Runco, Casey, Lopez flourish on West Virginia Breeders' Classic card
Trainers Jeff Runco and James W. Casey and jockey Antonio Lopez dominated West Virginia Breeders’ Classic night at Charles Town last week.
Runco won the $450,000 Breeders’ Classic with Slip the Cable, the $80,000 Distaff with Spa Creek, and the $75,000 West Virginia Lottery with Bullets Fever.
Bullets Fever, a 3-year-old son of Fiber Sonde, is now undefeated in eight career starts. He was one of two stakes winners on the card for Fiber Sonde, who stands at Beau Ridge Farm.
Casey won the $150,000 Cavada with Candy Man’s Girl, the $75,000 Triple Crown Nutrition with Scottish Denis, and the $60,000 West Virginia Dash with Greenway Court. Casey also sent out Breeders’ Classic runner-up Charitable Annuity.
Lopez rode all four of Casey’s horses.
Casey’s son, John Casey, won the $75,000 West Virginia Division of Tourism with Romantic Cork.
The stallion Denis of Cork was represented by two winners on the card, and Windsor Castle and Charitable Man sired one winner apiece. Denis of Cork and Windsor Castle stand at the Casey family’s Taylor Mountain Farm. Charitable Man stood there prior to his death earlier this year.
A West Virginia Breeders’ Classic-record $1.75 million was handled on the card, surpassing the $1.57 million wagered in 2013.