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by Frank Vespe
For the second straight race, North Atlantic got the jump on his rival Charitable Annuity in last night’s $50,000 A Huevo Stakes at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.
This time, he had enough to turn that advantage into a victory.
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North Atlantic, with Arnaldo Bocachica up, took the lead with less than a furlong to go and went on to win by a length over Prince of Windsor, who led from the early going. Charitable Annuity’s late run left him third, a length-and-a-quarter away.
A month ago, in the $350,000 West Virginia Breeders Classic, North Atlantic and Charitable Annuity were two-thirds of a three-horse photo, with the latter getting the nod to post his second Classic win in three years. North Atlantic was second, and Weekend Liberty was third that day.
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But the story was a different one today, and that played out to North Atlantic’s advantage. While the Classic had plenty of early pace — the opening half-mile that night went in 47 4/5 seconds — on Saturday the field dawdled through an opening half in a tepid 49 2/5.
Prince of Windsor, the Ollie Figgins trainee with Guillermo Rodriguez up, held a short lead over longshot Royal Blue at that point, and he maintained a narrow lead over a challenge from Rocket Road after three-quarters in 1:14.52 — versus 1:13 flat in the Classic.
North Atlantic, three wide on the turn, made his bid nearing the three-eighths and cleared inside the furlong grounds. Charitable Annuity and pilot Christian Hiraldo enjoyed an inside trip most of the way but were a bit slower to get into stride. When Charitable Annuity, the two-time defending champ in this event, did get rolling, it was too late.
Final running time for the A Huevo was 1:53.46, a touch slower than the Classic. North Atlantic paid $5.60 to win as the 9-5 second choice; Charitable Annuity was 1.10-1. The exacta, with 20-1 Prince of Windsor in second, was good for $79.20.
It was the first stakes win for North Atlantic, a Ghostzapper gelding trained by leading trainer Jeff Runco, He was bred and is owned by Runco’s Coleswood Farm. He now has seven wins from 22 career starts and earnings of $235,740.
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