Without Free Like a Girl in the field, Take Charge Brandi comes up wide open

The conditions of the $75,000 Take Charge Brandi on Friday at Delta Downs offer the full field of 3-year-old fillies protection from Free Like a Girl.

Free Like a Girl has been the division’s dominant member this meet, and by virtue of her win in the My Trusty Cat against open company in November at Delta she is ineligible for the Take Charge Brandi.

The race Friday is for 3-year-old fillies who have started at Delta during the meet, excluding open-company stakes races. The seven-furlong Take Charge Brandi will be run around two turns.

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Free Like a Girl will still see action this week, but at Oaklawn Park in the Grade 3 Honeybee on Saturday.

Wholelottamo could go favored in the Take Charge Brandi, named for the champion who won the Delta Downs Princess. She is the lone stakes winner in the field of 10 plus two also-eligibles. She has been chasing Free Like a Girl, having finished second to her in both the $100,000 fillies division of the Louisiana Futurity at Fair Grounds and the $100,000 Louisiana Premier Starlet in her most recent start Feb. 5 at Delta.

Wholelottamo also has the distinction of winning a stakes over Free Like a Girl, last year’s $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies at six furlongs at Louisiana Downs. Following the race, Free Like a Girl reeled off three straight stakes wins, including the $100,000 Louisiana Jewel by more than 18 lengths in October at Delta.

As for Wholelottamo, she breezed a sharp half-mile in her final work for the Take Charge Brandi. She went in 48 seconds on Saturday at Fair Grounds, and the move was the fourth-fastest of 85 at the distance that morning. Thomas Pompell has the mount from post 8 for Thompson Racing and trainer Jayde Gelner.

Free Like a Girl also appears in the company lines of Miss Jana. She was fifth to the multiple stakes winner in the Jewel and third to her last out in the Starlet. Miss Jana won an allowance over open company Dec. 17 at Delta. Jose Guerrero has the mount from post 3 for owner and trainer Jerry Cart.

Tapison finished sixth to Free Like a Girl in the My Trusty Cat in November. One start prior, Tapison won her debut at seven furlongs at Delta. She’s one of three starters in the field trained by Steve Asmussen. He also sends out Shared Future, who has won her maiden and an allowance in back-to-back starts at Delta, and Roll Baby, a maiden winner in December at Delta.

Sassy Emma is a two-time winner at the meet, and the daughter of Cupid will be making her two-turn debut Friday. She’s a half-sister to stakes winner Gray Dude, who has earned $203,267.