Oaklawn Park: Will Take Charge headed to Southwest

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Will Take Charge, the winner of the $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn, has a few options for his next start and will likely run Feb. 18 in Oaklawn's Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest at 1 1/16 miles, said his trainer, D. Wayne Lukas.

“Right now, if I had to say, I’m pretty much locked in,” Lukas said of targeting the Southwest.

Lukas had another promising 3-year-old win recently at Oaklawn. Channel Isle took a first-level allowance at a mile on Saturday, with a Beyer Figure of 75. It was his second win behind a maiden special weight score at 1 1/8-miles on turf at Churchill Downs.

“We’ve got to find a route race of some kind,” Lukas said. “I might look at the Southwest with him, also. Or, I could ship him. I haven’t decided on him yet. But I’m going to put him in the [3-year-old stakes] fray.”

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]