Spendthrift Farm's Cinco Charlie (Indian Charlie) was represented by his first winner Tuesday when Patricia and Daniel Yates' Big On Big scored a hard-fought victory in his career debut.
Showing a mostly pedestrian local worktab until perking up with a five-furlong bullet in 1:02 4/5 (1/7) July 18, the dark bay took a late punch to be 28-5 at the off and led narrowly as the middle marker in a three-way pace duel through a sharp :22.40 quarter. Starting to find a bit of daylight past a :47.26 half, he repelled the challenge of Armada (Paynter) and kicked away past the eighth pole before holding sway from late-running longshot Brig (Midshipman) for a 1 1/2-length success. The winner has a yearling half-brother by Jimmy Creed named The Real Guy.
Cinco Charlie, a $190,000 OBS March purchase in 2014, captured the GIII Bashford Manor S. as a juvenile, added a pair of stakes wins and a runner-up finish in the GII Woody Stephens S. at three and annexed the Duncan F. Kenner S. at four. He stands for $5,000 at Spendthrift.
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