Bernietakescharge earns first stakes win in Heavenly Prize

Robert Rosenthal’s and Bradford Bernstein’s homebred Bernietakescharge took control from the start and didn’t relinquish the lead en route to her first stakes victory in Saturday’s $145,500 Heavenly Prize Invitational at Aqueduct.

The 4-year-old daughter of Take Charge Indy overcame a bump at the start from odds-on favorite Weigh the Risks and led throughout the 1-mile trip of the Heavenly Prize for a 6 1/4-length victory over that foe under Romero Maragh. Trained by Domenick Schettino and sent off as the second longest shot of the five runners at 17-1, Bernietakescharge picked up her second straight victory in third in her last four starts. She won in 1:38.53 over the fast track.

“It was fast up front, but she runs like that. That’s the way she likes to run,” Schettino said. “When she gets to the quarter pole, if she’s still in front, a lot of times she’ll kick away and she continues to go forward.

“I [saw] the favorite [Weigh the Risks] sitting there third, I was like, ‘well with his half a mile, maybe the favorite’s going to come.’ But then when I saw the quarter pole and I [saw] the favorite start to really, the jockey was working on her, I [saw] my filly just taking a little breather, I knew we had a good shot once we turned for home.”

Maragh said taking the lead from the start was always the plan. He’s ridden the half-sister to recent stakes winner Bernieandtherose for her last four starts, including a nose victory and a 6 1/4-length score going 9 furlongs, and that knowledge and time in the morning paid off.

“The goal was definitely to get the lead with her because she’s a quirky filly,” Maragh said. “As long as she’s clear or on the lead, she’ll give her honest, best effort. When horses come up to her, it pushes her even more and that was the game plan to establish the lead early.

“I’ve worked her in the mornings, too, and when she works by herself, you wouldn’t think she would win a stakes. She just goes by herself at a nice galloping speed. When she’s with company, she’s a completely different horse. So, I could tell by how she is in the morning that the afternoons are different with her.”

Bernieandtherose, also a homebred for Rosenthal and Bernstein trained by Schettino, won the East View Stakes February 8 at Aqueduct. The same ownership and trainer tandem campaigned the dam of those two fillies, the Freud mare Berning Rose.

Berning Rose won two of three starts, including the 2017 Maid of the Mist Stakes on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park.

“It’s great,” Schettino said. “Bob Rosenthal and his family, I trained every horse; the mom, all the siblings. Jan Durrschmidt, where we raise the horses at Indigo Farm. It’s a special feeling.”

Berning Rose’s first foal, Berning Honor, went 1-3-1 in 10 starts and earned $82,573. Bernietakescharge improved to 5-for-15 with two seconds and two thirds and earnings of $354,580 in the Heavenly Prize. Berning Rose is also the dam of the 2-year-old Always Dreaming filly Roseberns Dream and a yearling colt by Central Banker. She was bred to Americanrevoluation in 2024.

Bernietakescharge was entered in Sunday’s Broadway Stakes at 7 furlongs, but Schettino liked the distance and setup of the open-company Heavenly Prize better for the filly.

“The distance and a shorter field, and seeing the horse on the outside [Aussie Girl] had never been on the dirt, that’s a question mark there. ,” he said. “She was training super, and once she was training the way she was, I told Bob Rosenthal, ‘let’s take a shot in this race here.’ Plus, she had a better post position in this race than she does tomorrow.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/02/22/bernietakescharge-earns-first-stakes-win-in-heavenly-prize/

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