Charles Town: Pink Ribbon rematch on tap in Presidents Day Handicap on Tuesday night

Three of the top four finishers from a similar stakes five months ago are rematched in Tuesday night’s $35,000 Presidents Day Handicap for fillies and mares at Charles Town.

The 6 1/2-furlong stakes, which goes as race 8 at 10:11 p.m. Eastern, features the 8-year-old debut of Wardelle, winner of the seven-furlong Pink Ribbon on Sept. 21. Her eight rivals include two horses she defeated in the Pink Ribbon, third-place Hymn Note and fourth-place Saturday Surprise.

Wardelle, part of a coupled entry with Here’s Zealicious for Penn National-based trainer Dimitrious Synnefias, is a 13-time winner from 57 starts. Her wire-to-wire, 4 1/2-length score over a sloppy track in the Pink Ribbon was the first stakes win of her career. She was no better than third in three subsequent starts and will be making her first start since late November while breaking from the far outside.

Synnefias has a record of 4 for 30 (13 percent) over the past two years with sprinters returning from a break of 61 to 180 days. That’s below his overall 20 percent win rate for all his starters in 2013.

The 5-year-old Hymn Note was bumped and pinched back to last at the start of the Pink Ribbon and did well to rally to finish within 5 1/4 lengths of Wardelle that night. She could be sitting on a peak effort for high-percentage trainer Tim Kreiser while making the third start of her current form cycle. Over the past two years, Kreiser is 8 for 33 (24 percent) with sprinters third time back following a layoff.

Saturday Surprise, from the barn of perennial Charles Town leader Jeff Runco, was a half-length behind Hymn Note in the Pink Ribbon, but has been sharp in two widely spaced races since then. She easily cleared her first allowance condition in late October, then returned Jan. 30 to set the pace before weakening late to finish second going seven furlongs. Saturday Surprise gets a major rider shift to Travis Dunkelberger for Tuesday’s race.

The best recent form belongs to Empress Hatshepsut, a 6-year-old mare who has come from off the pace to win her two most recent starts, both at seven furlongs. Empress Hatshepsut is part of a Javier Contreras-trained coupled entry with Wild Gabriella. She will break from the rail under J.D. Acosta.