Ova Charged grabs Ladies Sprint, A G’s Charlotte takes Ladies Distaff

The short race for older Louisiana-bred fillies and mares produced a wide margin of victory, while a short head decided the long race in the same division Saturday at Fair Grounds.

Two races after Ova Charged, a graded-stakes class mare, jogged to a 4 3/4-length victory in the $97,500 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint, A G’s Charlotte won a head bob over odds-on favorite Winning Romance to land the $100,000 Champions Day Ladies Distaff.

Ova Charged ($2.40) clocked a snappy 1:10.38 for six furlongs over a fast track while appearing to barely draw a deep breath. Placed immediately on the lead by recent Panama émigré jockey Jose Luis Rodriguez, Ova Charged set splits of 22.13, 45.26, and 57.24, was never put to pressure, and won the Ladies Sprint for the second year in a row.

Bred and owned by Brittyln Stable, Ova Charged is a 4-year-old filly by Star Guitar out of Charged Cotton, by Dehere, and she’s now compiled a crack record of 7-1-0 from eight starts. It was the third win on the card for Rodriguez, surprisingly leading the jockey standings at Fair Grounds. Jose Camejo, who trains Ova Charged, earlier on the card had given Rodriguez a leg up on Late September, a comfortable winner of the Champions Day Juvenile.

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The Ladies Distaff provided far greater excitement and a more lucrative win payout as A G’s Charlotte ($7.80) took down favored Winning Romance for the second time this meet.

When A G’s Charlotte beat Winning Romance by a neck last month in the Big World Stakes, it came with help from a fast, contested pace, but on Saturday, A G’s Charlotte, always right there in the bridle for jockey Marcelino Pedroza, had to rally into Winning Romance’s slow tempo. Making an easy lead under Deshawn Parker, Winning Romance went 24.97 and 49.19, a walking pace for a 1 1/16-mile dirt race at Fair Grounds, but A G’s Charlotte still bested her.

Kept just behind the lead pack by Pedroza, A G’s Charlotte niftily was shifted to the rail before the quarter pole, coming up the fence as Winning Romance cornered a couple paths wide into the long Fair Grounds homestretch. Coming through the opening along the rail, it looked like A G’s Charlotte would dash clear, but Winning Romance put her in tight quarters, still had gas in her tank, and despite swapping to the wrong lead past the furlong grounds, she fought tooth and nail to the wire. The top two pulled far clear of show horse Fort Polk, who finished nearly eight lengths behind them. Winning time was 1:45.72.

Patricia West and owner-breeder Tom Galvin had taken a tough beat earlier Saturday when Norah G broke slowly and found traffic, losing the Champions Day Lassie by a neck, but they got a measure of satisfaction through A G’s Charlotte. The 3-year-old, by Mo Tom out of Adrianne G, by Indygo Shiner, has improved steadily throughout her career, now is a two-time stakes winner, and likely has her best racing still ahead of her.

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