Bernietakescharge brings winning form into $125K Biogio’s Rose

Robert D. Rosenthal and Bradford Bernstein’s homebred Bernietakescharge will look to continue her family’s winning ways in Sunday’s $125,000 Biogio’s Rose, a one-turn mile for older New York-bred fillies and mares, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Domenick Schettino, Bernietakescharge, out of the stakes-winning Freud mare Berning Rose, is a half-sister to sophomore filly Bernieandtherose, a New York-homebred for the same connections, who notched back-to-back state-bred scores here in the East View on February 8 and the Maddie May one month later.

Schettino noted that the precocious Bernieandtherose, who worked five-eighths in 1:00.42 on March 28 over the Belmont Park dirt training track with Katie Davis aboard, did not enter Saturday’s Grade 3 Gazelle due to a cough.

“She had a really good work with Katie, did it in hand relatively easy,” Schettino said. “She came back and coughed a couple of times, so I decided to pass on it [the Gazelle]. She’s a young 3-year-old and we have all year with her.”

Bernietakescharge [post 5, Romero Maragh], a 4-year-old Take Charge Indy dark bay, broke through at stakes level in her sixth attempt last out on February 22 here with a pacesetting 6 1/4-length victory against open company in the one-turn mile Heavenly Prize Invitational. There, at odds of 17-1, she zipped through splits of 23.12 seconds, 46.36 and 1:11.56 over the fast main track under regular pilot Romero Maragh en route to dispatching a five-horse field in a final time of 1:38.53.

“I’ll tell you, after seeing that half-mile in 46 and she opened up like that in the stretch – you don’t expect something like that, and it was a heavy track that day,” Schettino said. “To see her draw off like that was really exciting. We’re looking forward to this next race.”

Bernietakescharge was cross-entered in the February 23 Broadway going seven furlongs versus fellow New York-breds, but Schettino correctly opted for the Heavenly Prize. The winning effort in the Heavenly Prize registered a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure, easily trumping a 73 earned one start prior for a nose win in a local open optional-claiming mile on January 11.

The improving filly had performed well in previous stakes attempts, hitting the board in last year’s local state-bred Franklin Square [2nd], Maddie May [3rd] and East View [2nd].

Bernietakescharge has worked back twice under Romero Maragh, including a half-mile in 50.73 seconds on March 29 over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

“Her last breeze was good and she’s doing very well,” Schettino said. “Romero worked her the last two times and said she worked well. She’s coming into her own now. She’s a 4-year-old, maturing and developing. She’s got more confidence.”

Schettino said he’s hopeful that Maragh can engineer another prominent effort from Bernietakescharge.

“I think she likes to be close, in contention from the beginning of the race,” Schettino said. “Can she sit right off of it? I think a length or two wouldn’t be an issue, but she likes to be close. She was like that when she broke her maiden, and in the stakes race as a young 3-year-old [East View] she was right there, so that’s just her.”

Mark Anderson’s multiple Grade 2-placed Sterling Silver [post 3, Javier Castellano], who boasts a field-best $937,301 in purse earnings, will look to return to winning ways and secure millionaire status for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

The 6-year-old Cupid mare spent much of her career with now retired conditioner Tom Albertrani, topped by a trio of state-bred stakes wins and four graded placings. Her most recent score came in the state-bred Johnstone Mile Handicap in August at Saratoga Race Course in her third outing for Mott. That effort was followed by her fifth graded placing with a third-place finish in the local Grade 2 Gallant Bloom sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs over sloppy and sealed footing on September 29.

Sterling Silver will make her seasonal debut from consecutive runner-up efforts in state-bred stakes company here when a nose back of Venti Valentine in the nine-furlong Empire Distaff in October and 2 1/4-lengths in arrears of Stonewall Star in the one-mile Bay Ridge on December 27.

She has posted a string of works at Payson Park Training Center in Florida in preparation for her seasonal debut, including a half-mile breeze Saturday in 51.40.

Out of the Distorted Humor mare Sheet Humor, Sterling Silver, bred by Mallory Mort and Karen Mort, was a $13,000 purchase at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. Her 28-8-5-5 record includes six Grade 1 attempts led by fourth-place finishes in the Madison in April at Keeneland and the 2022 Test at Saratoga.

Richie Rich Racing Stable’s Sweet Brown Sugar [post 4, Lane Luzzi] saw her three-race win streak come to an end last out when a closing one-length second to Landed in the seven-furlong Broadway against fellow state-breds on February 23 here while racing on 17 days’ rest.

Trained by Paul Barrow, the 4-year-old Collected bay sparked her streak in October with a pair of wins just 12 days apart at Finger Lakes Racetrack, taking a 5 1/2-furlong open optional-claimer ahead of a prominent seven-length romp in the state-bred 1 1/16-mile Jack Betta Be Rite.

The $32,000 OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale purchase made her seasonal debut a winning one with a local 1 3/4-length open optional-claiming score traveling 6 1/2-furlongs over a muddy and sealed track on February 6.

An eight-time winner from 13 starts, she has banked $316,700 via stakes scores in the 2023 Shesastonecoldfox at Finger Lakes along with six-furlong state-bred scores last year in the East View here and the Niagara at Finger Lakes.

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, Sweet Brown Sugar is out of the winning Bodemeister mare Rachel’s Blue Moon. Her second dam is the graded stakes-placed Beautiful But Blue and her third dam is multiple stakes-winner Beautiful America.

Dicke Racing’s graded stakes-placed Caldwell Luvs Gold [post 2, Manny Franco] arrives from back-to-back fourth-place finishes going seven furlongs in stakes company in the open Interborough on January 25 and the state-bred Broadway last out for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.

The 4-year-old Goldencents bay has banked $418,865 through a ledger of 15-4-2-3 that includes state-bred stakes wins in the six-furlong 2023 Seeking the Ante at Saratoga and last year’s 1 1/16-mile New York Oaks at Finger Lakes when 3 1/4-lengths better than Sweet Brown Sugar. She earned her graded placing with a prominent third-place finish in the Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks Invitational over 11 furlongs of firm turf here in September.

Bred by Jeremiah Desmond and Drumkenny Farm, Caldwell Luvs Gold is out of the Quality Road mare Snow, who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-placed Quindici Man.

Rounding out a competitive field is Mathew Levy and Kenneth Greenvald’s 11-time winner Khali Magic [post 1, Ruben Silvera], a 7-year-old Al Khali dark bay trained by Jimmy Ferraro. The hard-knocking mare picked up a career-best 82 Beyer last out with a prominent 3 1/4-length win in a state-bred optional-claiming mile on February 27 here.

The Biogio's Rose is slated as Race 4 on Sunday’s 10-race card, which co-features the $125,000 Haynesfield in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

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