Horton reflects on Will Take Charge, his start in racing

Horton reflects on Will Take Charge, his start

in racing

While Willis D. Horton spends most of his time these days

on his cattle farm in Marshall, Arkansas, he will be making his second trip in a

month to Gulfstream Park this weekend.

In January, Horton held court on the podium in the Sport of

Kings hall when Will Take Charge was honored with the Eclipse Award as the

nation's champion three-year-old. On Sunday, Horton will be on hand at Gulfstream

when Will Take Charge makes his 2014 bow in the Grade 1, $500,000 Donn Handicap.

Horton's colorbearer made a surge during the second half of

the 2013 racing season, winning the Travers, Pennsylvania Derby

and Clark Handicap while finishing a whisker behind Mucho Macho Man in the

Breeders' Cup Classic. The latter event was voted as the National

Thoroughbred Racing Association's "Moment of the Year," and Will Take Charge

wound up third when the ballots were counted for Horse of the Year.

Horton, 73,

has even bigger dreams for Will Take Charge this year.

"It was absolutely exciting," Horton reflected. "We fought

so hard for it. I think that the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs after the

Breeders' Cup put the lock on it for us. It was a tremendous thrill to get (the

Eclipse Award), and this year I'm shooting to get Horse of the Year.

"I was

hoping to meet Mucho Macho Man (again), but my understanding is they don't want

to run against us until the Breeders' Cup. If we get through the Donn Handicap

in good shape then we'll go on to the (Grade 1, $750,000) Santa Anita Handicap (on

March 8). All last year

we didn't dodge anybody, we went everywhere we wanted to go regardless of who

was in it, and we're still taking that same position. We'll stay in Grade 1

races all this year."

Horton grew up in Marshall and regularly made the 140-mile

drive to Oaklawn Park. He later joined his family's business, D. R. Horton

Custom Homes. The company was sold in 1992 and allowed Horton to pursue his

longtime equine interests.

"My wife (Glenda) and I have always been fond of horses and

have always had horses, mostly Quarter Horses," Horton said. "One thing led to

another, and I always wanted to be in the Thoroughbred business because I'd

grown up going to Oaklawn, so that's what led me to it."

Will Take Charge is conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Horton has been in the racing game for several decades and has employed a number

of conditioners during that time. Despite his being a denizen of Oaklawn, where

Lukas is often stabled, the two first crossed paths in Louisville, Kentucky.

"I met Wayne at Churchill Downs," Horton recalled. "At the

time, we hadn't been having any luck. We had just left the track when I made the

suggestion that we go back to the track and the first good trainer we run into,

we'll have him start training our horses. Wayne was going down the steps as we

were coming up, and I collared him."

The Arkansas native established Horton Stable with his son

Cam, brother Leon and nephew Terry. That partnership later teamed up with Dallas

Stewart, who had worked for Lukas before setting out his own shingle.

"Wayne was training for us at the time and Dallas was his

assistant," Horton explained. "There were four of us involved (in Horton

Stable). Dallas wanted to go out on his own, so we loaned him the money and

helped him get started."

The Hortons tasted major success with Lemons Forever, a

filly they co-owned with Stewart. A $140,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, Lemons Forever

unleashed a strong rally to post a 47-1 upset in the 2006 running of the

Kentucky Oaks. The following year, they sold her as a broodmare

prospect for a seven-figure sum.

"That was really exciting," Horton

acknowledged. "We sold her for two-and-half-million dollars. It sure doesn't

always work out that way."

Horton later campaigned the talented sprinter Partner's

Hero, and more recently was represented by stakes winner Laurie's Rocket. The

latter was originally with Stewart, but was transferred to Lukas when Horton

reconnected with the veteran trainer in 2012.

"Dallas and I parted ways, so I picked up the phone and

called Wayne," Horton said. "I asked him if he wanted my horses again and he

said he did. I've been in the racing business for about 50 years. I used to try

to make it with cheaper horses and it didn't work out, so I stepped up my game."

That marked a turn of fortune in the racing game for both

men. At the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 2011, Horton extended himself

to $425,000 for a regally bred colt by Unbridled's Song out of Grade 1-winning

multi-millionaire

Take Charge Lady. Lukas had been involved in the bidding for the

flashy chestnut colt, but deferred to his former and future client.

The colt in

question was Will Take Charge, who showed flashes of early talent for Horton and

Lukas. A game winner of the Rebel at Oaklawn last spring, Will Take

Charge took his lumps during the 2013 Triple Crown series but finally lived

up to his pedigree and rewarded Horton's faith.

"I had confidence in him all the time," Horton said. "He

was such a big, growthy horse that needed the time to grow into his body. He

always had a good mind and was always a good-looking horse, but just had to

mature. He did what I expected. Of course, he didn't do it as soon as I was

expecting."

Horton acknowledged that a horse's price tag isn't always

an indicator of success.

"I've paid up to seven- or eight-hundred thousand for

some," he said ruefully. "They didn't do any good, of course. But I've got one

that I paid $700,000 for last September that might be alright. He's down in

Texas now with Eddie Milligan, who breaks all my horses at Twin Oaks Farm."

That pricy youngster was one of a trio of yearlings that

Horton purchased this past September in hopes of finding a successor to Will

Take Charge. One of them was a $435,000 granddaughter of Take Charge Lady that

he has named Take Charge Brandi, and the aforementioned $700,000 yearling is a

son of leading sire Medaglia d'Oro that Horton has dubbed Will Did It.

Horton resides on his 7,000-acre spread in Marshall, and is

enjoying the ride Will Take Charge has provided.

"Racing is about it," he said when asked about his other

interests. "I'm retired, just a cattle farmer now up in north Arkansas. Racing

is about my only hobby, if you want to call it a hobby. It's a business, but

it's the only thing that I do that I enjoy."

Though thrilled by Will Take Charge's success, Horton has

retained his pragmatic business sense. Late last year, he sold a half-interest

in his star runner for an undisclosed sum to Three Chimneys Farm.

"He's got the strongest fan base that I've ever seen,"

Horton said. "My family wanted to keep him and run him another year and didn't

really want me to sell any part of him. I was able to make a deal to sell half

of him and keep him in training this year."

Lemons Forever, meanwhile, is the dam of this year's

promising three-year-old filly Unbridled Forever. Horton was philosophical about

parting with Lemons Forever, albeit for a substantial figure.

"I do regret selling her a little bit, but she's got a

really promising baby," Horton said. "You always have regrets. It's sort of like

with Will Take Charge -- sometimes I think I may have made a mistake in selling

half of him, but in this business you have to do what's the best for

everything."

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com