HOT SPRINGS -- Champions win.
That's what Take Charge Brandi did Saturday in her first start of 2015 in the $100,000 Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Barely.
Take Charge Brandi, the 2-5 favorite, led every step of the way in the 1-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, winning by a head in 1:39.66 after Sarah Sis challenged to the inside when Take Charge Brandi drifted to the right under Jon Court's vigorous hand ride.
Court said he saw and heard Sarah Sis and jockey Julio Felix in the final 16th of a mile, and Take Charge Brandi did as well, engaging her oncoming foe "just enough to hold on."
Take Charge Brandi was making her first start since a victory in the Grade I Starlet on Dec. 13 in Southern California, which followed victories in the Grade III Delta Princess on Nov. 22 in Vinton, La., and her Nov. 1 victory at 62-1 odds in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
"You're always apprehensive in a comeback race," said Hall of Famer trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who told Court to let the filly run her race. "I think she was the best horse in the race, and he rode her accordingly."
Take Charge Brandi, the Eclipse Award winning juvenile filly for 2014, paid $2.80, $2.40, and $2.10.
Lukas' instructions to Court about how to ride Take Charge Brandi, a Kentucky bred daughter of Giant's Causeway, were simple.
"We're just kind of letting her alone and letting her do her own thing," Lukas said.
Lukas said that would most likely be the strategy moving forward, with her next start possibly coming in the March 7 Grade III Honeybee Stakes at 1 1/16th miles.
"We won't change anything," Lukas said. "She knows her role, so we won't change anything. You know, you'd like to see her waltz off in the stretch like it looked like she was going to, but overall we're pleased."
Runner-up Sarah Sis overcame trouble early and a wide trip for most of the race.
She hopped at the start, spotting the field about 4 lengths, and was widest of all going into the first turn and down the backstretch.
Felix said he should have been in better position as his filly turned for home.
"What really got me beat was that she broke terrible," Felix said. "That was the worst she ever broke in her life."
Felix said Sarah Sis, coming off a runner-up finish in the Jan. 15 Dixie Belle Stakes, was more anxious in the gate than usual, and he said he knew he was in trouble when he spotted the Take Charge Brandi and Indian Annie, the second-betting favorite, so much ground.
"You can't give her a jump like that," Felix said of Take Charge Brandi. "She was able to walk the dog. I didn't get close to her until we turned for home. But I'll tell you what, I got up to her, and when that filly saw me, she's a game filly. She's a champion."
Take Charge Brandi's owner Willis Horton, of Marshall, said he was a bit concerned late, but not at all surprised to see Take Charge Brandi respond the way she did.
"She's not a quitter," said Horton, winner of back-to-back Eclipse Awards, also winning with Will Take Charge in 2013. "You let another horse get up close to her and, boy, she'll dig in again. She'll just get up after it."
Take Charge Brandi's late drift was evident, but it was not nearly as severe as right turn taken by Lukas-trained Mr. Z in the Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds on Jan. 19.
Mr. Z was clear of the field and pulling away at the head of the stretch when he bolted toward the grandstand apron. Mr. Z settled for third after Court got the colt to regain his composure.
Saturday's finish was much better for Take Charge Brandi, but Lukas was a bit perplexed.
"I don't understand what she saw or ducked at there," Lukas said. "I just got over that with the other horse. She ducked, but then she corrected herself and came back. He [Court] was kind of at a loss for words, too, but the end result was good."
Lukas watched a television replay of the Martha Washington 15 minutes after the finish near the Oaklawn paddock. He sounded pleased as Take Charge Brandi accelerated to take a 1 1/2-length lead in the backstretch, putting up fractions of 23.71 for a quarter and 48.10 for the half.
"This is the way she runs," Lukas said. "She's doing what she does best. She makes a little move here, separates a little bit. That's good."
Take Charge Lady led by one-half length after 6 furlongs in 1:13.44 and opened up a 1 1/2-length lead in mid stretch.
Then, Lukas watched Take Charge Brandi respond to Court's coaxing late as Sarah Sis came on.
"She came back there in the last 40 yards more than I thought," Lukas said. "She might've been getting a little tired, but that response, that's what champions do. That's what champions do."
Sports on 02/01/2015