Confucius Say getting prep for another Breeders Classic

Horses gearing up for the two biggest purses of Charles Town's season will get their final tune-ups before next month's West Virginia Breeders Classic program on Saturday night.

The 10-year-old Confucius Say will prep for the $500,000, 1 1/8-mile West Virginia Breeders Classic in the seven-furlong, $50,000 Robert Hilton Memorial (race 8). Confucius Say's stablemate Julie B will renew her rivalry with Carnival Chrome in the seven-furlong, $50,000 Roger Van Hoozer Memorial (race 7), a prep for the $500,000 Cavada. Both half-million-dollar races will be run Oct. 18.

Confucius Say is already a two-time winner of the West Virginia Breeders Classic, and pending the outcome of a legal dispute regarding a positive test for caffeine in last year's first-place finisher, Eastern Delite, may wind up with the first-place purse money from last year's race.

In his first start since last November, Confucius Say cruised to a 3 1/2-length victory in last month's seven-furlong Frank Gall, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 95.

Gold Standard, whose five-race winning streak ended when he finished second as the 8-5 favorite in the Gall, is back to take another crack at Confucius Say.

So is Eastern Delite, who has been way off form in his only two starts this year.

Horses coming out of the Hilton who want to avoid Confucius Say on Breeders Classic Night could opt to run in the $125,000 Onion Juice at seven furlongs.

Carnival Chrome and Julie B are a combined 21 for 30 in their careers at Charles Town, although the 6-year-old Carnival Chrome has had the better of their rivalry recently.

She brings a three-race winning streak into the Van Hoozer, including a wire-to-wire score in the Sadie Hawkins a month ago and a 2 1/4-length triumph over Julie B in last fall's Cavada.

Julie B is eligible to improve after breaking poorly from post 10 in the Sadie Hawkins, her first start in two months. She's more favorably drawn in post 3, two slots outside Carnival Chrome, on Saturday night.