Crestwood first race in 16 months for promising Charlie's Penny
STICKNEY, Ill. – Charlie’s Penny made her two-turn debut Jan. 16, 2021, at Fair Grounds and won the $100,000 Silverbulletday Stakes by more than three lengths. Her connections, owner Bob Lothenbach and trainer Chris Block, had a right to be thinking about the Fair Grounds Oaks, if not the Kentucky Oaks.
But any thought of classic races for 3-year-old fillies was put on hold when Charlie’s Penny suffered a hairline fracture to her shin shortly after the Silverbulletday, and the filly, now 4, makes her first start since that encouraging performance when she takes on nine rivals Saturday at Hawthorne in the $75,000 Crestwood Stakes.
Charlie’s Penny, a Minnesota homebred, required a long rest for that shin fracture to heal, and after she returned to training and had been going along nicely, according to Block she came up with another hairline fracture, this time higher up on her leg. This was another injury requiring rest and inactivity to heal, and it wasn’t until February that Charlie’s Penny came back into Block’s barn. She showed up on the work tab March 10 at Fair Grounds and has logged 10 breezes, seven at Hawthorne, coming into the six-furlong Crestwood.
“We’ve gotten quite a bit into her,” Block said. “This seemed like a logical spot to bring her back, although that last race showed two turns was probably going to be her game. I’m hopeful she’s back to herself, that she’s even going to go forward.”
Charlie’s Penny showed she can fire fresh – and sprint effectively – winning her career debut during the summer of 2020, a five-furlong Polytrack race at Arlington. Her off-the-pace style should play well in a race packed with speed, though her odds are likely to fall below her 9-2 morning-line price. Under the race’s allowance conditions Charlie’s Penny is assigned 116 pounds, getting weight from key rivals, but jockey Javier Tavares might wind up riding a couple pounds overweight.
Cheetara, drawn on the outside of this 10-runner field, should be a key player shipping from Keeneland for trainer Ignacio Correas, who has given the mount to talented French import Vincent Cheminaud.
Cheetara appeared to dislike muddy going running below her best form April 24 in the Roxelana Stakes at Churchill Downs. She’ll have to avoid a speed duel and an especially wide run on the turn, both concerns, and at the assigned weights would be giving Charlie’s Penny five pounds.