Will Take Charge possible for Jockey Club Gold Cup, Penn Derby off Travers upset

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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