Banishing returns to Charles Town, where he knows how to become a millionaire

Winner of the 2025 edition, the son of Ghostzapper will attempt to repeat this Friday in the Charles Town Classic (G2), once again featuring a $1,000,000 purse; Skippylongstocking, winner in 2023 and 2024, looms among his principal rivals

CHARLES TOWN, West Virginia (Special for Turf Diario).— Banishing returns to a track that brings back his finest memories. Winner 12 months ago of the Charles Town Classic (G2), the horse trained by David Jacobson will attempt to repeat this Friday in the traditional $1,000,000 event, though this time he arrives following a considerably more inconsistent season.

While everything seemed to go right for him in 2025, this year he has alternated brilliant performances with others that were hard to explain. In 5 starts he claimed 2 major stakes victories, but also suffered 3 heavy defeats.

His season began with a demanding international campaign. He finished far back in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the Saudi Cup (G1), but quickly rebounded to capture one of the greatest victories of his career in the Godolphin Mile (G2) at Meydan.

“We were very pleased with his race in Saudi Arabia. He faced some of the best horses in the world at the time. Then he ran a great race in the Godolphin Mile, just as we expected,” Jacobson explained.

Upon returning to the United States, Banishing was brought back quickly in the Churchill Downs Stakes (G1), but things went wrong there: he failed to finish the race and walked off the track. It was later discovered that he had developed an abscess.

Given ample time to recover, the son of Ghostzapper returned last month in the Jeff Hall Memorial Stakes (L) at Ellis Park. After battling on the lead through much of the 1,300 meters, he showed determination to score by 1 length.

“He's getting back to his best form. Churchill was very disappointing, but we found out what happened, fixed the issue, and he came back with a great performance at Ellis,” Jacobson added.

Banishing was also entered in Saturday's Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, but his trainer opted to return to Charles Town, where he already knows exactly what it takes to win.

“Honestly, if we had never run there, I probably would have chosen the Forego. But he's already won on this track and that's definitely an advantage. For some of his opponents, it will be an unknown,” he explained.

The unique layout of Charles Town, featuring three turns over the 1,800 meters of the Classic, often demands adaptation, and another major contender in the lineup also boasts vast experience there: Skippylongstocking.

The Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee won the race in 2023 and 2024, before finishing last behind Banishing in the previous edition. This season he finally achieved his first G1 victory in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, though he comes off a very dull effort in the Monmouth Cup (G3), where he finished more than 29 lengths behind Knightsbridge(Nyquist).

Brad Cox will pin his hopes on Dragoon Guard (Arrogate), who had built up a streak of 7 consecutive stakes defeats before restoring confidence with a commanding 8 1/4-length victory in an allowance race at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“Obviously he took a drop in class, but I think a lot of it had to do with returning to two turns. I don't plan on cutting him back in distance for now. We went from one turn to two, and now to three; hopefully he takes another step forward,” Cox noted.

Attention is also due for Bullard (Gun Runner), coming off a second-place finish in the Cornhusker Handicap (G3), while Willy D's (Lookin At Lucky) will seek to replicate his stellar 2025 performance, when he chased home Banishing as the runner-up. The Mike Maker pupil will arrive fresh after placing fifth to Magnitude in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1).

Banishing knows the path to victory intimately, and Jacobson chose to rely on that edge. This Friday at Charles Town, he will try to prove that he is definitively back and that, on a track where he has already asserted his dominance, he remains a formidable opponent to beat.