William and Mary tops Robert G. Leavitt Stakes

William and Mary was the top West Virginia-bred 2-year-old of 2017 and he’s stayed atop the division at 3. On Saturday at Charles Town he will aim for his fifth win of the year in the $50,000 Robert G. Leavitt.

The seven-furlong Leavitt, for West Virginia-bred 3-year-olds, could set up William and Mary for a fall stakes run at Charles Town. The $50,000 Frank Gall Memorial for 3-year-olds and up is scheduled for Sept. 22, and the $75,000 West Virginia Lottery Breeders Classic for 3-year-olds will be run Oct. 13. Those races are both at seven furlongs.

The highlight of the Oct. 13 card is the $300,000 West Virginia Breeders Classic at 1 1/8 miles.

William and Mary is owned by the Taylor Mountain Farm of James W. Casey, which stands his sire, Windsor Castle. Casey trains William and Mary, who is 7 for 10 in his career.

In April, William and Mary won the Coin Collector Stakes on the Charles Town Classic undercard. He has since beaten older runners in two of three allowance races.

William and Mary won the Henry Mercer Memorial at 2, and the Tri-State Futurity in January.

Jockey Antonio Lopez will be aboard when William and Mary starts from post 5 in the nine-horse field.

Dr. Feelgood, 3 for 3 in his career and trained by Crystal Pickett, will be making his stakes debut. He has gone wire to wire in each of his races and is likely to make the lead again Saturday under Darius Thorpe.

Opera Nite, trained by Jeff Runco, is coming off the worst race of his career, but he adds blinkers for the Leavitt and can be expected to bounce back. With a 3 for 6 record, Opera Nite finished second to William and Mary in the Coin Collector.

Arnaldo Bocachica, the leading rider at Charles Town, will be back aboard.

Maryland-based trainer Claudio Gonzalez has five starts at Charles Town this year and they all belong to Jaxbradenrishi, who finished second to William and Mary in a July allowance race.

Jaxbradenrishi, who is based at Laurel Park, has two wins this year, one at Charles Town and one at Mountaineer Park. Jose Montano rides.

Almodovar nearing milestone

Jockey Gerald Almodovar has ridden almost exclusively at Charles Town since coming to the United States from his native Puerto Rico in 2004. Coming into Thursday night’s card, he was four wins shy of his 2,000th victory.

Almodovar, 32, was the leading rider at Charles Town in 2005. He has finished second in the standings on four other occasions.

He is the third-leading rider at Charles Town this year with 64 wins, and has career mount earnings of more than $33 million.