Oaklawn Handicap next for Will Take Charge

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Champion Will Take Charge, the runner-up to Game On Dude in the Santa Anita Handicap last Saturday, was scheduled to return to his Oaklawn base Wednesday, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said this week. Lukas said the horse is being pointed for the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 12.

Will Take Charge earned a career-high Beyer of 113 for finishing 1 3/4 lengths behind wire-to-wire winner Game On Dude in the 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap, which went in 1:58.17.

Will Take Charge got involved in the race earlier than usual, which was by design. Lukas said he decided to put the late-running Will Take Charge closer to the pace after watching California Chrome go wire to wire in the San Felipe Stakes earlier on the card.

“When the 3-year-old race was run and California Chrome took off like that, I thought, ‘We really have to re-evaluate what we’re going to do,’” Lukas said. “You could see the speed was absolutely holding.

“Bob Baffert did a beautiful job preparing [Game On Dude] for the race. That was a masterful training job. He had him trained to the minute. It was the fastest Big Cap ever, and when you go back through the historical annuals and see who’s won the Big Cap, that is something. Great race, great crowd, great theater.”