Charge It's return delayed, might run at Gulfstream at end of year
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Charge It, the star-crossed 3-year-old, suffered another setback and is no longer being pointed to the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Dec. 3, trainer Todd Pletcher said this week.
Charge It, unraced since winning the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes by 23 lengths on July 2, has been plagued by foot problems that forced him to miss the Travers in late August and the Pennsylvania Derby in late September. He returned to the work tab on Sept. 27 with the hopes of making it to the Grade 2 Kelso on Oct. 29 at Aqueduct and then the Cigar Mile.
Pletcher had to pull the plug on those plans, and the horse is getting a break at owner Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm in Kentucky.
“We had to give him a little break,” Pletcher said. “He just needed more time.”
Pletcher said he wouldn’t rule out Charge It making it to a race in December at Gulfstream Park, perhaps the Mr. Prospector at seven furlongs or the Harlan’s Holiday at 1 1/16 miles, both races scheduled for Dec. 31.
Charge It came to prominence at Gulfstream earlier this year with a dominant maiden victory in his second start and then a runner-up to White Abarrio in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in his third. Charge It finished 17th in the Kentucky Derby, but was found to have displaced his palate. He underwent a minor surgical procedure to correct that and delivered his 23-length tour-de-force in the Dwyer, the first step on fulfilling the promise he showed earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, Pletcher said that Mind Control, the two-time Grade 1 winner, would not be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 5 at Keeneland and instead will train up to the Grade 1 Cigar Mile.
“He loves Aqueduct and he runs well fresh,” Pletcher said.
Mind Control is a three-time stakes winner at Aqueduct. Most recently, Mind Control won the Parx Dirt Mile via disqualification.
The Cigar Mile is expected to be Mind Control’s final race.
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