Banishing rounding into form for Charles Town Classic repeat bid
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When Banishing won the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic last year, he did so in the midst of a busy campaign where he could seem to do no wrong. If the 6-year-old is going to repeat in the $1 million race on Friday, he will have to shake off a more erratic recent record.
In five starts this year, Banishing has won two stakes in impressive fashion and suffered three crushing defeats. In a jet-setting early stint, he finished far behind in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational and $20 million Saudi Cup, only to bounce back and win the Group 2 Godolphin Mile.
“We were very happy with the Saudi race,” trainer David Jacobson said. “He ran against some of the best horses in the country at the time, if not the best horses in our lifetime. That was a good race and then he ran a great race in the Godolphin Mile, like he was supposed to.”
Jacobson got him back on the track shortly after his return to the United States, but the gelding was not ready for action in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs in May, failing to finish the race and walking off. He was later found to have developed an abscess.
With proper time to recover from the wear of his early season, Banishing returned in the $175,000 Jeff Hall Memorial at Ellis Park last month. He dueled in the early going of the 6 1/2-furlong race but dug in to win by a length, earning a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He’s coming back into form,” Jacobson said. “He got out of form at Churchill. That race was very disappointing, but we found out what was wrong. We took care of it, and he came back at Ellis and ran a big race.”
Jacobson cross-entered Banishing in the Grade 1 Forego on Saturday at Saratoga, but the trainer said winning this race last year made the trip to West Virginia seem worthwhile. Jacobson used the Hall Memorial as a prep for the 1 1/8-mile, three-turn Charles Town Classic last year as well.
“Probably, if we hadn’t been there before, I would have gone to the Forego,” Jacobson said. “Being he won over the track, it’s definitely an advantage. For some of the other horses, it’s an unknown.”
Jacobson also entered the 5-year-old Prince of Power, who could be a pace presence in the field of 10.
The Charles Town Classic is the featured race on a 13-race card that also includes the Grade 2 Charles Town Oaks, two listed stakes, and five statebred stakes. These races will offer a combined $2.85 million in purse money.
Banishing is one of two previous Charles Town Classic winners entered in this year’s edition, along with the 7-year-old Skippylongstocking. The 2023 and 2024 winner has done some of the best running in his career in West Virginia and will be rematched with Banishing after fading to last in the race last year.
In July, Skippylongstocking returned from a short layoff and finished 29 1/4 lengths behind Knightsbridge in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup. He earned his first Grade 1 victory in January when he won the Pegasus World Cup Invitational.
Like Jacobson, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. also entered a second horse he recently claimed. Since acquiring Full Screen for $80,000 in June, the 7-year-old gelding has just missed in a pair of allowances at Saratoga. He will add blinkers for the first time since July 2023.
Dragoon Guard, a graded stakes winner in 2024, has come up short in seven straight stakes attempts. Last month, trainer Brad Cox entered him in an allowance around two turns at Horseshoe Indianapolis, and he responded to win by 8 1/4 lengths.
“Obviously, it was class relief, but I think a lot of it had to do with getting back around two turns,” Cox said. “I don’t think I’ll shorten him up to one turn anytime soon. We’re going from one turn to two turns to three turns, so hopefully we see another move forward.”
Barbadian Runner, a Maryland-bred with seven stakes victories, will make his long-awaited graded stakes debut for trainer Henry Walters. The gelding won the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial at Charles Town last year.
“It’s the perfect timing to try him against these horses,” Walters said.
Trainer Steve Asmussen originally entered the Virginia-bred Gigante in a state-restricted stakes at Colonial Downs earlier this month, but he said he decided to take a shot at a bigger purse.
Bullard, a 4-year-old colt trained by Michael McCarthy, finished 4 1/2 lengths clear of Gigante in the Grade 3 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows last time out. He was no match for the Joseph-trained gelding Navajo Warrior, but he still took second with a 102 Beyer.
Trainer Mike Maker said he expects Willy D’s, the runner-up in the Charles Town Classic last year, to fire fresh off a two-month break. After winning back-to-back stakes, the 5-year-old gelding ran fifth behind Magnitude in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster in June.
– additional reporting by David Grening
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