Shared Belief to face eight

Eight foes will line up to take a shot at Shared Belief, arguably the top older horse in North America, in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic April 18 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

The Classic, a 1-1/8-mile event for 4-year-olds and up around three turns on the three-quarter-mile track at Charles Town, is the 12th race on a 13-race card that begins at 12:45 p.m. EDT and includes six other stakes, an overnight handicap, and a lucrative starter allowance event. Post time for the Classic is set for 6:05 p.m.

The first five editions of the Charles Town Classic have been run at night at the West Virginia track.

Shared Belief, owned by Jungle Racing, KMN Racing, Jason Litt, Alex Solis II, George Todaro, and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, drew post 4 in the Classic and will be ridden as usual by Mike Smith, who won the race in 2013 aboard now-retired Game On Dude. Shared Belief, who has 10 wins in 11 career starts, will carry high weight of 123 pounds and spot his rivals only three to five pounds as the lone winner of a Grade 1 stakes so far this year.

Shared Belief, who won the March 7 Santa Anita Handicap in his previous start, was to arrive at Charles Town April 15 to get a feel for the local surface. The champion 2-year-old male of 2013, Shared Belief will make his first start outside of California, where he is based at Golden Gate Fields.

The versatile 4-year-old Candy Ride gelding will be a heavy favorite given his class and superior record. The only other entrant that has consistently raced at the top level in the United States is Southern Equine Stable's Moreno, who drew post 6 and will be ridden by Cornelio Velasquez at 118 pounds.

Hollendorfer said he has no idea how Shared Belief will handle the three-quarter-mile racing surface, but he doesn't seem concerned.

"We have a very athletic horse that has a big turn of foot. We think he should be able to handle that and get the job done, or we wouldn't come. I talked to Mike Smith, and he was quite confident the horse would do well there. [Smith] has done well there himself, so I tend to think he knows what he's talking about."

Hollendorfer said choosing to run Shared Belief at Charles Town wasn't a difficult decision.

"The main consideration was it's a lot bigger purse than anybody else is offering," Hollendorfer said. "Number two, the weight is 123, and that was quite attractive to us. Number three, timing-wise, it gave me an extra week to work with the horse and get him ready for another race. Our horse is doing very well, and we're grateful."

Trained by Eric Guillot, Moreno finished second, 4-1/4 lengths behind Shared Belief, in the Santa Anita Handicap, and in his last start March 28 finished third, beaten a half-length, in the New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. The 5-year-old Ghostzapper gelding finished third in last year's Charles Town Classic behind Imperative and Game On Dude.

Known for his speed going longer distances, Moreno has produced major efforts in his career, including a wire-to-wire victory in the 2014 Whitney Handicap at 1-1/8 miles at Saratoga Race Course. Last year he entered the Charles Town Classic after a five-month break; this year Moreno has had two races in a little more than a month heading into the race.

Guillot believes his horse has a shot to defeat Shared Belief. The fact Moreno has raced well at Charles Town certainly won't hurt his chances.

"On that particular track, at that particular moment, for that kind of money, if they ride him right, yes, he has got that kind of ability," Guillot said. "Three turns and a short stretch -- that's Moreno's type of racetrack."

It appeared Moreno would be the one to catch among the eight horses expected for the Classic, but Richard Hackerman's Warrioroftheroses (Travis Dunkelberger, post 8, 118 pounds) was a late entrant for trainer Damon Dilodovico. Though he never has won a stakes, the 6-year-old A. P. Warrior gelding is a confirmed front-runner who enters the race off of a second-place finish in a Laurel Park allowance race and certainly could make things interesting early in the Classic.