Charles Town: Jax and Jill has edge in It’s Binn Too Long Stakes

Jax and Jill may not have been quite good enough to dethrone Down Town Allen as the top West Virginia-bred female racing at Charles Town, but she appears far too fast for her fellow 3-year-old filly statebreds in Saturday’s $50,000 It’s Binn Too Long Stakes.

Jax and Jill surrendered a 1 1/2-length lead in the stretch of last month’s Fancy Buckles Stakes when she challenged Down Town Allen, a 6-year-old mare who has won six consecutive stakes over the past two seasons. The 81 Beyer Speed Figure that Jax and Jill earned for her runner-up effort towers above anything her five opponents in Saturday’s 4 1/2-furlong sprint have ever done.

The next-best last-race number belongs to Just a Trick, who earned a modest 55 Beyer for her 8 1/4-length romp over open-company allowance sprinters at Mountaineer on June 8. Just a Trick, however, is 0 for 14 lifetime at Charles Town, including a six-length trouncing by Jax and Jill in last fall’s Triple Crown Nutrition on the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic program.

Aye a Cat put up back-to-back Beyers of 56 and 55 earlier this spring, but she comes off a last-place finish, 11 1/2 lengths behind the winner, in a statebred allowance May 11. In her only previous meeting against Jax and Jill, Aye a Cat was beaten 28 1/2 lengths.

Jax and Jill, trained by Scott Lake for owner Robert Cole Jr., has multiple good races on her record, winning 5 of 7 lifetime starts. Her two losses came in last fall’s Smart Halo at Laurel and to Down Town Allen on May 25. In each of her last two wins, Jax and Jill paid $2.20, and she’s likely to be a similar short price Saturday.