Shared Belief romped in the Santa Anita Handicap last out (Benoit Photo)

Shared Belief brings a 10-0-0 mark from 11 career starts into the race, which will be his first outside of California. The Jerry Hollendorfer trainee was unbeaten leading up to last year's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), including Grade 1 scores in the Pacific Classic and Awesome Again Stakes, and wound up fourth in the Classic after a horrible start.

The dark bay gelding returned to the winner's circle to close out his sophomore campaign in the Malibu S. (G1) and thus far this season has added the Santa Anita H. (G1) and San Antonio Invitational (G2) to his resume. Mike Smith has been aboard Shared Belief since last July and makes the trip east along with his mount.

"It's an unknown," Hollendorfer said in regards to Shared Belief handling going around three turns on Charles Town's six-furlong track. "But 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."

Imperative is looking for the upset yet again in the Charles Town Classic (Charles Town/Coady Photography)

"He got into trouble over there, bad trip and all that," the horseman asserted about Imperative's foray to Japan. "The plan was always to come out here to Charles Town and win this race. We always jump from one race to another, but the plan was to come here. Shared Belief is a great horse. He's a freak. But Game on Dude was a freak and unbeatable. He can run. He can do it."

Grade 1 victor Moreno (Ghostzapper) will try to provide an upset of his own Saturday evening for trainer Eric Guillot, but the bay gelding will have to do better than his second in the Big 'Cap on March 7. The five-year-old was easily caught by Shared Belief and left 4 1/4 lengths behind on the wire that day. He returned three weeks later to just miss by a half-length when third in the New Orleans H. (G2) last out. Cornelio Velasquez has the call for the first time on Moreno.

General a Rod got back to his winning ways in the Challenger (SV Photography)

The dark bay colt was one of the few who contested all three legs of the Triple Crown, going on to be fourth in the Preakness S. (G1) and seventh in the Belmont S. (G1). The latter race was his final one as a sophomore, and General a Rod returned to be fourth in an allowance/optional claimer on January 14 before switching from Mike Maker's barn to Todd Pletcher's shedrow in time for a 6 1/4-length triumph in the Challenger S. at Tampa Bay Downs on March 7. John Velazquez was in the irons for that last one and has the call on Saturday.

"We've had this race under consideration for well over three seeks," Pletcher said. "He showed last year, on occasions, he's very good. He got time off in the fall and his last race was a step in the right direction. We're optimistic. It's his third start off the layoff, and, hopefully, he's sitting on a peak performance."