Charles Town: Lucy’s Bob Boy gets another chance against Fred High in A Huevo

Lucy’s Bob Boy, who finished ahead of just one horse as the 3-5 favorite in last month’s $450,000 West Virginia Breeders’ Classic, will try to rebound when he faces Classic winner Fred High in Saturday night’s $50,000 A Huevo Stakes at Charles Town.

The 1 1/8-mile A Huevo, restricted to West Virginia-breds, exactly matches the distance and conditions of the Oct. 19 Classic, in which Lucy’s Bob Boy faded after facing pressure from two-time Classic winner Russell Road. Fred High, the beneficiary of a fast, contested pace, rallied from seventh to score by three-quarters of a length.

Lucy’s Bob Boy was second to Russell Road as the 3-5 favorite in last year’s A Huevo. Without Russell Road to exert early pressure this time, Lucy’s Bob Boy, a winner in 15 of 19 starts locally, may be able to set more comfortable fractions and have more left for the stretch drive. Conversely, late-running Fred High may not get sufficient pace to set up his closing kick.

In addition to Lucy’s Bob Boy and Fred High, four others exiting the Classic are signed on for the A Huevo. All of them, however, finished fourth or worse. The only one with a win going 1 1/8 miles is Strawberry Cupcake, who has lost 10 straight since his victory in an allowance a year ago.

Among the Classic also-rans, Golden Set may have the best shot to improve. He raced three to four wide throughout the three-turn race, yet managed to lose by just 2 1/4 lengths. He should get a better trip under Travis Dunkelberger breaking from post 2. On the down side, Golden Set has lost four times to Lucy’s Bob Boy since last December.

Waves and Tides goes longer after rallying to finish third in the seven-furlong Onion Juice. He has sufficient speed to challenge Lucy’s Bob Boy if jockey J.D. Acosta wants to be part of the early pace.

Both Golden Set and Waves and Tides are from the barn of leading trainer Jeff Runco. They will race uncoupled in the A Huevo.