Russell Road will be tough in A Huevo Stakes

The winners of the two biggest races for males on last month's West Virginia Breeders' Classics program will meet for the first time in Saturday night's $50,000 A Huevo Stakes for West Virginia-breds at Charles Town.

The 3-year-old Russell Road, who stepped up to beat older horses in the featured $450,000 Classic, will be seeking his seventh stakes win of the season when he clashes with the 7-year-old Raggedy Andy, who upset the $135,000 Onion Juice.

Both the 1 1/8-mile distance of the A Huevo, named in honor of the 2004 Breeders' Classic winner, and Beyer Speed Figures indicate Russell Road has a huge advantage.

Russell Road, 11 for 14 lifetime, earned a career-best 99 Beyer for winning the Classic by eight lengths in his first attempt going nine furlongs.

In contrast, Raggedy Andy got a modest 78 Beyer for his neck win in the seven-furlong Onion Juice. He is 0 for 3 at nine furlongs, including a distant eighth in last year's A Huevo.

Russell Road, who gets two pounds from Raggedy Andy because he is a 3-year-old, brings a four-race winning streak into Saturday's race. His trainer, James W. Casey, opted for this spot rather than the $75,000 Sophomore Sprint Championship, a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds, last Tuesday night at Mountaineer.

Peaceful Bliss is back to take another shot at Russell Road after setting the pace and settling for second in the Classic. He was eight lengths clear of the third-place finisher that night.

The 5-year-old Peaceful Bliss, based at the Bowie Training Center in Maryland with trainer William Campbell, will be extremely dangerous if he can run back to his race two starts ago, which produced a career-best 105 Beyer in the seven-furlong Robert HIlton Memorial.

None of the other five horses in the lineup has posted a Beyer remotely close to what it would take to challenge Russell Road.