'Delight' steps up to try stakes

Trainer Ernest Haynes made what has turned out to be one of the best claims of the 2004 season at Charles Town when he paid $10,000 to acquire Trumpets Delight in mid-March.

Since being taken out of a nonwinners-of-two-lifetime sprint race, the 4-year-old Trumpets Delight has gone on to win three races, including two allowances going long.

Sunday, Trumpets Delight gets a shot to become a stakes winner in the $50,000 Governor's Cup Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile race for older horses at Charles Town.

Trumpets Delight breaks from the rail in the three-turn race under jockey Travis Dunkelberger. He is coupled with Catlett Comet, an 8-year-old that Haynes claimed for $15,000 in June.

Cherokee's Boy is the 123-pound highweight and probable favorite if he runs, but he was cross-entered in Saturday's $200,000 Maryland Million Classic at Pimlico.

If Cherokee's Boy is scratched, Last Intention would inherit the role of favorite. A 5-year-old owned by Michael Gill, Last Intention won last fall's Hail Emperor at Laurel Park. He will be making his second start off a long layoff after winning a 6 1/2-furlong allowance sprint two weeks ago.

Last Intention is coupled with Longlivethestar, a 5-year-old sprinter who is 2 for 2 at Charles Town. He makes his first start for Gill and trainer Anthony Adamo after being claimed for $40,000 in mid-September at Philadelphia Park.

Zavalla Dandy returns to Charles Town after a one-race experiment facing high-priced claimers at Belmont Park. In his previous two races in West Virginia, Zavalla Dandy won twice for his new trainer, Kevin Joy, earning back-to-back Beyer Speed Figures of 104 and 92 in sprints.