Charles Town: Paco Smart deals Navy Chapel first defeat in Tri-State Futurity

Despite a few anxious moments as the field was loaded and after the gate opened, Paco Smart had no problem breezing to a 1 1/2-length victory in Saturday night’s $129,275 Tri-State Futurity at Charles Town.

Reluctant to load into the gate, Paco Smart ($3.60) was bumped by the filly just to his outside, Pagan Jewel, right at the start but still managed to shoot out to the lead and maintain it throughout the seven-furlong, two-turn race.

The previously unbeaten filly Navy Chapel saw her chances compromised when she was carried four-wide into the first turn. She did manage to finish second as the 9-5 second choice. Coleman Barricks was third.

Paco Smart, trained by Raimondo Schiano-Dicola for the Scuderia Montese Stable, covered the distance under jockey Luis Batista in 1:29.23. A West Virginia-bred son of the Irish stallion Aragorn, Paco Smart has now won 3 of 5 starts, including the $76,000 Vince Moscarelli Memorial in his previous outing.