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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS FEBRUARY 14, 2014 by Dick Powell It might not have been as gallant as Seattle Slew's narrow loss in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup but Will Take Charge's (Unbridled's Song) second in last Sunday's Donn Handicap (G1) showed how good a horse he is. If there were any questions about his transition from three to four years of age, he answered them in the affirmative. He should be a monster this year. Races at Gulfstream Park going 1 1/8 miles on the main track usually favor horses with early speed so Will Take Charge was going to be up against a severe bias anyway. But, the prevailing speed bias was even more severe than normal as the main track was sealed before the race. According to the Paulick Report, the main track was sealed since there were nearby showers in the Gulfstream Park area. You could see dark clouds on the high definition television broadcast so it was no surprise that the decision was made to seal the track and while it might not have affected the result, it certainly affected the final time. When you looked at Lea's (First Samurai) past performances, his best race on the main track came in an off-the-turf event on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs when he won up on the engine going a mile. Primarily a turf horse, he switched to the Bill Mott barn over the winter and won the Hal's Hope (G3) on Gulfstream's main track last out. In the Donn, it looked like there was plenty of pace in the race to give Will Take Charge a chance to run them down late. Joel Rosario got Lea away to a good start and was helped when Miguel Mena sent Uncaptured (Lion Heart) from the rail to take a short lead going into the clubhouse turn. That enabled Rosario to set up shop second and when the outside pressure did not materialize, he fell into a perfect trip. Often times we use the adjective "one-paced" as a negative one but it perfectly described Lea's dominating performance in the Donn. His quarter miles were run in 23.52, 23.69, 23.61 and 23.84 seconds. Only a speed-favoring track would enable this and Rosario rode him perfectly with constant effort. When he was challenged in the stretch, he came home with a final furlong in 12.12 seconds, which resulted in the nine furlongs run in track record time of 1:46.86. Poor Will Take Charge even raced closer to the pace than normal as he was fourth after a quarter-mile. He dropped back a bit during the middle of the race and when the front-runner did not come back, he had to go get him. The champion three-year-old male of 2013 ran his last three furlongs in 35.55 seconds but it was not good enough as Lea held on by 1 1/4 lengths. Considering what he was up against, and that includes racing closer to the pace than he normally would, and that he still threw in his usual finish, I thought it was a huge effort on Will Take Charge's part. He'll be much sharper next time out, but I have no idea where that will be. Lea is trained by Bill Mott, who once took a former turf horse, Cigar, to Dubai and won the first running of the Dubai World Cup. With the ability to race on dirt and turf, you would think that Lea would be perfect for the World Cup now that it is run on Tapeta. Since going to Tapeta, the World Cup has been won by horses either on the lead early or rode aggressively early. Lea fits the bill on both accounts and his rider, Joel Rosario, won the race last year aboard Animal Kingdom with an early move down the backstretch. Will Take Charge would have no trouble getting the 2000-meter distance of the World Cup, but the question would be can he handle the Tapeta. He has never started on turf but did break his maiden at Keeneland going seven furlongs on the Polytrack so it's not out of the question. Wayne Lukas has never been an international shipper, but a $6 million first-place prize has a way of opening up one's horizons. The Donn was televised as the inaugural feature race of the Jockey Club Tour on Fox and there was a lot to like about the broadcast. The high definition picture was sensational and it just makes you wish that all races were televised in hi-def. I know part of it was the cloudy day and I know from my photographer friends that sun causes shadows and gray skies are best. That is what we had on Sunday and the results were spectacular. Some networks seem to be better than others and Fox is about the best there is with the quality of their broadcasts. Google just announced that they are developing a technology that would allow 10 gigabit internet speeds. It would display hi-def broadcasts on your computer in breathtaking quality and enable horse racing to get off the satellite systems they are on now and liberate their picture quality. Can't wait.
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