Charlee’s Magic prevails in Tall Stack Stakes

Charlee’s Magic took the inside path on a rainy day at Belterra Park and outkicked his foes to win the $75,000 Tall Stack Stakes on Saturday.

The Jump Start gelding broke alertly in the field of seven Ohio-bred sophomores, and he tracked closely on the inside path while undefeated favorite Buster’s Boy and Dijkstra’s Devil took the lead. Buster’s Boy soon disposed of his rival on the outside, and jockey Irwin Rosendo moved Charlee’s Magic up to challenge on the inside. Charlee’s Magic held a one-length advantage over Buster’s Boy as he clocked an opening quarter in 23.07 seconds.

Buster’s Boy remained resilient and moved back up to draw even with Charlee’s Magic in the turn, and Dijkstra’s Devil kept showing interest from three wide. Meanwhile, Tiz a Rush made his presence known on the far outside, threatening to make a rally. Charlee’s Magic and Buster’s Boy were nearly even as they hit the half-mile point in 46.56 seconds.

The main contenders were four-wide exiting the turn, with the two principals still in front. Rosendo was aggressive with the left-handed whip on the inside, then switched to the right as they passed the final eighth pole, urging Charlee’s Magic away from the rest of the pack.

Charlee’s Magic drew off to win the Tall Stack by 1 3/4 lengths. Over Icce snuck up the rail in the stretch drive to best third-place Buster’s Boy by a half-length.

Charlee’s Magic completed the 6 1/2-furlong race in 1:18.48. He paid $8.60 to win as the second choice.

Ronald Dewolf campaigns Charlee’s Magic as a homebred. Hs is trained by Mike Rone, who saddled his first stakes winner of 2018 in the Tall Stack. The race was also Rosendo’s first stakes-winning ride of the year.

After Saturday’s race, Charlee’s Magic has won three of six starts for earnings of $125,880. It was his first stakes victory after finishing in the money in three other stakes attempts.