Two Fantastic Fillies That Should Race Against The Boys

Two fast fillies that should race against the boys in the Kentucky Derby Prep races this year are Take Charge Brandi and Condo Commando. The last filly to win the Kentucky Derby was Winning Colors in 1988. The last filly to win a Triple Crown race was Rachel Alexandra when she won the Preakness Stakes in 2009. Fillies who score points in the Kentucky Derby Prep races can apply those points to getting into the Kentucky Oaks later if they decide not to enter the Kentucky Derby. So why doesn’t one of these owners give it a shot? The sport could use the added interest and excitement of having a filly competing in The Run for the Roses.

1) Take Charge Brandi

In my previous article, The Five Fastest Kentucky Derby Contenders, Take Charge Brandi’s winning time of 1:41.95 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race would have tied American Pharoah’s time for 5th on that list. She has won her last three races and her assertive name matches her running style–she gets out into the lead early and wires the field. It seems as if she has a “refuse to lose” mentality as you can witness for yourself in the videos below.



2) Condo Commando

Condo Commando demolished the field in the Demoiselle Stakes and won by a tractor-trailer length (11 1/2 lengths). Her time in this 1 1/8 mile race at Aqueduct was very impressive at 1:50.40 seconds–the fastest in that last 8 years and just 0.23 seconds off the track record for a filly.

To put her time into perspective, Wicked Strong won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct (same 1 1/8th mile distance) last spring with a time of 1:49.31 seconds. So she was just 1.09 seconds off that time right now and she had no other filly pressuring her for the lead in this race. Her jockey, Joel Rosario, brought her home on cruise control. She won her previous race–The Spinaway Stakes race–in impressive fashion on a wet, sloppy track.

Here is her outstanding performance in the Demoiselle Stakes


If nothing else, this year’s Kentucky Oaks race is setting up to be a compelling must-see matchup.
—Michael