Kentucky Oaks 2015 Contender Take Charge Brandi

Kentucky Oaks 2015 Contender Take Charge Brandi: Breeders’ Cup has come and gone, and before anyone knows it, the first weekend in May will be here, and one lucky filly and one lucky colt will be headed to the Churchill Downs winners’ circle to be draped in the appropriate flowers.

The Road to the Kentucky Oaks started back in September with the Pocahontas (G2) at Churchill Downs. After stopping at Keeneland, Belmont, Woodbine, the road passed through Santa Anita. The winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies would earn ten points toward a position in the field of 14 on Friday, May 1, 2015.

Take Charge Brandi was ready to go on November 1, as she took the field on a ride to the wire. While speed, which Take Charge Brandi has, seemed to be favored on the track. Take Charge Brandi took the field on a ride for the wire. She gave Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas his 20th Breeders’ Cup victory. Take Charge Brandi was a 60-1 shot on the board, paying $125. 40 to a $2 bet. The filly wasn’t the first to earn Kentucky Oaks points, but she may be the most surprising so far.

The chestnut filly was an early foal. Born on February 7, 2012, the filly took no time to impress. Sold as yearling at the 2013 Keeneland Yearling Sale, she was snatched up by Willis Horton for $435,000. This is the reason Take Charge Brandi wears the same silks as Horton’s 2013 champion three-year-old Will Take Charge.

The filly didn’t only have her looks going for her. Her pedigree was something special. The Giant’s Causeway filly was out of a Seeking the Gold mare, named Charming. Charming was an impressive debut winner in 2008, but left the track too soon. She was pulled up in the Serena’s Song Stakes and was sent off the pasture. Charming is out of Broodmare of the Year, Take Charge Lady, which makes her a half sibling to Take Charge Indy and Will Take Charge.

Take Charge Brandi was impressive in her debut, winning by 2 ½ lengths in a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, going 4.5 furlongs. She would quickly jump into graded stakes, finished second in the Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga, behind Fashion Alert. Before her wire-to-wire Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies win, Take Charge Brandi was not living up to the standards she and others had set for her. In three consecutive starts, Take Charge Brandi would finish off the board.

With her Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies win, she could possibly be the current favorite for the 2015 Kentucky Oaks, but that road is a long one, and a lot can happen along the way. Maybe Take Charge Brandi comes back at a three-year-old, with some mental maturity and a more favorable running style, such sitting off a pace instead of setting it, and possible new found drive to win. The Kentucky Oaks is a little less than five months away. Can Take Charge Brandi make it back to Kentucky?

Related Links:
2015 Kentucky Derby/Oaks Prep Schedule