Charles Town: Attractive Ride rolls into Ranson in top form

Spending $35,000 on a 7-year-old racehorse with 57 starts under his girth might be comparable to buying a high-mileage used car for that same amount of money. Both seem like high-risk investments. But trainer Hugh McMahon and owner Matthew Groff have already gotten a good return on their money from Attractive Ride.

Claimed for $35,000 out of a turf race at Saratoga last August, Attractive Ride has earned $50,790 since the claim, including two wins and a second. The durable, 8-year-old Attractive Ride will make the third start of his 2014 campaign as one of the prime contenders in Tuesday night’s $35,000 Ranson Handicap at Charles Town.

The 6 1/2-furlong overnight stakes goes as race 8 at 10:11 p.m. Eastern and drew a field of nine older horses.

In two starts since shipping to Charles Town from his base at Laurel Park, Attractive Ride won an optional $25,000 claimer and was hindered by some bumping at the start of a similar race two weeks ago, finishing second as the 6-5 favorite. Overall, Attractive Ride has won 16 of 64 starts and $353,820.

The Ranson will serve as a rubber match between Attractive Ride and Burnt Offering, a 12-time winner at Charles Town.

The two geldings have traded close decisions this year, with Attractive Ride prevailing by three-quarters of a length Jan. 9 and the front-running Burnt Offering holding on by that same margin a month later. Both of those races were contested at seven furlongs.

The field includes sharp Penn National shippers Peppi Knows and Lightly Wound, who finished a half-length apart as the one-two finishers in a $15,000 claiming race Jan. 29. The 7-year-old Peppi Knows has been in the exacta in four of his five starts at Charles Town.

Lightly Wound won going 6 1/2 furlongs in his first visit to Charles Town in late December. His trainer, Tim Kreiser, is 11 for 29 (38 percent) over the last two years with sprinters back in fewer than 30 days going 6 1/2 to seven furlongs.

Golden Set and Son of a Bear both cut back from a pair of 1 1/8-mile races while making their first start since November. Golden Set, from the barn of perennial Charles Town leading trainer Jeff Runco, won a similar 6 1/2-furlong overnight handicap restricted to West Virginia-breds last September. Son of a Bear, a 7-year-old who won two stakes early in his career, defeated open allowance company going seven furlongs last July.