Name Changer may await Charles Town Classic

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Name Changer, winner of the $125,000 Queens County Stakes on Dec. 22, will likely get a brief freshening and point to the $1 million Charles Town Classic on April 20, trainer Alan Goldberg said Thursday.

Name Changer held Monongahela at bay by a half-length in the Queens County for his fourth win from six starts in 2018 and eighth from 17 overall. He carried 126 pounds, the first horse to win the Queens County under such an impost since Cox’s Ridge in 1977.

“He’s just a cut below of being a pretty good horse,” trainer Alan Goldberg said. “Against the right bunch he can usually win, and that was the right bunch.”

Goldberg said he didn’t see many appealing options for Name Changer over the next month, so he plans to turn him out for a month at his farm in Colts Neck, N.J., before resuming training in time to be ready for Charles Town.

“It’s a lot of money and it usually doesn’t come up the toughest race in the world,” Goldberg said.

Name Changer earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for his Queens County victory, in which he ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:53.87 over a muddy track.