Mandy Pope is the rarest of owner/breeders, having been totally immersed in the breeding, raising, and training of her Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) contender Charge It .
The Central Florida farm owner is not laser-focused on having a horse running on the First Saturday in May. She wants, instead, for a horse to take her there if it shows the aptitude and ability. As a breeder, however, she absolutely wants to produce horses capable of competing at the highest level.
This year she got both with Charge It.
The handsome dark gray/roan son of Tapit made an early impression as a weanling growing up on Pope's 400-acre Whisper Hill Farm north of Ocala, Fla., near the community of Citra.
"We sell some of our better horses to make money commercially, but he was such a standout," said Pope. "I had a lot of faith in his mother, who we paid a lot of money for, I believe in Tapit, and with the individual that we had on the ground as a baby, we made the deliberate decision to keep him. He was always sound and never had any issues as a yearling, so we could have sold him for a lot of money, but this is our plan and our dream to hopefully do what we're actually doing."
Pope took her first step down the road toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby at the 2013 Keeneland September Yearling Sale where she bought a striking bay Indian Charlie filly named I'll Take Charge for $2.2 million. The filly soared deep into seven-figure territory because she's out of 2013 Broodmare of the Year Take Charge Lady, a multiple grade 1 winner who had already produced 2013 champion 3-year-old and sire Will Take Charge and grade 1 winner and sire Take Charge Indy . As if the family needed to prove itself further, Take Charge Lady would later produce another grade 1 winner in As Time Goes By and become the granddam of 2014 champion 2-year-old filly Take Charge Brandi and Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Omaha Beach .
"Charge It is a very good physical, as is I'll Take Charge," said Todd Quast, racing manager and general manager for Whisper Hill. "She is beautiful conformation-wise with a beautiful neck and shoulder and very balanced, just a very nice horse. Charge It was that way early on and stayed that way as he's matured."
I'll Take Charge was not a standout on the racetrack, though she did become a winner in her second start at 3. That was OK with Pope because she knew the filly's ability as a racehorse was only a slice of what makes her truly valuable.
As a broodmare, I'll Take Charge first produced a filly named Charging Lady by proven international sire Medaglia d'Oro who has made one start so far. The mare was next bred to Gainesway's three-time leading North American sire Tapit, who has been a deep well of success for Pope as an owner and breeder.
"I have been a huge supporter of Tapit for a number of years. I think he's an awesome sire because he can get you dirt horses, turf horses, or some that sprint and some that go the classic distances," Pope said. "I think the influence of the mare can take it in one direction or another, but because of his versatility Tapit fits a lot of different mares."
Pope's team of consultants on matings include veteran pedigree expert John Prather; Wayne Sweezey with Timber Town Stable near Lexington, who has managed Pope's broodmares for around 20 years and handles foaling and sales; and, Doug Cauthen, who is president of Doug Cauthen Thoroughbred Management and vice chairman at Three Chimneys Farm.
Sweezey said every year Prather compiles in-depth analyses to identify the best potential mates for each mare, but the mating for I'll Take Charge in 2018 was as straightforward as it gets.
"This combination is that Mandy loves Tapit," he said. "We put all the information together but ultimately the decisions are Mandy's and, at the time, she was breeding five or six mares a year to Tapit. She follows the 'breed the best to the best' game plan and that is how she ended up with this horse."
Sweezey and Cauthen both said Pope's commitment to Tapit has made her entire program stronger.
"Mandy's great appreciation for Tapit is paying off in spades because now she has a lot of well-bred Tapit fillies and mares that are in her broodmare band. You look at how many places he's working, like with Gun Runner ," said Cauthen, referring to Three Chimneys' leading sire and 2017 Horse of the Year.
"I saw (Charge It) as a yearling when he was on her farm in Florida, and he was a 'wow' horse then," Cauthen continued. "He is a bigger, stronger version of the Tapits and got a lot from that family. He's a lot of horse and thriving. Down the road, he'll hopefully be a horse people want to breed to. He's got a helluva pedigree; one of the best in the book."
Along with focusing on top stallions, Pope made a substantial commitment—in the tens of millions of dollars—to raising the quality of her broodmare band starting in 2012 when she acquired 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace for $10 million at Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale, a select mixed sale in Lexington. Since 2012, she's spent more than $74 million on broodmares and broodmare prospects, who include multiple champion Songbird, 2011 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Plum Pretty, multiple grade 1 winners Groupie Doll and Stopchargingmaria, and 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil, who is the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the May 6 La Troienne Stakes Presented by Signify Health (G1) at Churchill Downs.
Pope dismisses any suggestion that she would have been better off buying 20 mares or 20 yearlings instead of reaching so far on any one elite mare.
"I know there are different ways of looking at it, but if I bought 20 mares then I'm spending so much just on yearly expenses and upkeep. Maybe I make a profit on one horse, but it doesn't cover the whole investment," she said. "The only way to make a difference in your program is to have this type of horse.
"Yes, they're expensive to buy and expensive to breed … but I believe in generational breeding, not just for an upcoming sale," she continued. "When I buy these mares, I'm hoping that they'll reproduce themselves and sometimes they don't, but it shows up in the following generations. So this is a long-term effort to make this work and create a good business model for us. This is our plan."
In 2019, Pope added a training division to her already substantial breeding, racing, and sales operation. She bought and completely renovated a 100-acre training facility with a five-eighths-mile track that is about three miles from the main Whisper Hill Farm. The property was originally developed by the late Norman Casse, the father of trainer Mark Casse and bloodstock agent Justin Casse.
Charge It got his early lessons at the Whisper Hill Training Center under the watchful eye of Quast, who worked for D. Wayne Lukas in the 1990s when Todd Pletcher was an assistant trainer for the stable.
"What we were saying about Charge It then is what people are saying now, everything he does looks effortless," Quast said. "He's a big horse but so well balanced. If you're not clocking him, you think he is going in :13 or :14, and he's really going in :11 or :10."
Pope and Quast knew early on that Charge It would be sent to Pletcher, who had already trained three graded stakes winners that Pope either owned in partnership (Tapwrit) or bred and raced (Graceful Princess and Grand Sonata). Tapwrit and Graceful Princess also are by Tapit.
"We knew that Todd (Pletcher) had the ability and the experience to handle this type of horse, as far as handling the pressure and making the right decisions where to run," said Pope. "His expertise suited this particular horse, so there was no question about who this horse was going to."
Charge It made his first start Jan. 8 at Gulfstream Park where he was second by a neck in a maiden special weight. He followed up with an 8 1/2-length romp Feb. 12 at Gulfstream and then was baptized by fire in the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1).
Quast said the lessons the colt learned in the Florida Derby ultimately gave him an ideal prep for the Kentucky Derby. The colt hit the gate after the break and then grabbed his right front heel right above the quarter. He took dirt in his face for the first time and got stopped several times coming down the stretch and still managed to chase down White Abarrio to finish second by 1 1/4 lengths.
"After that, he could have gone one way or the other afterward, but he got better," said Quast. "Every breeze got better. (Jockey) Luis (Saez) was on him the other day and he had a hard time pulling him up, galloping out seven-eighths. I think we got three races worth of experience in the Florida Derby."
Pletcher agreed the Florida Derby set the colt up well heading into Saturday's classic.
"Those types of races typically move them forward," he said. "He got all the experience you need in racing. He got away poorly, got a lot of dirt, weaved his way through traffic, and ran a little green down the lane that compromised his chances of winning that day. But hopefully it brings him forward for this one."
Pletcher said watching Pope hoist the golden Kentucky Derby trophy would be a boost to the entire racing industry.
"She supports the game at every level and those are the types of owners we want to see succeed," he said.
For Sweezey, seeing Pope win the Derby—especially with a homebred—would be a just reward for her decades of devotion to the horses in her care and her strong financial commitment to the industry.
"With Charge It, he's athletic, he's beautiful, and he moves across the ground unbelievably well. He has the right trainer and it seems Mandy has the right mojo. She's racing Shedaresthedevil on Friday, and Songbird just had a beautiful Curlin colt the night before last. Everything seems to be gelling for her right now.
"It would mean everything in the world to this lady if this came true and to all of us who have seen her work so hard and make such a commitment to it. We hope she is lucky enough to get there."
