Game On Dude and Will Take Charge will make a final appeal to Eclipse Award
voters when they square off for a second time this month in Friday’s Grade 1,
$500,000 Clark
Handicap at Churchill Downs, the feature on the penultimate program at the
Louisville track’s Fall Meet.
The favorite to be named Horse of the Year heading into the November 2
Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, Game On Dude botched his chance at earning
racing’s highest honor with a sub-par ninth-place effort in the 1 1/4-mile
fixture. It was a performance similar in impact to his seventh-place try in the
2012 Classic, which also cost the six-year-old gelding a place in the history
books as well as divisional honors as the year’s leading older male.
Even with a win in the 1 1/8-mile Clark, Game On Dude would still be
considered longshot to be named champion older male of 2013 after losing the
Classic by 11 lengths to Mucho Macho Man. However, the Bob Baffert trainee’s
record leading up to the Breeders’ Cup had been impeccable, with consecutive
wins in the San Antonio, Santa Anita Handicap, Charles Town Classic, Hollywood
Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic.
Game On Dude was assigned 126 pounds for the Clark and will break from post
1. In his last trip over the surface, the son of Awesome Again finished second
to Drosselmeyer in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The three-year-old Will Take Charge will carry 123 pounds, making him the
co-highweight on the scale. After a dismal Triple Crown campaign, the D. Wayne
Lukas charge roared back to top form over the summer and fall, which coincided
with the removal of blinkers from his raceday equipment.
A sharp second in the Jim Dandy in his first start since the classics, Will
Take Charge next defeated Kentucky Derby winner Orb and Belmont hero Palace
Malice in the Travers. Doubling up in the Pennsylvania Derby next out, the son
of Unbridled’s Song then fell a jump short of catching Mucho Macho Man in the
Breeders’ Cup Classic. That effort against older rivals put the chestnut in the
discussion for divisional honors, which could be sealed with a win Friday.
Golden Ticket, who dead-heated for the win in the 2012 Travers, is the likely
third choice in the wagering. Despite having won only the Prairie Meadows
Handicap in six stakes appearances this term, the Kenny McPeek trainee was a
clear second in both the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill in June and the
Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita last time.
Prayer for Relief, who was cross-entered in Saturday’s Hawthorne Gold Cup, is
a multiple Grade 2 winner for owner Ahmed Zayat. The five-year-old ending a
lengthy losing skid over the summer, taking the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker
Handicap and the Governor’s Cup at Remington Park in consecutive starts. He did
not fare as well in the September 28 Homecoming Classic at Churchill, finishing
more than nine lengths behind Fort Larned.
Bourbon Courage, seeking his first win since the 2012 Super Derby, should
improve off a second-place effort to the returning Our Double Play in a 7
1/2-furlong Churchill allowance on October 31. Third by a length in last year’s
Clark, Bourbon Courage picked up minor checks in the Donn Handicap, New Orleans
Handicap and Alysheba during the first half of the season.
Grade 3 winner Easter Gift invades from Belmont for trainer Chad Brown. The
Hard Spun colt has won three of six starts this season, his biggest win coming
in the $230,000 Mountainview Handicap at Penn National in June.
The Clark field is rounded out by the turf/synthetic performer Finnegans Wake
and Jaguar Paw, who captured an overnight stakes at Belmont and finished third
in the Philip H. Iselin at Monmouth over the summer.
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