Frank Vespe
November 20, 2025
Charles Town’s stakes for two-year-old state-breds have been something of a jumble this year. It’s not at all certain that Saturday’s $75,000, seven-furlong West Virginia Futurity will clarify the picture.
On the girls’ side, C’Mon Eileen dominated the John McKee Memorial but fell to Edy’s Flame in the West Virginia Triple Crown Nutrition Breeders’ Classic. That runner in turn finished third behind Maskedandmummed in the James and Eleanor Casey Memorial Stakes Nov. 1.
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Among the boys, Gurney Halleck rallied to win the Henry Mercer Memorial Stakes narrowly but then chased Tricks R for Juba to no avail in the Vincent Moscarelli Memorial on WVBC night.
For those of you keeping score at home, that’s five stakes and five different winners.
Saturday’s compact, five-horse field includes three fillies and two males and one horse with a prior stakes win.
That one is Maskedandmummed, one of two Ron Sigler trainees in the field and the 9-5 morning line favorite off her win in the James and Eleanor Casey Memorial Nov. 1. The Candygram filly pressed the early pace of Truth and Justice, who’s also here, before inching away in late stages to win by two lengths, with Truth and Justice two clear of the rest.
Overall Maskedandmummed has two wins from six starts to go with earnings of $81,473.
Two of Maskedandmummed’s beaten rivals from the Casey Memorial are back to try their luck. Truth and Justice set the pace (4-1) before succumbing late while still holding second. Trained and owned by Cynthia McKee, she has a win and over $48,000 banked from six starts.
The other Sigler trainee, B’s Wild Candy (9-2), was still a maiden entering the Casey Memorial and ran credibly for fourth. Eleven days later she wheeled back and destroyed a maiden special weight field by a dozen lengths as the 3-5 favorite. Saturday she’s slated to return for her third start in a three-week span.
Perhaps the most promising of the group is the Capo Bastone gelding Yolo Manolo. The Javier Contreras trainee, 2-1 on the morning line in the Futurity, showed plenty of early speed while winning by 2 ¼ lengths at first asking Oct. 30. The field was well spread that day, and his winning time, 52.24 seconds for 4 ½ furlongs, was a bit faster than older allowance runners managed it two races later.
A half-brother to solid veterans Pork Chop Pete, a sharp allowance winner here Nov. 15, and Bella Mela, Yolo Manolo will try two turns for the first time and will be tough to deny if he can stretch out successfully.
The Tim Grams-trained Noble Ruling (5-1) rounds out the field. A winner at second asking, he has finished fifth and fourth in two stakes tries.
The West Virginia Futurity is the final stake of the year at Charles Town. It is carded as the seventh race on an eight-race program, and post time for the card is 7:00 p.m. Entries are below.
