Breakout Beyers: Pletcher extends his Derby line with impressive Charge It

Each week in this space, the top Beyer performances by maiden winners will be featured and analyzed. Click here for a complete archive.

Charge It

Feb. 12, 9th race Gulfstream, MdSpWt53k

Beyer: 93

1M 1:35.55 – 1st by 8 1/2 lengths

gr. c. 3, Tapit – I’ll Take Charge, by Indian Charlie

Owner: Whisper Hill Farm

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Breeder: Whisper Hill Farm

If this colt draws outside rather than in post 2, he probably graduates at first asking on Jan. 8 at Gulfstream. Instead, he engaged in a fast, pressured pace, and despite pushing gamely to the wire was edged by a horse to whom he ceded considerable experience and who got a more comfortable outside trip. This fact – and the 12 1/2 lengths separating Charge It from the third-place finisher – was not lost on bettors, who made him the 1-5 favorite facing nine foes. The price proved about right. Breaking from post 10, Charge It left the gate nimbly, crossed and cleared with minimal effort, and utterly controlled this race from the opening strides to the wire. How much does one learn about a horse too talented for his competition? Often not much, but he did bump his Beyer 10 points and showed in his first start he has the heart to battle. It’s a fool’s errand forecasting how much faster a horse might’ve run had circumstances required it, but Charge It did appear to travel well within himself, changing leads professionally. The pedigree shines. He’s the first foal to race from I’ll Take Charge, a daughter of Take Charge Lady, who was an elite racehorse and has made an even greater mark as a broodmare, producing multiple Grade 1-winner Will Take Charge, Grade 1 winner Take Charge Indy, an multiple graded stakes winner As Time Goes By.

Money Supply

Feb. 12, 1st race Tampa, MdSpWt27k

Beyer: 91

6f 1:09.71 – 1st by 2 lengths

b. c. 3, Practical Joke – Evita’s Sister, by Candy Ride

Noteworthy siblings: Sister Nation (Into Mischief) – stakes winner, graded stakes-placed, $238k earnings

Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2020 - $400,000

Owner: Klaravich Stables

Trainer: Chad Brown

Breeder: Jeff Little, Teresa Little, Marilyn Little, and William Lynne

This filly’s racing career began with her taking not one, not two, but three bumps (the first of them was stout and knocked her off stride a bit) after breaking from post 5 and getting the sandwich treatment. That left Money Supply eighth of nine for the run down the backstretch. She did not stay there. The pace in this race did not collapse – the eventual runner-up led early and the show horse tracked the leader from fourth – making Money Supply’s strong, sustained run to a going-away win especially appealing. Her jockey, spying a massive opening near the rail, took Money Supply inside cornering into the homestretch and she was fortunate to avoid going wide to rally past the pack ahead of her. That being said, the Beyer came back very strong, and Money Supply won with her ears pricked, looking for more competition. The female family trends toward one-turn races, but that’s not to say Money Strong can’t get a shorter middle distance this spring if connections take that path.

We the People

Feb. 12, 11th race Oaklawn, MdSpWt84k

Beyer: 83

1M 1:38.93 – 1st by 5 3/4 lengths

b. c. 3, Constitution – Letchworth, by Tiznow

Auctions: Keeneland November breeding 2019 - $110,000; Keeneland September yearling 2020 – $220,000; Fasig-Tipton Florida March select 2yo in training 2021 - $230,000

Owner: WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH, & Siena Farm

Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset

Breeder: Henley Farms

He faced 10 foes going a route of ground in his career debut and got respect from the betting public, going off at odds of 7-2, a very fair price in retrospect. This is the first foal to race from an unraced daughter of Harmony Lodge, an absolutely crack Grade 1-winning sprinter likely more comfortably at seven furlongs than six. This was a very nice performance, especially considering We the People racing … well, like a horse who’d never raced before. He broke just a half-beat slow but quickly recovered to go up and press the pace racing two paths wide into the clubhouse turn. A horse moved between he and the leader approaching the far turn and We the People, traveling sweetly to that point, came off the bridle a bit, but after being ridden mildly along to the five-sixteenths pole, he loomed a threat to the two leaders, both longshots, and had taken their measure at the quarter pole. We the People cornered somewhat wide, then overcorrected and drifted a few paths toward the rail, but he already had gone well clear and straightened his path for his final furlong. He appears to be a robust colt with a pretty powerful way of traveling – and an exciting future.

Macallan

Feb. 12, 3rd race Tampa, MdSpWt26k

Beyer: 83

1M 40 yards 1:39.58 – 1st by 3 3/4 lengths

b. c. 3, Quality Road – Control Freak, by Giant’s Causeway

Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2020 - $295,000; Fasig-Tipton spring 2yo 2021 - $210,000

Owner: Harrell Ventures

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Breeder: Colts Neck Stable

Physically, visually, and – obviously – figure-wise, you couldn’t put him in the same class as Todd Pletcher’s other maiden winner to make this week’s list, Charge It, but there was much to like about the second start for Macallan. First time out, he finished fastest in a seven-furlong Tampa maiden race, just missing the winner, a Pletcher firster named Shinnecock Hills, and Macallan looked more comfortable at this two-turn distance. He did benefit from getting a perfect trip, though he helped his own cause breaking alertly from post 1 to snug into the pocket just behind the pacesetter. Things worked out beautifully past the three-furlong marker when the horse outside Macallan faded, allowing him to move around the two leaders for a clear homestretch run. It took him to the eighth pole to run them down, as he was somewhat late to switch leads, but the best part of Macallan’s performance might have been that final furlong. The colt pricked his ears and reached out nicely to the wire, galloping out like a horse who’d be happy to race over longer trips.