Kentucky Derby: Pope thrilled to be running Charge It, a homebred
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – They say breed the best to the best, and hope for the best. Mandy Pope began seriously upgrading her broodmare band about a decade ago in order to follow that maxim, and has established one of the best in the country. That has led her to Kentucky Derby week, where she’s hoping for the best with her lightly raced Charge It.
Sitting under the bright lights of the post position draw on Monday – with new pink lowlights in her blonde hair to pay homage to her racing silks – Pope looked for words to match the magnitude of the moment, admitting that the Derby’s approach is nerve-wracking.
“It’s . . . awesome,” she finally settled on. “It’s why we do it.”
Pope, a native of North Carolina with a background in show jumping, made her living working with her family’s Variety Wholesalers, which operates a chain of discount stores. But she always had a passion for the Thoroughbred world. She first ventured into the business working with broodmares at the late George Steinbrenner’s Kinsman Stud in Ocala, Fla., in 1980, and later managed broodmares and stallions at Heather Hill Farm before forming her Whisper Hill Farm with her father, the late John Pope.
The operation, which bred and sold multiple Grade 1 winner Tizway, has had brushes with the Triple Crown before. Whisper Hill bred and sold Sam P., third in the 2007 Santa Anita Derby before finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby, and co-owned Mylute, who was second in the 2013 Louisiana Derby, fifth in Kentucky, and third in the Preakness.
But this experience, running a homebred in the Kentucky Derby, is the pinnacle that Pope was seeking when she set out to become an elite breed-to-race operation. Although Whisper Hill is based in Florida, Pope boards her broodmare band at Wayne and Cathy Sweezey’s Timber Town Farm in Lexington, for access to Kentucky’s top stallions. That farm now boards some of the most accomplished mares of recent years.
Pope made headlines when she purchased 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace for $10 million at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale, a record for broodmare prospects sold at public auction who have never carried a foal, including horses in training offered as racing or broodmare prospects. Pope wasn’t done yet, as less than 24 hours later she went to $4.2 million to purchase Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale.
Five years after Havre de Grace, Pope purchased two-time Eclipse Award champion Songbird at Fasig November for $9.5 million, ranking second to the older mare’s record price. Pope also owns two-time Eclipse Award champion Groupie Doll, whom she bought for $3.1 million at the 2013 Keeneland November sale, and several other top runners or producers.
The dividends are taking some time to pay out. Havre de Grace and Groupie Doll have each produced four winners from as many starters, but the only stakes winner is Havre de Grace’s daughter Graceful Princess, who won the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher last year in Whisper Hill’s colors. Groupie Doll’s Tap for Me is a promising late-developing runner who has won twice from three outings at Oaklawn Park this year. Meanwhile, Grand Sonata, a homebred out of seven-figure purchase A.P. Sonata, won the Dania Beach and Grade 3 Kitten’s Joy and was second in the Grade 3 Transylvania most recently.
In addition to established mares, Pope also buys yearling fillies to race in her colors and eventually join her broodmare band. Among those was I’ll Take Charge, an Indian Charlie filly out of multiple Grade 1 winner and blue hen Take Charge Lady, who Pope went to $2.2 million to secure at the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale. At the time, the mare was the dam of Grade 1 winners Take Charge Indy and Will Take Charge. That price might look cheap now, as the family’s accomplishments have continued to roll in.
Will Take Charge went on to earn an Eclipse Award championship that season, and Take Charge Lady has since been represented by another Grade 1 winner, As Time Goes By. The mare’s daughter Charming is the dam of Eclipse champion Take Charge Brandi and multiple Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach.
I’ll Take Charge raced five times in Pope’s colors, never finishing off the board. She debuted at age 3, won her maiden at second asking at Belmont Park, and was then third in allowance races at Saratoga, Keeneland, and Belmont.
“The mare had talent,” Pope said. “But she never [fully realized it] – she has some issues. So this is very exciting – very much.”
Pope said it is exciting that Charge It is just the second foal out of I’ll Take Charge, meaning the family still has plenty of upside.
“When he came in, they had high hopes for him,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He’d been training very well at their training center with Todd Quast. He came in to us, and he’s trained very impressively. He’s a beautiful colt, good disposition, impeccably bred. He’s come a long way in a short period of time.”
The gray Charge It, by Tapit, won his maiden at second asking, then was a troubled and green second in the Florida Derby. Like his owner and breeder, he has stepped up his game to arrive on racing’s grandest stage.