Duke of Mischief seeks form reversal in Charles Town Classic title defense

Duke of Mischief returns to West Virginia on Saturday for a title defense run

in the Grade 2, $1 million

Charles Town Classic going nine furlongs. The Graeme

Hall chestnut scored his only win of 2011 when rallying five wide around the

final turn to take control of the race and go on to post a 2 1/4-length victory.

Since then the David Fawkes trainee has been unable to finish in the top three.

Duke of Mischief's best run following last season's Grade 3 Charles Town

Classic came in his very next race, when just two lengths separated him from the

winner as he finished fourth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap. The

six-year-old wasn't even close in his last four races, and enters Saturday's

affair off an 11th placing in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes on the turf, but his

trainer still has confidence he can get the job done.

"He kind of got off his game a little bit and lost interest over the year,

but I worked him with (top sprinter) Apriority, and he has had some dynamite

works," Fawkes said. "(Jockey Joey) Bravo said he wasn't himself, but the last

two works he was really happy with him.

"I'm very confident. I think the horse is doing really well right now,"

Fawkes added. "He would have been a great bull ring horse."

Pants on Fire made a name for himself last year at Fair Grounds when taking

the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. The Jump Start colt would go on to add the Grade 3

Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park to his line, before closing out his sophomore

season with a fifth in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational. The Kelly Breen pupil

opened 2012 with a 4 1/2-length score at Gulfstream Park, but didn't factor when

a well-beaten fifth in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap just two weeks ago.

Tackleberry has made just two starts since running fourth in last year's

Charles Town Classic, but the Montbrook five-year-old strung together three

straight wins against stakes company, including a pair of Grade 2s at

Gulfstream, prior to the race. In his most recent start, the Luis

Olivares-conditioned gelding was second as the defending champion of the Grade 2

Gulfstream Park Handicap.

Mister Marti Gras is back with trainer Neil Pessin after spending last summer

and fall in Chris Block's shedrow, during which he captured a pair of Grade 3s.

The gelded son of Belong to Me will have to step up his game, though, if he

wishes to factor in Saturday's race off a pair of well-beaten runs against

graded company.

On the undercard, an overflow field of 14 was entered in the $250,000

Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes for three-year-olds going seven furlongs,

while the $200,000

Sugar

Maple Stakes will showcase nine fillies and mares at seven furlongs

including Grade 2-placed Strike the Moon, who captured last year's Charles Town

Oaks.