d. wayne lukas | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Week in Review: Charge It Looks Like a Future Star

No matter how talented a horse might be, going from a maiden win into a race like the GI Curlin Florida Derby is supposed to be too much to ask. You're not seasoned, experienced or battle tested, and those things matter. That's why I thought 3-1 was a ridiculous price on Charge It (Tapit) in Saturday's Florida Derby. Was I ever wrong.

After finishing second in his debut in January, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt returned Feb. 12 to win a Gulfstream maiden by 8 1/2 lengths. It was a big effort and it earned him a 93 Beyer and the 'TDN Rising Star' designation, which put him in the same ballpark as many of the top 3-year-old colts out there. But he hadn't beaten anything of note and, in the Florida Derby, would be going up against some of the stars of the 3-year-old division. Simplification (Not This Time) was coming off a win in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., White Abarrio (Race Day) had won the GIII Holy Bull S. and Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) was coming off back-to-back wins in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. and the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. All three looked like legitimate candidates for the GI Kentucky Derby.

Charge It didn't win. He finished second behind White Abarrio, losing by 1 1/4 lengths. He finished a length in front of third-place finisher Simplification.

But his race was better than it looks. He ran like a horse who doesn't have the game figured out yet. White Abarrio got the jump on him on the far turn and assumed command after getting past Simplification and Pappacap (Gun Runner), but Charge It was far from done. By the sixteenth-pole, Charge It had moved into second and had about two lengths to make up. From there to the wire, he ran like a big goofball.

Here's the footnote from the race: “…(Charge It) angled four wide near the quarter pole, lugged in under right-handed urging in upper stretch then again near the sixteenth pole, angled back outside of the winner leaving the sixteenth marker, switched back to the left lead and inched closer while still appearing to try to lug in under hand urging.”

“Super pleased with the effort,” Pletcher said. “To get a real education in a race like that was very encouraging. He got a little green down the lane. He kind of drifted in behind [White Abarrio] and felt like if he could have just run straight that last 100 yards, he was going to be right there. But I thought it was a huge effort, considering everything. Overcame some adversity, took some dirt, and did a lot of things right. Just didn't quite polish it off.”

Said jockey Luis Saez, “He was a little bit everywhere at the top of the stretch, but, man, he has so much talent. I think he got a good education from this race. He's going to be a nice horse.”

Charge It figures to benefit immensely from the experience and run even better in the Derby. That doesn't mean he will win the Derby, where he will face a field even tougher than the one he squared off against Saturday at Gulfstream, and his inexperience remains a factor. But by year's end, after races like the GI Runhappy Travers S. and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, who will be regarded as the top member of this division? Charge It will absolutely be part of the conversation.

That would be good news for owner Mandy Pope, who has spent millions at the sales, primarily on broodmares, but has yet to come up with her first star. She bought Charge It's dam, I'll Take Charge (Indian Charlie), for $2.2 million at the 2013 Keeneland September sale. I'll Take Charge is a half-sister to Grade I stakes winner Take Charge Indy (A.P. Indy) and Grade I winner and Eclipse Award champion Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song). I'll Take Charge won only one of five career starts, earning just $82,400, but seems ready to pay her owner back with what could be a stellar career as a broodmare.

Classic Causeway's Race is a Mystery

Sent off at 7-2 in the Florida Derby, Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) had been among the more consistent members of the 3-year-old colt division, which makes his clunker in Saturday's race all the more perplexing. The winner of the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby led early on but was all done on the far turn. He finished 11thh and last, beaten 21 1/4 lengths.

The race left his trainer, Brian Lynch, to guess what happened.

“Everything seems good. He scoped good and came back good this morning,” Lynch said. “It's a bit of a head-scratcher. We'll digest it and go on from there. Everything is up in the air now. We'll let the dust settle and we'll make a decision in a few days.”

Secret Oath to the Kentucky Oaks

Trainer Wayne Lukas confirmed Sunday that Secret Oath (Arrogate) will go next in the GI Kentucky Oaks after finishing a game third against the boys Saturday in the GI Arkansas Derby.

“I don't want to run her in a 20-horse field and at an extra eighth of a mile,” Lukas said. “That would be asking a lot of her. We'll look at the Oaks and see what we can do after that. I'm not saying we won't step outside the box again at some time. But at this point the Oaks is the logical place to go.”

Lukas has nothing to apologize for. The 7-5 favorite in a $1.25-million race with Kentucky Derby points up for grabs, Secret Oath was last down the backstretch before launching an eye-catching six-wide move on the far turn. She swept past horses, but simply couldn't keep it up. Nonetheless, it was a big effort.

“For her, the race didn't come together smoothly like we would have liked it,” Lukas said. “She got shuffled back at the start and down the backside that horse [Ben Diesel] was laying on us a little bit and we couldn't get away from him. That monster move that she made on the far turn, you had to expect her to flatten out in the last sixteenth. If she could have made that move all the way to the wire we would be open to the world. She made a beautiful move for roughly three-eighths. It was a monster move.”

In the Oaks, Secret Oath will vie for favoritism with Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), last year's 2-year-old filly champion and the recent winner of the GII Fair Grounds Oaks.

Uriah St. Lewis Does It Again

Parx-based trainer Uriah St. Lewis came into Saturday's card at Aqueduct with a record of 0-for-30 on the year, not really a surprise since he is a low-percentage trainer. He may not win a lot, but he somehow finds a way to get the most out of horses who aren't that talented.

For the St. Lewis-trained Forewarned (Flat Out), the bottom line is that the Ohio-bred 7-year-old has now earned $870,883 in his career. That's his total after he won Saturday's $150,000 GIII Excelsior S. Saturday at Aqueduct. This is what St. Louis does. He runs his horses, by modern day standards, often and isn't afraid to throw them into races where they appear to be in over their heads. Last year, Forewarned won the Queens County S. at Aqueduct at odds of 42-1.

Then there's Discreet Lover (Repent). St. Lewis ran him in the 2018 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup when it looked like he didn't have a prayer. All he did was win at odds of 45-1 to earn $433,125. He retired in 2020 with $1,452,735 in career earnings.

The post The Week in Review: Charge It Looks Like a Future Star appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Cyberknife Fine after Arkansas Derby Win

Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife (Gun Runner) exited his win in Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby in fine shape and is expected to ship to Louisville Tuesday to continue preparations for the May 7 GI Kentucky Derby. The colt, who was making his second stakes appearance after a sixth-place effort in the Jan. 22 GIII Lecomte S., continued a trend of frisky behavior Saturday at Oaklawn when dumping jockey Florent Geroux in the post parade.

“I was too far away to do anything about it, but Florent was able to jump up on him by himself,” Cox said. “He's feeling good [Sunday]. It's a nice, crisp morning and if you watched him walk around here, you definitely wouldn't think he ran a mile and an eighth yesterday. He's got a lot of energy.”

Cox also trains lightly raced Zozos (Munnings), who earned a spot in the Kentucky Derby with a runner-up effort in the Mar. 26 GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

Arkansas Derby runner-up Barber Road (Race Day) is on target to be the first Kentucky Derby starter for trainer John Ortiz, but the colt will remain at Oaklawn for the time being.

“Right now, we don't have any plans of moving him,” said Ortiz. “He sprung a shoe, so we're going to get that fixed first and address that. He got banged around there down the stretch, but he's just a tough little horse.”

Secret Oath (Arrogate), third while facing colts for the first time in the Arkansas Derby, will return to her own division for the May 6 GI Kentucky Oaks.

Secret Oath made a sweeping six-wide move on the second turn to reach contention before weakening late to finish three-quarters of a length behind Barber Road.

“She was tired,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Sunday. “That move she made was a terrific move for a filly at this stage of her career, to keep going. Watching it live, I thought she's probably going to hang a little bit here. She almost had to. It was a monster move. But when she came back, she was tired. The beautiful thing is we've got five weeks now. I said that before the race and now it gives us some direction. We're not thinking Derby. Now, we're focused on what we should be–the Oaks–and we've got five weeks to get back in form.”

Lukas said Secret Oath and stablemates Ethereal Road (Quality Road) and Ignitis (Nyquist) will ship Tuesday to Churchill Downs. Ignitis, third in the Smarty Jones S., is pointing for the Apr. 8 $400,000 Lafayette S. at Keeneland. Ethereal Road, the GII Rebel runner-up, is scheduled to make his next start in the Apr. 9 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. Ethereal Road has 20 points to rank 24th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

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Filly Is No ‘Secret’ In Arkansas Derby

Having proven heads and shoulders above the local 3-year-old filly contingent, Briland Farm homebred Secret Oath (Arrogate) takes on the boys in Saturday's $1.25-million GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. The chestnut figures a warm favorite to become the first of her gender to win the race since her Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas saddled Althea (Alydar) to score by seven lengths in the 1984 renewal, with future GI Belmont S. runner-up Pine Circle (Cox's Ridge) and GI Preakness S. hero Gate Dancer (Sovereign Dancer) noses apart in second and third.

A maiden winner and fifth to GIII Fantasy S. hopeful Dream Lith (Medaglia d'Oro) in last year's GII Golden Rod S., Secret Oath has been nothing short of sensational in annexing three starts at this meet by a combined 23 lengths. A handy allowance winner on New Year's Eve, the chestnut pummeled her rivals by 7 1/4 lengths in the Jan. 29 Martha Washington S. and again in the GIII Honeybee S. Feb. 26, with eyecatching bursts on each occasion.

Her trainer, whose success with fillies like Althea, Derby winner Winning Colors and Serena's Song is well-documented–has been impressed with Secret Oath's development.

“She's got a running style and the efficiency of motion is good,” Lukas said. “She places herself in the race. I would say the thing that's probably the biggest concern would be a traffic problem. She's very rangy and tall. I don't know about starting and stopping. In the Honeybee, they shut her down, then just 'Boom!' She amazed me that when she dove into the rail [turning for home], she just [took off)].”

Now, to be fair to Althea, who has contributed mightily to the American Stud Book down the years, Secret Oath faces competition not nearly as deep as Althea did 38 years ago. The progressive We the People (Constitution) kicked clear to graduate by nearly six lengths on his one-mile debut Feb. 12 and doubled up with a five-length allowance tally Mar. 12, good for 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Those wishing to take a contrarian view will note that the bay colt tracked a very slow pace on the latter occasion and won off like a 2-5 chance should.

Doppelganger (Into Mischief) makes his first start for trainer Tim Yakteen Saturday and has form through Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah), to whom he was a disappointing fourth in the seven-furlong GII San Vicente S. Jan. 29 at Santa Anita before chasing home that rival to finish a distant second in the GII San Vicente S. Mar. 5. The blinkers come off this afternoon.

Un Ojo (Laoban) outran longshot odds to be second to the promising Early Voting (Gun Runner) in the Feb. 5 GIII Withers S. at Aqueduct and looked beaten in this track's GII Rebel S. before surging home on perhaps the best part of the strip to post a half-length success, with Barber Road (Race Day) third.

Cyberknife (Gun Runner) bounced back from a below-par sixth in the GIII Lecomte S. in January with a sound three-length allowance score at the Fair Grounds Feb. 19 and is bound to go off at a price shorter than his 8-1 morning line.

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This Side Up: No Points for Freshness

There was a time when you would load as much experience and conditioning as possible into a Kentucky Derby horse, as a mere adolescent required to jostle with 19 others through 10 furlongs. Nowadays, however, trainers are trying to reach Churchill Downs across a highwire stretched to a thread by two diametrically opposed imperatives. One is their conviction, whether through perception or presumption, that the typical, commercial-bred Thoroughbred of today can only stand up to a much lighter schedule. The other is to secure enough gate points in the trials.

In trying to reconcile this paradox, many horses reach this stage of the game with zero margin for error. For these the next two Saturdays, with six races carrying 170 starting points apiece, will be make-or-break. If you land a wide draw, or a rough trip, or an off track–well, tough. In some cases, to be fair, setbacks along the way will have left trainers no choice. But others have painted themselves into a corner by a witting trade-off between the benefits they perceive in conserving the gas, and the risk of the strategy backfiring.

What sets Bob Baffert apart, as the master of the modern Derby preparation, is his ability to fast-track even a horse as late onto the scene as Justify (Scat Daddy). It doesn't seem to matter that a lot of those Californian trials are too mildly contested to yield much in the way of useful experience. Somehow, whether by accident or design, his methods have proved ideally tailored to the changing demands of the race. Okay, so maybe even he could only hit with a winner as goofy as Authentic (Into Mischief) was in the GIII Sham S. because the Derby, that year, was delayed until September. Time after time, however, Baffert manages to drill raw horses to all the professionalism required to take control on the first Saturday in May.

(To listen to this story as a podcast, click the arrow below.)

Now I realize that his regime is a demanding one. But if you don't like those Quarter Horse works, hard and fast, then how else do you propose getting a horse ready for the Louisville street fight after barely five minutes of competition? (Some or even most of which, moreover, will have been confined to maiden company.)

As I'm always complaining, carrying your speed in the Derby is nothing like as exacting, now that the sprinters have been excluded by the starting points system. This has surely assisted Baffert, whose horses so often just run the finish out of their pursuers. But it's not as though the race is now some kind of picnic.

The trials have always been a means to an end. They were dress rehearsals, a way of ensuring that the actors knew their lines blindfolded and had their timing tight. But the contradictory aspirations of many trainers today are muddling those ends and means. Their actors rehearse lying in the bath, mumbling to themselves from a soggy script. Trainers used to build up physical and mental fitness until their horses were ready to break down the door. Now they try to wedge it open just enough for horses to slip through with minimal effort.

Needless to say, there are a lot of outstanding horsemen out there applying themselves to the conundrum. It looks no coincidence, for instance, that the GII Louisiana Derby proved the deepest trial last year, having been extended to a mile and 3/16ths. That has created a useful compromise: the timing serves the conservatism of trainers, with 14 extra days of freshening relative to those running at Aqueduct, Keeneland and Santa Anita next week; while the distance, at the same time, gives the horses something valid to recover from.

Certainly those supervising Epicenter (Not This Time) have actually used his preps as just that: as preparation. They haven't viewed them merely as a way of securing a big day out, but as a tool for maximizing his chance of actually getting that blanket of roses. Admittedly they have hardly explored his versatility, in terms of surface, albeit he broke his maiden on the one that stages the Derby. But he has been learning about his vocation all winter, notably from a speed ambush in the GIII Lecomte S., and was able to make a slick adjustment to a different running style last Saturday.

This year, of course, the Baffert horses have themselves been left without wriggle-room in terms of starting points, having been ineligible to bank any before their recent move to other barns. As a former assistant who shared his transition from Quarter Horses, however, Tim Yakteen has worked his new recruits in seamless fashion, sending Doppelganger (Into Mischief) into the GI Arkansas Derby with five furlongs in a minute flat, to follow six furlongs in 1:10.8 the previous week.

Lukas alongside his latest star filly this week | Coady

As it happens, the ultimate pioneer from the Quarter Horse world also has this single shot to get to the Kentucky Derby, though again the circumstances are highly unusual. As we've remarked before, a bold experiment with the filly Secret Oath (Arrogate) could yet redeem our whole community, single-handed, from an apparently endless streak of hideous headlines. If she can proceed to the Derby as one of the favorites, it will scarcely matter whether or not she can actually win, so long as D. Wayne Lukas gets a platform to intrigue, win round and ultimately inspire outsiders in the days before the race. But if she can excel, then perhaps the old master may have some timely lessons for his timid juniors within the business, as well.

The principal purpose of these proving grounds, remember, is to ensure that the next generation of breeders can work with properly tested genes. Charismatic (Summer Squall)–the fourth but perhaps not the last of Lukas's Derby winners–learned on the job to the extent that he took six attempts to break his maiden at two, and his Derby trail then comprised starts on Dec. 27, Jan. 16, Jan. 31, Feb. 11, Feb. 19, Mar. 6, Apr. 3 and Apr. 18. This was 1999, not 1949, and how blessed we all are that the Coach is still here to show the kids how it can be done.

We all marveled at Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow)'s latest reiteration of his toughness and courage in Dubai last weekend. Nobody could call his sire a commercial hit. But who was it that showed us that Oxbow, one of the few good horses he has been sent in recent years, could soak up 13 starts inside 12 months? Who was it who reminded everyone that you're still allowed to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown, and run 6-1-2, even if you don't win the first?

Good luck to you, then, Mr. Lukas–because with this filly, your luck is everybody's luck.

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