Slip the Cable and Charitable Annuity get rematch in A Huevo

When Slip the Cable and Charitable Annuity met in the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic last month, a purse of $450,000 was on the line. On Saturday night, when they are rematched in the A Huevo, they will race for $50,000.

Slip the Cable dominated the 1 1/8-mile Breeders’ Classic, taking an open lead on the first of the race’s three turns and never facing a real challenge. He won by 7 1/2 lengths and paid $7.

Charitable Annuity, the 6-5 favorite in the 10-horse Breeders’ Classic, didn’t show his usual sharp speed over the sloppy track and raced in eighth position early. He rallied willingly in the final half-mile to finish second but never got within shouting range of Slip the Cable.

Things could be different in the nine-furlong A Huevo. A fast track is expected, and that could mean a return to form for Charitable Annuity, who is 0 for 2 over wet surfaces.

Charitable Annuity won the Breeders’ Classic a year ago for owner Mark Russell and trainer James W. Casey. He brought a three-race winning streak into last month’s race and overall is 11 for 19 with $571,300 in earnings.

Slip the Cable races for his breeder, Coleswood Farm, and is trained by Jeff Runco, who is well on his way to an 11th straight Charles Town training title. Slip the Cable is 7 for 11 lifetime and 7 for 9 at Charles Town. Just as importantly, he is perfect in three starts on off tracks.

If Charitable Annuity and Slip the Cable hook up early in the A Huevo, fans may get the race they expected in the Breeders’ Classic.

Also in the field is Follow the Notion, the winner of the seven-furlong Onion Juice Breeders’ Classic, a $72,000 race. Trained by Gary Williams, this will be Follow the Notion’s first race beyond seven furlongs and his first around three turns.

The field is rounded out by Little Big Sime and Ello Govna, the fourth- and seventh-place finishers in the Breeders’ Classic; Rocket Road, a winner of two straight allowance races; and Cinderella’spalace, who has been racing against claiming company at Penn National.