Bernieandtherose wins fourth straight – and second consecutive stakes – in Saturday’s Maddie May at Aqueduct. Coglianese Photo.
Another Saturday, another stakes win at Aqueduct for a daughter of the Freud mare Berning Rose.
Bernieandtherose did it this time, adding the $125,000 Maddie May Stakes for 3-year-old fillies to her resume four weeks removed from winning the $121,250 East View Stakes. The daughter of Accelerate also added to the wintertime haul for her owners and breeders, Robert Rosenthal and Brad Bernstein, who celebrated two weeks ago when Bernietakescharge topped open company foes in the Heavenly Prize Invitational Stakes. Dominick Schettino trains both fillies.
Under regular partner Katie Davis, Bernieandtherose won her fourth straight dating back to a maiden-winning score November 3 during the Belmont at the Big A meeting. She added an allowance-optional three weeks later before the February 8 East View going 7 furlongs.
Stretched out to 1 mile in the Maddie May, Bernieandtherose hounded 47-1 longshot Howling Wind throughout before taking command around the far turn en route to a 3 1/4-length victory over 6-5 favorite Lottie Margaret. Bernieandtherose, the 5-2 third choice, earned $68,750 for the win and boosted her bankroll to $231,750. She won in 1:41.35 over the fast track.
“I don’t think my friend and trainer gets enough respect,” Rosenthal said. “He’s done a phenomenal job with this horse, with Bernietakescharge and their dam Berning Rose. We are just blessed to have horses like this giving us so much pleasure and this is really special.
“I can’t give enough credit to Domenick and to Katie, who gets on the horse every day. They know the horse and are developing her and she just keeps getting better and better. We’re ecstatic.”
Bernieandtherose is the third foal out of Berning Rose. Her first foal, the Honor Code mare Berning Honor, went 1-3-1 in 10 starts and earned $82,573 for the same connections. Bernietakescharge, a 4-year-old daughter of Take Charge Indy, improved to 5-for-15 and $354,580 in earnings with her victory in the Heavenly Prize. She finished third in last year’s Maddie May and second in last year’s East View.
Berning Rose is the dam of the New York-bred 2-year-old Always Dreaming filly Roseberns Dream and a yearling colt by Central Banker. Berning Rose was bred to Americanrevolution in 2024.
A daughter of the multiple stakes-winning Flying Chevron mare Peach Flambe, Berning Rose went 2-for-3 racing for Rosenthal, Bernstein and Schettino including the 2017 Maid of the Mist Stakes on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park.
“I’ve been in the breeding and racing business for more than 30 years, and I have to say this is just an incredible thrill,” Rosenthal said. “She’s now won four in a row and we’ve won seven of the last eight races between the two [half-sisters], three stakes. … It’s just incredible and it’s what you’re in this business for. It’s a tribute to Domenick and the patience he has with young horses and the way he develops them. From Galloping Grocer, who was one of my homebreds back in the day, to these horses now, it’s been great.”
