Mystic Lake has easy time with Charles Town Oaks

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. straight-out told Daily Racing Form which of his two entrants in the Grade 2, $750,000 Charles Town Oaks he preferred. The betting markets did not take heed. The Joseph-trained 2-1 favorite Haulin Ice failed to hit the board, while 6-1 Mystic Lake proved bounds the best in this two-turn, seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies.

Haulin Ice came to Charles Town after a 9 1/2-length Gulfstream Park win in the $75,000 Azalea Stakes. That performance yielded a strong 91 Beyer Speed Figure, higher than anything Haulin Ice had yet produced - a potential outlier, as her trainer saw it.

“I need to see that again before I really believe,” Joseph said earlier this week.

Mystic Lake had a much longer record of success, and her second-place finish behind Emery last month at Aqueduct took on more shine when Emery returned with a solid second in the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga. Joseph said he thought Mystic Lake would take to the two-turn, seven-furlong configuration of the Charles Town Oaks, and he was right.

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Mystic Lake and jockey Mike Smith sat second as West Virginia 44-1 shot Overnight Pow Wow set a moderate tempo. Smith urged his mount forward on the second turn, Mystic Lake responding to take a clear lead that she only lengthened through the homestretch, tallying by 5 3/4 lengths. My Mane Squeeze rallied from eighth to finish second, a neck better than second-choice Princess Madison. Haulin Ice and jockey Irad Ortiz retreated to finish seventh.

Mystic Lake ($14) is by Mo Town out of Salty Soul, by Itsmyluckyday, and she won for the fifth time in 10 starts, her high-water mark earlier this year a victory in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness.

Winning time over a fast track was 1:24.18. Owned by C2 Racing Stable and Stefania Farms, Mystic Lake was bred in Florida by Peggy Costanzo. Friday night in West Virginia, she proved many lengths better than her far shorter-priced stablemate.

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