Runco holds solid pair in allowance feature

Don’t tune in late for Charles Town’s Saturday night card. The feature on the nine-race program, which begins at 7 p.m. Eastern, is the second race, a $28,000 allowance for accredited West Virginia-bred fillies and mares who have never won two races.

Trainer Jeff Runco has a pair of 3-year-old fillies, C V’s Campfire and Power Forward, entered in the seven-horse field. Both are looking to move forward off solid efforts in their nascent careers.

C V’s Campfire, owned by Copperville Farm, finished unplaced in her first two outings going 4 1/2 furlongs. She got some added distance when going 6 1/2 furlongs – the distance of Saturday’s allowance – for the first time on Dec. 12 at Charles Town, finishing an improved third. She then paired up with apprentice Sunday Diaz Jr. for the first time in a Jan. 31 maiden special weight, improving her Beyer Speed Figure from 27 to 42 while finishing second.

C V’s Campfire took another step forward to break through with her maiden score March 6, earning a Beyer of 45 for the 6 1/2 furlongs.

Diaz remains in the irons Saturday. Between an apprentice weight allowance and an allowance the conditions of the race grant 3-year-old fillies against their elders, C V’s Campfire, who is by leading Mid-Atlantic sire Friesan Fire, carries the lowest weight in the field at 111 pounds.'

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Coleswood Farm’s Power Forward, from the first crop of national standout Competitive Edge, was a quick study, winning her debut in January going 4 1/2 furlongs. However, she then finished fourth in an allowance race going seven furlongs Feb. 15. Two weeks later, she cut back slightly to 6 1/2 furlongs and finished a solid second.

Power Forward earned a Beyer of 50 in her debut and a 52 for her effort last time out, the highest figures in this field. Arnaldo Bocachica, who was aboard for the filly’s first two outings, gets back in the irons Saturday.

Saturday’s card also includes a pair of $27,000 maiden special weight events, carded as the first and seventh races, respectively. Runco and Bocachica team up in the first race, which is for accredited West Virginia-breds, with Any Way Now, who is making his career debut off a series of solid local works. The race has drawn an overflow field, with 10 in the main body of the field, plus the maximum four also-eligibles.

The seventh race, a maiden for fillies and mares, is technically an open event, however, it is limited to locally based runners by the restrictions Charles Town put in place upon its reopening to stymie the spread of COVID-19. The only horses currently permitted on track grounds are those stabled in West Virginia or West Virginia-breds.