Photo:

Tommy Land / Eclipse Sportswire

Going wide around the track proved to be a winning route for
Take Charge Milady, who took the lead late before turning for home on the way
to a 5 3/4-length romp Saturday in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes at
Oaklawn.

The two-turn, 1 1/16-mile race was a points prep for the
Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 2 at Churchill Downs. The 20-10-6-4-2 points were
divvied up among all five of the 3-year-old fillies.

Click here for Oaklawn entries and results.

Trained by 2024 Kentucky Oaks and Derby winner Kenny McPeek,
Take Charge Milady (5-2) bided her time in fourth place early. She went three
wide around the first turn as many as 3 1/2 lengths behind front-running Legal
Empress (25-1), who established early fractions of 24.35 and 48.79 seconds.

Take Charge Milady and odds-on favorite Quietside (1-2)
accelerated through the second turn to the outside of Legal Empress, overtaking
her with seeming ease as three-quarters of a mile went in 1:13.62.

Once she was out of the turn and into the homestretch, Take
Charge Milady found an extra burst of speed under jockey Julien Leparoux, leading
by 3 1/2 lengths through a mile in 1:40.11 before drawing away to a winning
time of 1:46.81 on the fast dirt track.

Quietside held second by three lengths over third-place Legal
Empress. It was another 5 3/4 lengths back to Gowells Delight (4-1) in fourth
with Adeera racing last all the way around, 20 3/4 lengths behind the winner at
the end.

Take Charge Milady paid $7.20, $2.60 and $2.10; Quietside
$2.10 and $2.10; and Legal Empress $3.40.

Owned by James Ball, the trainer’s wife Sherri McPeek and Kenneth
Rhodes, Take Charge Milady was sired by Take Charge Indy out of Scat Daddy mare
Price too High. After finishing sixth in a muddy debut in July at Ellis Park,
she went on a break, placed second last month in an Oaklawn allowance race and
broke her maiden in a muddy mile over the same course Jan. 5.