Art Collector Seeks Repeat in $1M Charles Town Classic
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Art Collector wins the Alydar Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Bill Mott certainly wouldn't mind seeing history repeat in the $1 million Charles Town Classic (G2) Aug. 26.
A year ago, Art Collector mined the West Virginia riches, winning the Classic by 1 1/2 lengths over Sleepy Eyes Todd after a handy victory in the Alydar Stakes at Saratoga. From that, he went on to win the Woodward Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park.
He returns to the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races at the midpoint in the same scenario: a victory in the Alydar and a starring role at the scenic track just down the road from historic Harper's Ferry.
After the 2021 Woodward, Mott took Art Collector to Del Mar for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), where he faded from early contention to finish sixth. He was next seen in Saudi Arabia, again fading late to be basically eased through the stretch in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) Feb. 26.
"The Breeders' Cup was not a great effort and we came out of it with some foot issues, and whatever happened in Saudi, he just didn't fire," Mott said. "You don't know if it was the track or whatever it is, whatever, he did not finish his race up."
The son of Bernardini then was stuck in Saudi Arabia for an extended time because of global transportation problems. Mott did not get him back into a starting gate until the Aug. 4 Alydar.
"He is coming off a good race, he is coming off a win. He was sharp in victory here, and looked good. If he repeats that race, he is going to be tough," Mott said. "I am looking at the same Racing Form you are. I have watched him run and he is capable of running some good races; we had some good ones.
"We have been pleased with him. I am not into making predictions. but the way he is coming into it, he is doing good."
Owner Bruce Lunsford echoed Mott's confidence in the horse following his Alydar performance.
"It was a little bit of a tough winter with him, but once we got him back over here, he's been doing great," Lunsford said. "He actually ran better this year in the Alydar than he did last year. And he's been training really well since, so we feel like he's coming into the race great. He's in good hands with Bill."
This time around in the three-turn, 1 1/8-mile Classic, Art Collector faces some serious competition among seven rivals.
Mind Control , a 6-year-old son of Stay Thirsty trained by Todd Pletcher, exits a hard-won victory over Hot Rod Charlie in the Salvator Mile (G3) June 18 at Monmouth Park. He is a dual grade 1 winner but is far more familiar with seven furlongs to a mile and one or two turns than the conditions of the Classic, leaving jockey John Velazquez to work out a trip from the No. 2 gate.
"He ran well going two turns last time," Pletcher said Aug. 21 at Saratoga. "He's been good around two turns and it's a significant purse."
Pletcher has won the race twice, in 2012 with Caixa Eletronica and in 2016 with Stanford .
Last Samurai won the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) in April, but the Malibu Moon colt, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, finished a distant seventh in the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs on return July 2 and third in the R.A. "Cowboy" Jones Stakes at Ellis Park a month later.
Officiating , a 4-year-old colt by Blame , responded when stretched out to 1 1/8 miles for the first time by trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., winning the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) at Prairie Meadows in his last race July 9.
Only one of the eight entrants for the Classic, other than Art Collector, has ever run at Charles Town.
The local hope is Muad'dib , a 5-year-old, West Virginia-bred gelding by Fiber Sonde . Trained at Charles Town by Jeff Runco, Muad'dib is undefeated in 10 starts, all over his home track, with two at the Classic distance. Runco saddled Researcher to win the Classic in 2009 and 2010.
On the flip side for the hometown hero, all but two of his races were against fellow West Virginia-breds.
Hollywood Casino At Charles Town Races, Friday, August 26, 2022, Race 12Entries: Charles Town Classic S. (G2)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Plot the Dots (MD)
Angel Cruz
118
Claudio A. Gonzalez
20/1
2
2Mind Control (KY)
John R. Velazquez
120
Todd A. Pletcher
2/1
3
3Last Samurai (KY)
Jon Kenton Court
120
D. Wayne Lukas
8/1
4
4Art Collector (KY)
Luis Saez
118
William I. Mott
6/5
5
5Treasure Trove (KY)
J. D. Acosta
118
Norman L. Cash
20/1
6
6Officiating (FL)
Javier Castellano
120
Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.
8/1
7
7Muad'dib (WV)
Arnaldo Bocachica
118
Jeff C. Runco
10/1
8
8Jalen Journey (FL)
Angel S. Arroyo
118
Norman L. Cash
15/1
