BLAME 3-year-old Charlie’s to Blame became his sire’s first stakes winner of 2025 on Saturday with a victory in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes.
Trained by Peter Eurton, the colt shipped across the country from California for this start and made it well worth it.
Breaking first in the 1 1/16 mile turf race, Charlie’s to Blame was happy to set the lead with the rest of the field leaving him to it. It wasn’t until the final quarter that jockey Luis Saez asked him for more as Walking In Memphis tried to challenge for the lead.
Charlie’s to Blame put him away in upper stretch and looked to be clear for the win, but it wasn’t to be that easy. The late running Maui Strong made a race of it late, getting within a head of Charlie’s to Blame in the end.
Racing for BG Stables, Roadrunner Racing, SAF Racing, West Coast Stables, Barbara Evenson, and Jeffrey Lambert, the colt bred by Pope, Marc, and Pope McLean Jr. has won two of his four starts with one other top three finish.
This is the first stakes winner for Silent Bond, who is the dam of five winners from six to race. A placed runner, Silent Bond is a daughter of Grade 2 winner Blushing Heiress, making her a half-sister to stakes winner Winsome and two stakes producing mares.
This family also includes Horse of the Year Authentic and Grade 1 winners Reynaldothewizard, Seventh Street, American Gal, and Undrafted.
This is the 51st stakes winner for BLAME, who is also at 97 stakes performers after Charlie’s to Blame’s victory.