Will Take Charge possible for Jockey Club Gold Cup, Penn
Derby off Travers upset
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas was a busy man Sunday morning, his
regular routine interrupted several times for interviews following Will Take
Charge’s upset victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Travers at Saratoga.
“They keep coming in droves,” Lukas quipped. “That’s a good thing.”
Will Take Charge gave the 77-year-old Lukas his third
Travers victory and first since 1995, charging down the stretch to nail stubborn
pacesetter Moreno by a nose at the wire.
“He’s doing wonderful; really good,” Lukas said. “I’m very pleased with that.
He had great energy this morning, out grazing and feeling good, very good.”
Winner of the Smarty Jones and Rebel during the
winter at Oaklawn Park, Will Take Charge ran in all three legs of the Triple Crown, finishing
eighth in the Kentucky Derby, seventh to injured stablemate Oxbow in the
Preakness and 10th in the Belmont Stakes.
He came back to finish a strong second, beaten just a length
by Belmont winner Palace Malice, in the Spa’s Jim Dandy on July 27.
“His trips were compromised (during the Triple Crown),”
Lukas said. “His style of running puts him in a position where he has to have
some things go his way. As he’s gotten older and more mature now, mentally and
physically, he’s able to overcome that stuff. Early on in his career, that was
the thing that probably slowed him up.”
Ridden for the first time by 21-year-old Luis Saez, Will
Take Charge was able to relax off a leisurely pace set by 31-1 long shot Moreno,
who led through a quarter-mile in :24 2/5, a half in :48 4/5 and six
furlongs in 1:13 2/5.
Saez swung Will Take Charge outside turning for home and
they closed relentlessly down the center of the track to catch Moreno in the
final jump.
“I was concerned about the fractions. I thought the
fractions were way in favor of the horses that you all liked and not him,” Lukas
admitted. “When they threw up that half-mile and then the (1:13 2/5) for
three-quarters, I thought it was tailor made for the favorites. When you go 13
and four and you’re a world-class horse, you’re supposed to finish.”
Lukas complimented the ride of Saez, who he named to ride
Wednesday morning before the post position draw, replacing Junior Alvarado.
“He rode a very smart race,” Lukas stated. “If he stays
tucked in behind that horse at the sixteenth-pole, he loses. Boy, this horse
really accelerated when he saw daylight and took off. He lengthened his stride
five, six feet in the last hundred yards.
“We thought he would mature into a better horse, but we took some chances. We
took an untried rider who had never won a Grade 1 in his life and put him up
there. We took the blinkers off. I’ve always felt in racing and training horses
that if it’s not working, change up and try something different.”
Lukas is keeping the logical options open for Will Take
Charge, including the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup against older
horses at Belmont Park on September 28, and staying with straight three-year-olds in
the Grade 2, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on September 21 at Parx Racing.
“One of them’s a Grade 1 and very prestigious. If you were
to win the Jockey Club, you’d go damn sure to the head of the division,” Lukas
said. “If you stay in your division, the million dollars is not necessarily bad,
either. We’ll weigh all the things. You get an extra week if you go to the
Jockey Club, so that’s also something.”
Lukas said the Travers did little to clarify the three-year-old
picture. Kentucky Derby winner Orb finished a solid third, Palace Malice closed
to be fourth after missing the break and 8-5 favorite Verrazano faded to
seventh after stalking the pace.
“I think it muddles it a little bit,” he said. “I think if you’re one of the
voting group, you’re going to have trouble until we get a little further down
the basepath. It’s going to have to be sorted out in a race or two more. Maybe
it will get all the way down to the Breeders’ Cup. The fight’s not over.”
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