will back Maddeye Moody (15-1), a first-timer for trainer Laura Carson, presumably named for the Defence against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts…

Saturday’s featured 4 1/2-furlong allowance, carded as the seventh race, brings together Sonde of Music (2-1) and College Kid (5-2). College Kid won at this level last time out in front-running fashion for her third win in five starts. The Windsor Castle filly, a homebred for James W. Casey, has won three of five starts.

In the two of those five that College Kid lost, she finished behind Sonde of Music both times. A homebred for trainer Lee Couchenour, Sonde of Music, a seven-year-old Fiber Sonde mare, has been first or second in eight of nine career starts. After winning an allowance in June 2019, she was off just shy of 18 months, not returning to action until December 2, 2020, when she returned running, winning an allowance by a neck while earning the top BRIS speed fig of her career. College Kid was third that day.

Last time out, Sonde of Music led late before being caught and finishing second; College Kid was fifth in that contest. That was January 6, and Sonde of Music hasn’t raced since, showing only a three-furlong move February 10 in the interim…

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