Charles Town: Hidden Canyon wins Leavitt Memorial

Hidden Canyon, gunned from the gate by J.D. Acosta, got the jump on fellow speedster In the Fairway and rode the rail on a sealed, sloppy track to a 1 1/2-length victory in Saturday night’s $51,000 Robert G. Leavitt Memorial Stakes for 3-year-old West Virginia-breds at Charles Town.

With In the Fairway chasing from the two path, Hidden Canyon clicked off fractions of 23.19 seconds, 46.83, and 1:11.08 en route to completing the seven furlongs in 1:24.60.

In the Fairway, whose three-race winning streak was snapped, easily was second-best, 9 3/4 lengths in front of Perfect Cross. Both Hidden Canyon ($4) and In the Fairway went off at even money in a field reduced to five horses by two scratches.

Trained by Lee Couchenour for Phyllis Susini, Hidden Canyon is 4 for 6 lifetime with earnings of $88,250.