La Chancla a filly on the rise in Charles Town Oaks

The 3-year-old filly La Chancla cost $775,000 at a 2-year-old in training auction in March 2018, but when she came into Rudy Brisset’s barn she was nowhere near ready to be a racehorse.

“She came out of the sale and came to us green,” said Brisset, who trains La Chancla for LNJ Foxwoods. “It took a while for her to figure things out.”

La Chancla has the hang of racing and training now. A poor start cost her a win chance in her career debut this past July, and since then she has won a maiden race at Belmont Park and a first-level Saratoga allowance. She comes into Saturday night’s Grade 3, $300,000 Charles Town Oaks as a filly on the rise.

“I really love her and think she’s special,” Brisset said. “I’ve been riding her all the time, and we’ve got a good connection.”

Brisset and his crew have worked hard to get La Chancla past her foibles. Sometimes she’ll go out for an early jog before galloping later during training hours, while other morning she might walk the shed row on multiple occasions before heading out to train. Brisset used to space La Chancla’s works 10 days apart, but recently has put her on a seven-day schedule. Her Sept. 8 breeze at Belmont, a solo drill timed in a bullet 1:00.60, unfolded in a relaxed fashion and with a strong finish, La Chancla galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.60. Brisset has wanted to stretch La Chancla out in distance for a couple months and thinks the two-turn seven furlongs of the Charles Town Oaks will suit her.

“I don’t mind her in the 1 hole at all, either,” he said. “We know she takes the kickback.”

La Chancla, Jose Ortiz named to ride, is one of 10 fillies in the Charles Town Oaks, race 11 of 12 and the last of seven stakes races on a program that begins at 5 p.m. Eastern.

There appears to be plenty of pace in the Oaks, with Irish Mischief, Parisian Diva, Lovesick, Lady T N T, and 7-2 morning-line favorite Fashion Faux Pas all front-runners to some extent. Fashion Faux Pax, trainer Arnauld Delacour told DRF’s Jim Dunleavy, either had her hind heels clipped by a trailing horse or simply lost her action when she essentially was eased out of the Cathryn Sophia Stakes on Sept. 2 at Parx Racing. Fashion Faux Pas can bounce back Saturday night, but her big-figure blowout victory three starts ago at Delaware came when she was loose on the lead and stands as a high-end outlier in the filly’s form.

Irish Mischief appears to be mispriced at 8-1 on the morning line, and her post-time odds figure to be considerably shorter, especially with Brad Cox as trainer and jockey Joel Rosario named to ride. Irish Mischief has been a different filly since blinkers were added two starts back, but appears at least somewhat one-dimensional and is drawn inside the other pace.

Lady T N T was cross entered at Laurel but runs at Charles Town, trainer Joe Sharp said, and is very likely to show her speed.

Parisian Diva won the local Oaks prep and has a home-track advantage with seven wins from 10 starts over the Charles Town bullring.

Lovesick was crushed by Fashion Faux Pas in December and appears a cut below the best here, as does South of France, another New York shipper, this one for trainer Todd Pletcher. Taylor’s Spirit’s success in similarly configured races over the Delta Downs bullring encourages, but she lacks upside.

Scatrattleanroll, in from Maryland for trainer Kelly Rubley, holds more appeal than her 15-1 morning line, while Newly Minted will be among the favorites. Trained by Linda Rice, Newly Minted has four wins from five starts but steps outside New York-bred competition for the first time Saturday night.

Sharp has a couple live ones

Trainer Joe Sharp cut his teeth in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Charles Town. He said he has a good sense for which horses might suit the track’s small oval with tight turns and a short homestretch, and has the record to back up that self-assessment.

Sharp has gone 5-2-1 from nine stakes starters at Charles Town the last three years, and in addition to Lady T N T in the featured Oaks has live chances in the $100,000 Dickie Moore for 2-year-old fillies and the $75,000 Pink Ribbon for fillies and mares.

Sharp’s entrant in the Dickie Moore is Nautical Gem, who resided in his Canterbury Park string this summer and won her lone start July 28 there, a maiden sprint, by more than three lengths.

“I think she was two works away from being dead ready, but she was quick enough we went ahead and ran her,” Sharp said. “Since she got back to Kentucky, she’s added more fitness and has changed physically. She’s quick.”

Josie, Gifted Heart, and Sticking Together could be the three shortest-priced runners in the Moore.

Sharp has the likely Pink Ribbon favorite in Classy Act, who exits a pair of Kentucky turf stakes. The more recent of them came at Kentucky Downs, where the uphill finish exposed Classy Act’s distance limitations, and she should fit sweetly in this two-turn seven-furlong stakes race.

“She needs to get that first stakes win for her residual” value, Sharp said. “She’s run some stakes-winning performances and just come up short. Hopefully, she can get it done.”

There are formidable short-priced favorites in a couple of the earlier stakes. Runnin’toluvya looks like a handful in the Frank Gall Memorial, while Anna’s Bandit, approaching $500,000 in career earnings, probably is odds-on in the Sadie Hawkins.