Take Charge Paula's credentials stand out in Charles Town Oaks

Take Charge Paula will meet the up-and-coming Alter Moon and streaking local Late Night Pow Wow in the Grade 3, $300,000 Charles Town Oaks on Saturday night in West Virginia.

The feature anchors a 12-race program that boasts six stakes worth a total of $550,000. First post is 5 p.m. Eastern.

The Oaks, a seven-furlong race at two turns, drew a full field of 10 and three also-eligibles. The cast includes stakes winners Split Time, Sower, and Bronx Beauty, as well as Sense of Bravery, second to older rivals in the Grade 3 Groupie Doll at Ellis. Alberobello, a full sister to Grade 1 winner A Z Warrior, invades off a Saratoga allowance win, while Devine Mischief, a full sister to millionaire Vicar’s in Trouble, is cross-entered in the Dogwood at Churchill.

Take Charge Paula boasts the field’s best credentials as a Grade 3 winner who has earned more than $400,000, with her defining win coming in the Forward Gal in February at Gulfstream Park. She’s based at Belmont with trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who said the purse and opportunity to face only 3-year-old fillies were reasons he shipped Take Charge Paula to Charles Town.

KEY CONTENDERS

Take Charge Paula, by Take Charge Indy

Last 3 Beyers: 82-67-34

◗ McLaughlin said the Charles Town Oaks also appealed from a timing standpoint for Take Charge Paula, who has been freshened since running seventh in the Victory Ride at Belmont on July 8.

“We were looking at the Prioress at Saratoga on Sept. 2 or this race at Charles Town, and we landed on the Charles Town race,” McLaughlin said. “The seven-eighths is probably her best distance – it’s just the two turns that worries you a little bit. Sometimes she drifts a little bit on the turns.”

◗ Take Charge Paula will start from post 4 under Jose Lezcano.

◗ “She usually breaks really sharp, then often will follow one or two, and it looks like that could happen again,” McLaughlin said. “Or, we could be on the lead around the first turn. She’s got quite a bit of speed. We want to leave there running. We’ll see how it unfolds.”

Alter Moon, by Alternation

Last 3 Beyers: 86-88-90

◗ She exits a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Test on Aug. 4 at Saratoga, her first start for trainer Chad Brown after Peter Brant bought her.

“She came to me in fine condition,” Brown said. “She has been training well, ran a good race in the Test, and we freshened her.”

◗ Brown has given the mount to Javier Castellano, who teamed with Brown to win this race in 2012 with Book Review. Alter Moon will break from post 8, and Brown expects her to stalk the pace.

“I think she’ll be able to get around the two turns fine,” said Brown.