Charles Town: Past-class runners seek form of old

Pagan Cat and Fool Proof, a pair of West Virginia-breds who in their distant past scored victories in six-figure stakes, look to regain their form while returning from long layoffs in Tuesday night’s allowance co-feature at Charles Town.

Although both Pagan Cat and Fool Proof have four wins apiece, they are eligible for Tuesday’s seven-furlong, $26,000 race for nonwinners-of-two-lifetime because all but one of their combined eight victories came against West Virginia-bred company.

The 5-year-old Pagan Cat and the 6-year-old Fool Proof have been on the sidelines since finishing far back on last fall’s West Virginia Breeders’ Classic program on Oct. 16. Both horses were at their best in the fall of 2008, when Pagan Cat captured the $112,000 Vince Moscarelli and Fool Proof romped by 8 1/4 lengths in the $112,000 West Virginia Lottery Classic.

Not much of anything positive has happened to either horse since then. Pagan Cat has lost 15 straight races since winning an allowance against open company in May 2009. Fool Proof was limited to just three starts over the past two seasons, picking up a third in July 2009 while making his first start in eight months.

The best recent form in Tuesday night’s field belongs to Green Spring Boy and Lively Reparations, although neither one has been very consistent.

Green Spring Boy has lost six straight, but did run well enough to finish second in the seven-furlong West Virginia Lottery Classic in October. He cuts back slightly in distance after finishing evenly, beaten 2 1/2 lengths, going 1 1/16 miles at this same level on Feb. 15.

Lively Reparations is a deep closer and just 2 for 44 lifetime, but two starts ago he displayed surprising high early speed and led until the final furlong of a 1 1/16-mile race at this same class level.

The field also includes Silver Style, who has has run two solid races locally since he was claimed out of a maiden race for $7,500 last October. Although idle since mid-December, Silver Style won his first start for trainer Ricardo Murillo off a two-month layoff. Murillo also won with Bossy Mo, who scored going seven furlongs on March 9 while making her first start in 89 days.