Haulin Ice, Mystic Lake Strong Joseph Pair in CT Oaks (2024)

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. sends a strong brigade to Hollywood Casino At Charles Town Racesfor the West Virginia track's premier day of racing. One race before the lucrative $1 million Charles Town Classic (G2), in which the Barbados native will saddle morning-line favorite Skippylongstocking, the conditioner sends out the potent duo of Haulin Ice and Mystic Lake in the Charles Town Oaks (G2).

A field of 10sophom*ore fillies will vie for the $750,000 prize with Mike Maker-trainedMy Mane Squeeze starting as the tentative choice. A comfortable winner of the Eight Belles Stakes (G2) two starts back on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) undercard, the Audible filly has since finished fourth and third in grade 1 company. She wheels back in 20 days in the seven-furlong Oaks off a third-place showing behind Ways and Means and Emery in the Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

Mystic Lake, a narrow second to Test runner-up Emery in the July 4 Victory Ride Stakes (G3), looks to secure her fourth black-type victory of the year in the Oaks. The speedy front-running filly annexed her biggest win of the year in the Miss Preakness Stakes (G3). The daughter of Mo Town could face some company on the front end with a filly breaking to her inside, local hero Overnight Pow Wow, a West Virginia-bred who has captured her last three starts gate to wire over the Charles Town oval.

Joseph's other entrant, Haulin Ice, is unproven against this level of competition but dominated her rivals by 9 1/2 lengths last time out in the July 13 Azalea Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The Arkansas-bred Coal Front filly earned a career-high 98 Equibase Speed Figure for her performance.

The Brad Cox-trained Impelheads the Kentucky shippers, and should be live in the cutback to seven furlongs.

Undercard Races

• Skippylongstocking is not the only heavily favored Joseph trainee racingFriday, with Miller Racing's Spirit Wind highlighting a competitive group of eight older fillies and mares in the $500,000 Pink Ribbon Stakes earlier on the card. When loose on the lead, Spirit Wind is difficult to catch, as she showed with her gutsy victory in theHonorable Miss Handicap (G2) July 24 at Saratoga. Clearly Unhinged, third to her that day, returns to try and turn the tables for trainer Steve Asmussen. The Into Mischief filly notched a 1 1/2-length tally in the Winning Colors Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs earlier in the summer.
• Also on the card is the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds. With the scratch of grade 1 winner Book'em Danno, the Hilton Memorial becomes a wide-open affair. An interesting player to watch would be West Coast invader Tapalo, who should appreciate the cutback to seven furlongs after fading to finish fourth after setting the pace in the two-turn Los Alamitos Derby June 29. In his prior start, the John Sadler trainee romped by seven lengths going seven-eighths in the LazaroBarrera Stakes at Santa Anita Park