Dr. Feelgood heads Pickett pair in It's Only Money Stakes

Dr. Feelgood and Hypothesis, stakes winners in 2019, both made their 2020 debuts in May at Charles Town with strong efforts. The Crystal Pickett-trained stablemates both come back quickly as they now meet Saturday night in the $50,000 It’s Only Money Stakes for West Virginia-accredited and -registered 3-year-olds and up.

Dr. Feelgood, 5, has won 9 of his 11 career starts, all at Charles Town. His victories include last year’s West Virginia Dash for Cash Breeders’ Classic Stakes with a Beyer Speed Figure of 92, which makes him a standout in this field. He also won the 2019 Last Enchantment Stakes and 2018 Robert G. Leavitt Stakes. He made his first start since November in a May 21 allowance at Charles Town, winning by 1 3/4 lengths with a Beyer of 79, making him the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s race. Regular rider Darius Thorpe will be aboard.

The 3-year-old Hypothesis is a 10-1 shot for the It’s Only Money after finishing second in the Coin Collector Stakes here May 23, beaten 2 3/4 lengths. That was his 2020 debut after a solid juvenile campaign. Hypothesis won his debut last July at Charles Town, then hit the road, finishing fourth in the Rosie’s Stakes on the Colonial Downs turf, won by eventual Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint hero Four Wheel Drive. Hypothesis returned to Charles Town, winning the Henry Mercer Memorial Stakes in September and the West Virginia Vincent Moscarelli Memorial Breeders’ Classic Stakes in October.

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Hypothesis, with Gerald Almodovar riding, will need to improve to match his stablemate from a figures standpoint. Dr. Feelgood’s only Beyer effort below 62 came in his career debut in 2018, and he has proven capable of cracking the 90 ceiling. Hypothesis’s top career figure is the 67 he earned last time out in the Coin Collector.

Three-time stakes winner Aaron’s Tap, trained by Jeff Runco, and fellow stakes winner Last Print, owned and trained by Javier Contreras, renew their own rivalry in the It’s Only Money. Both bring consistent records and strong figures to the table against the Pickett duo. Aaron’s Tap, the second choice on the morning line at 5-2, has won half of his 28 starts and is the defending winner of the It’s Only Money. He finished second to Dr. Feelgood in last year’s Dash for Cash and Last Enchantment, with Last Print third in the Dash for Cash.

Last Print and Aaron’s Tap were first and second in an allowance race last November at Charles Town in which Dr. Feelgood was sixth, his only unplaced effort. The two met again this year, as Aaron’s Tap defeated Last Print by 1 1/2 lengths in a Jan. 31 allowance, earning a Beyer of 84, the top number earned by an entrant in this field in 2020. They then parted ways for solid efforts in February, as Last Print won the Gold Watch Stakes with an 81 Beyer, running his career record to 15-8-3-3, and Aaron’s Tap was third in another allowance.