Down Town Allen seeks fourth straight Fancy Buckles win

The West Virginia-bred mare Down Town Allen already owns 17 career stakes victories, including the last three runnings of the Fancy Buckles, all at odds of even-money or less. So, there’s little reason to expect Down Town Allen to do anything except win again at a short price when the
4 1/2-furlong Fancy Buckles Stakes for statebred fillies and mares is contested again Saturday night at Charles Town.

The 7-year-old Down Town Allen will be cutting back in distance following a pair of victories going seven furlongs to launch her 2014 campaign. She made an identical distance switch last year, when she ran down pacesetter Jax and Jill to score by a half-length.

Jax and Jill, a seven-time winner locally, was unable to beat Down Town Allen while getting weight from her older opponent as a 3-year-old twice last season. Both will carry 122 pounds Saturday night.

Jax and Jill’s first two starts this season are not encouraging. She was beaten as the odds-on choice both times, but perhaps more disturbing, after consistently posting Beyers between 80 and 91 at 3, Jax and Jill’s numbers have fallen to 49 and 59 this year.

None of the other four horses in the field looks fast enough to challenge Down Town Allen. The Bop Express earned a big Beyer of 77 in winning a turf sprint at Pimlico two starts ago, but as a 3-year-old last year, her two best figures going 4 1/2 furlongs were 48 and 47, numbers that won’t contend in this spot.