Something tells me that WinStar Farm will be exercising its option to buy back Take Charge Indy. The son of A.P. Indy was sold to South Korea in 2016 on an offer described as “too good to turn down,” but the sale announcement noted that the deal included an option to buy back Take Charge Indy “in the future.” With Noble Indy’s victory in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby last Saturday, the future is here. Noble Indy is the seventh stakes winner and second graded winner from the first crop of 104 foals by Take Charge Indy, a healthy number for any horse, but especially for one who stood his first season at a fee listed at $20,000. Bred in Kentucky by Reiley McDonald’s Eaton Sales, Take Charge Indy is by great sire and sire of sires A.P. Indy out of Take Charge Lady, by Dehere. Take Charge Lady included both the Grade 1 Ashland and Spinster stakes among her 11 wins from 22 starts, and has been just as effective as a broodmare. Her son Will Take Charge, by Unbridled’s Song, earned an Eclipse award as champion 3-year-old male in 2013 with victories in the Grade 1 Travers and the Clark Handicap. Her first foal, Charming, by Seeking the Gold, is dam of another Eclipse winner in Take Charge Brandi, by Giant’s Causeway. Take Charge Brandi was champion 2-year-old filly of 2014. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales A tall, elegant horse who is rather upright in his pasterns and fine-boned, Take Charge Indy failed to meet his reserve at a hammer price of $80,000 at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale, but was sold privately to Chuck and Maribeth Sandford. He won his first start, which came at Arlington Park, in July 2011 by 6 ½ lengths for trainer Patrick Byrne, and finished second behind Shared Property in the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity. Fourth in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, he closed his first season with an honorable fifth, beaten about six lengths by winner Hansen, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Second in a Gulfstream allowance in his first start at 3, he scored the biggest victory of his career in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, leading all the way to beat Reveron by a length with Union Rags a neck farther back. He ran poorly in the Kentucky Derby, though, finishing 19th, a long way behind winner I’ll Have Another. Given a long break, he finished the season with a third in the Grade 2 Fayette Handicap at Keeneland and a second behind Shackleford in the Grade 1 Clark at Churchill. WinStar Farm bought into Take Charge Indy between seasons, and he validated that confidence with three good performances to start his 4-year-old season, running third in the Grade 1 Donn at Gulfstream and second in the Grade 3 Skip Away there before winning the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill Downs. After a sixth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill, however, Take Charge Indy suffered a condylar fracture of his left front cannon while on the lead in the Grade 2 Monmouth Cup, forcing his retirement. His first crop did well last year at 2, with Take Charge Paula (out of Perfect Paula (by Songandaprayer) winning three listed races, and Gorgeous Ginny (Brooke’s Halo, by Southern Halo) and Indy’s Lady (Sweet Aloha, by Western Cat) also winning stakes. Take Charge Paula followed up this year with a win in the Grade 3 Forward Gal Stakes at Gulfstream, but Noble Indy’s gutty victory in the Louisiana Derby is by far Take Charge Indy’s most important accomplishment in the breeding shed. :: Get breeding & sales news, Beyer info, and more delivered right to your email! Bred in Kentucky by WinStar, Noble Indy is the second foal out of multiple stakes winner Noble Maz, by Storm Boot. There is no other black type in either Noble Indy’s second or third dams, but his fourth dam, Grade 2 Matron Handicap winner Impetuous Gal, by Briartic, is the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Banker’s Lady, by Nijinsky II. Banker’s Lady produced Grade 2 winner Banker’s Gold, by Forty Niner, and is the granddam of three stakes winners and third dam of Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks winner Personal Diary, by City Zip. Banker’s Lady is also dam of Grade 3 winner Idabel, by Mr. Prospector, and the granddam of Grade 1 winner Ecton Park, by Forty Niner. With his light catalog page, Noble Indy failed to meet his reserve at a hammer price of $45,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September sale. He races for WinStar and Repole Stable, and is trained by Todd Pletcher. Noble Maz has since produced a filly by Revolutionary who sold for $10,000 to Valle las Palmas/J. Zulaica at Keeneland last fall, and a foal by Commissioner who died.