Intriguing rematch in West Virginia Futurity

Burnin Ring O Fire and Midday Man, the first- and second-place finishers in the Vincent Moscarelli on Breeders Classics night at Charles Town, will meet again in the West Virginia Futurity on Saturday.

The Moscarelli, a 6 1/2-furlong race for West Virginia-bred 2-year-olds, was an oddly run race. Burnin Ring O Fire, who is undefeated in three starts, all for trainer Ollie Figgins III, showed vastly improved speed to stalk early pacesetter Not for Sonde. He inherited the lead when the front-runner backed up suddenly midway on the backstretch.

Burnin Ring O Fire held about a three-length advantage entering the stretch, then was all out to score by a half-length.

Midday Man, who went wire to wire to win his debut at 4 1/2 furlongs, showed absolutely no early speed in the Moscarelli. He walked out of the gate and dropped far behind the field in the run to the first turn, trailing by more than a dozen lengths. He launched a sustained run on the backstretch, cut the corner into the stretch, and was getting to Burnin Ring O Fire at the end.

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Trained by James W. Casey, it would be surprising to see Midday Man fall so far back again in the seven-furlong Futurity. Look for a more complete effort Saturday in what should be an interesting rematch.

The Beyer Speed Figures earned in the Moscarelli by Burnin Ring O Fire (61) and Midday Man (60) are by far the highest in the field.

The seven-horse field, also includes the third-, sixth-, and 10th-place finishers from the Moscarelli.

Boundtobegood moved up three wide to be just off the pace on the backstretch but couldn’t stay with the top pair and was beaten 4 1/2 lengths.

Hard Being Me, who was 41-1, had to be steadied in traffic in the run to the first turn. He ended up sixth.

Not for Sonde, the early pacesetter, stopped so suddenly something must have gone awry.

A new player in the Futurity is Scottish Man, who rallied from seventh to win a maiden race for Casey in his third start. His Beyers have improved in each of his starts, but he’ll need to take another step forward Saturday.

The West Virginia Futurity is a $50,000-added race for statebreds that closed months ago. The final purse should be more than $60,000.