Take Charge Indy to remain in racing next year
The 3-year-old colt by A. P. Indy, Take Charge Indy, returned to raced after a layoff of 5 months when he incurred an injury in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs earlier this year in May, and on his return he has turned in a couple of decent performances, starting from a third place finish in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes to winner Newsdad on 27 October at Keeneland over 1 1/8 miles.
Chuck and Maribeth Sandford’s Take Charge Indy was sent to Churchill Downs to participate in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap in his second start next month in November, and there he turned in a huge run to finish second to winner, Shackleford, who was appearing in his last race before retiring.
The performance had trainer Patrick Byrne hoping that the Grade 1 Florida Derby winner would return to the races next year in 2013 and it seems that he got his wish.
To start his 4-year-old campaign, Take Charge Indy will be under training in South Florida during the winter season, and it is expected that he will start the year with a run in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park on 9 February, 2012.
The Donn Handicap will be Take Charge Indy’s third race in a row since his return to be run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles, and previously hitting the board twice over the distance, he will be expected to outperform the likes of Fort Larned, Ron the Greek, Flat Out, El Padrino, and Hymn Book, who are also expected to have the Donn Handicap as their initial 2013 goal.
"We're extremely excited to bring back Take Charge Indy as a 4-year-old, and really look forward to big things to come," Byrne said. "He is just now rounding back into top form, and we believe he can be a leading older horse in 2013. His Clark performance gives us a lot of confidence going forward, and he couldn't have bounced out of that race any better than he did. We'll go down to Palm Meadows again for the winter and target him for the Donn."
Tags: