A Huevo crushes Classic in W.Va.

A Huevo may be five years older than he was the last time he raced at Charles Town. But his encore performance was even more impressive.

Now 8, A Huevo cruised to a 19 1/4-length victory under Ramon Dominguez on Saturday in the $270,000 Classic, the headline event on the 18th annual West Virginia Breeders Classics program.

Making only his second start since winning the Grade 1 De Francis Dash last November at Laurel, A Huevo ($3) moved quickly to take the lead the first time past the finish line in the three-turn, 1 1/8-mile race and was hand-ridden as he dominated his competition. Trained by Michael Dickinson, A Huevo completed the distance in 1:53.65 and was awarded a 106 Beyer Speed Figure, 4 points higher than he earned in winning the 1999 Classic. He was subsequently disqualified from the purse money in that event for a medication positive.

A Huevo's win completed a sweep of the two biggest races on the eight-race program for Dominguez. One race earlier, Dominguez guided the 4-year-old filly Original Gold ($6.40) to a three-length win over Marthamountainmamma in the $225,000 Cavada for fillies and mares.

Fancy Buckles, the even-money favorite, set the pace and faded badly in the stretch, salvaging third by a nose. She was beaten 8 3/4 lengths.

Earlier on the program, Earth Power ($3) won for the second year in a row on Classics night, taking the seven-furlong Onion Juice by 1 1/2 lengths. Last year, Earth Power, a 4-year-old trained by George Yetsook and ridden by Larry Reynolds, won the 4 1/2-furlong Dash for Cash.

Jockey J.D. Acosta had a riding double, winning the Vincent Moscarelli for 2-year-olds with Mr. Bondsman ($5.20) and the seven-furlong Division of Tourism for 3-year-old fillies with Alaska Ash ($25.60).