Charles Town: Sharp field of sprinters meet in handicap

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club

Vow of Honor comes back quickly following an easy win in an allowance at Laurel Park.

Good sprint form is plentiful among the six fillies and mares entered in Tuesday night’s $35,000 Presidents Day Handicap at Charles Town. Five of horses in the featured eighth race at 4 1/2 furlongs were first or second last time out and the sixth finished third in her most recent race following back-to-back wins.

Two of the last-out winners, Maryland shipper Vow of Honor and Penn National-based Dorothy’s Aurora, could wind up vying for favoritism.

The 4-year-old Vow of Honor has been in front by a daylight margin at the second call in each of her last four sprints. She will be coming back 13 days after winning a first-level allowance going six furlongs at Laurel Park by 4 3/4 lengths with a career-best 75 Beyer Speed Figure.

Vow of Honor’s trainer, Hugh McMahon, shows a 7-for-23 record (30 percent) the last five years with last-out winners returning in 14 days or less in a sprint.

The 4-year-old Dorothy’s Aurora has won three of her last four starts, including her Charles Town debut by 1 1/2 lengths last time out on Jan. 29. Those three wins produced consistent Beyers of 79, 78, and 78.

Tim Kreiser the trainer of Dorothy’s Aurora, is 7 for 23 (30 percent) over the last two years with last-out winners returning in 21 days or less in a sprint.

Fear the Facelift trains in Maryland, but owns a 6-for-10 record at Charles Town, including a win two races ago in a 4 1/2-furlong allowance. She comes back quickly after rallying from fourth to finish second in a 5 1/2-furlong optional $45,000 claimer at Laurel. The last time the 4-year-old Fear the Facelift returned on less than two weeks’ rest, she finished fourth in the Fancy Buckles at Charles Town.

The 7-year-old Pretty Miss Trippi has been no worse than second in four of her six tries at Charles Town. In her only two starts at 4 1/2 furlongs, she has a win and a second behind Dorothy’s Aurora.

Flip the Switch’s bid to win three in a row was thwarted when she raced evenly to finish third behind Dorothy’s Aurora and Pretty Miss Trippi on Jan. 29. Her affinity for short sprints at Charles Town is reflected in her 4-for-7 record at the distance locally. She could be approaching a peak effort making the third start of her form cycle.