Lukas: Will Take Charge looks, acts like a champ

HOT SPRINGS - Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas admires champion Will Take Charge’s beauty and, more important, his brawn.

A flashy 4-year-old chestnut colt co-owned by Willis Horton of Marshall, Will Take Charge has trained continuously since October of 2012, Lukas said, running at 10 tracks in eight states during that span.

“He’ll go down as one of my favorites if he doesn’t do a damn thing else,” Lukas said Thursday morning at his Oaklawn Park barn. “I like that horse. I loved him as yearling. He never disappoints us. Shows up every time.”

Will Take Charge was rewarded with an Eclipse Award last year as the country’s top 3-year-old male, the 25th champion for Lukas in his legendary career.

Now, the well-traveled Will Take Charge looks to snap a two-race losing streak in the $600,000 Grade I Oaklawn Handicap for older horses today at Oaklawn.

The Oaklawn Handicap will mark the 16th consecutive stakes race for Will Take Charge, the even-money program favorite for the 1 1/8-mile race.

Will Take Charge has finished second in both of his starts this year, the $500,000 Grade I Donn Handicap on Feb. 9 at Gulfstream Park near Miami and the $750,000 Grade I Santa Anita Handicap on March 8 at Santa Anita near Los Angeles.

Lukas said Thursday morning that Will Take Charge’s next start after the Oaklawn Handicap will be the $500,000 Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap on June 14 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Everything is geared, Lukas said, for a return appearance in the $5 million Grade I Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita.

Will Take Charge was beaten a nose in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, a loss that likely cost him Horse of the Year honors.

“We’re not going to give him break,” Lukas said. “We’ve never had any luck doing that.”

Lukas said Lady’s Secret, for example, never regained her best form after he stopped on her following four consecutive Grade I victories, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, to cap a Horse of the Year campaign in 1986.

Lady’s Secret ran 15 times in 1986 (all graded stakes races), winning Grade I events on both coasts and toppling males in the Grade I Whitney.

“My theory is as long they’re good, go on,” Lukas said. “If they show that they’re not good, then stop. They’re bred to be racehorses.”

Will Take Charge ran 11 times last year, becoming the most heavily campaigned 3-year-old champion male since Skip Away, who made 12 starts in 1996. He has run in 12 consecutive graded stakes races.

Lukas said Will Take Charge’s imposing physical build has allowed him to flourish.

“He’s exceptional,” Lukas said. “I hope he’ll pass that on in the stud barn, too.”

Lukas also calls Will Take Charge, easy to spot because of his large blaze and four stockings, a “beautiful horse.”

“The breeders are going to go absolutely crazy for him,” said Lukas’ former assistant, Will VanMeter.

Today’s race will likely be the final Oaklawn appearance for Will Take Charge, who has wintered in Hot Springs the last two years. He won Oaklawn’s $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes and $600,000 Grade II Rebel Stakes as a 3-year-old.

Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky announced Dec. 29 that it had purchased a 50 percent interest in Will Take Charge, with Horton retaining the other 50 percent. Horton purchased Will Take Charge, a son of Unbridled’s Song, for $425,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Will Take Charge will remain with Lukas before the colt retires to stud duty at Three Chimneys at the conclusion of his racing career.

Will Take Charge was assigned top weight of 123 pounds for the Oaklawn Handicap.

Will Take Charge’s competition includes Revolutionary (117 pounds), winner of last year’s $1 million Grade II Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, and Golden Lad (116), powerful winner of the $200,000 Grade III Razorback Handicap on March 15.

“He’s getting better,” Lukas said of Will Take Charge. “He’s actually better right now than he’s ever been, I think. I’ll be hard-pressed to make an excuse for him.”

Sports, Pages 26 on 04/12/2014

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