Ova Charged, unstoppable this season in her native Louisiana, took on all comers to win the $332,000 Unbridled Sidney Stakes (G3T) May 3 at Churchill Downs, holding on gamely through the late going.
The 6-year-old Star Guitar mare, winner of four straight races at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, hesitated briefly at the start—just enough to leave her in a battle with Stone Silent for the lead as the field zipped down the backstretch.
Stone Silent took a brief lead nearing the top of the stretch before tiring while Ova Charged, under Florent Geroux, kept right on going to hold on for the win. Secret Money was up for second and Run for the Hills ran late to nab third. The 5 1/2-furlong dash was run over yielding turf after copious morning rain and clocked in 1:03.71. Two of the original 10 entries, Charriere and Ag Bullet, were race-day scratches.
Ova Charged started the Fair Grounds season with a new trainer, Shane Wilson, and won her first two starts, both on the dirt at six furlongs. Moved to the green course, she romped against open company in the Mardi Gras Stakes Feb. 13, then destroyed a field of fellow Louisiana-breds in her last start March 24, winning by 12 1/2 lengths.
"She gets over the turf real easy," Wilson said. "She thrives on it."
