Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Take Charge Indy on the rise
One of the pleasant surprises of this year’s Kentucky Derby and Oaks trails has been the rapid ascension of Take Charge Indy, who was positioned to have starters in both races from his first crop.
Despite finishing outside the top 10 by first-crop average yearling sale price with his debut foals and being sold to stand in Korea before that group hit the track, Take Charge Indy sits atop the North American second-crop sire standings by winners, stakes winners, and earnings as the calendar rolls into Triple Crown season.
Take Charge Indy’s son Noble Indy, who won the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, finished fourth on this year’s Kentucky Derby points standings. His daughter Take Charge Paula headed into the Oaks with a win in the Grade 3 Forward Gal Stakes at Gulfstream and hardfought runner-up efforts in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes and Gulfstream Park Oaks there.
Take Charge Indy, a 9-year-old son of A.P. Indy, occupies an enviable position for any farm standing a young stallion, and the operation that stands to directly benefit from his early success is the Korean Racing Authority.
Take Charge Indy stood his first three seasons at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., and was sold to the KRA in late 2016 while his first foals were yearlings. The announcement came shortly after the conclusion of the yearling auction season, where his debut crop of foals sold for an average price of $40,442, just outside the top 10 among first-crop stallions.
He bred an average of 133 mares during his three seasons at stud in the United States, and he stood his final domestic season for an advertised fee of $17,500.
Elliott Walden, president and CEO of WinStar Farm, said the KRA had expressed strong interest in Take Charge Indy leading up to the transaction, and the organization’s offer was simply too good to refuse.
“They liked the horse, came and approached us with an offer, and we made a business decision,” Walden said.
Though the WinStar parted ways with the stallion, it still has Noble Indy, co-campaigning the colt as a homebred with Mike Repole, who bought in after Noble Indy’s 8 3/4-length debut win in December at Gulfstream Park.
“I’m really happy for how they’re running,” Walden said, regarding the offspring of Take Charge Indy. “We’re proud to own the best one in Noble Indy, and we’re excited to run him in the Derby.”
Noble Indy has done an admirable job rewarding WinStar Farm for holding on to him after he finished under his reserve with a final bid of $45,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale. He was consigned at the auction by Craig Bandoroff’s Denali Stud, as agent for WinStar.
“WinStar liked him and wanted $50,000 for him,” Bandoroff said. “He was a colt that is well balanced, beautiful eye, and fell through the cracks. We didn’t have a lot of action on him. That happens at Keeneland in this age of everyone getting on the same horse.”
Noble Indy’s performance in the Derby could secure him a future spot on WinStar’s roster, and he and Take Charge Paula also could influence the long-term future of their sire. When Take Charge Indy’s sale was announced in fall 2016, it included an option for WinStar to buy the horse back based on the performance of his foals.
While a growing number of stallions have been repatriated to the United States as pensioners, returning an active stallion to continue service has been rare. A recent example is Empire Maker, who began his stud career at Juddmonte Farms and was sold to stand in Japan, where he resided for five years before being purchased by the partnership of Gainesway and Don Alberto Corp. and returned stateside for the 2016 breeding season.
Walden said there would be no serious discussions about bringing Take Charge Indy back to WinStar until the fall.
This is the second consecutive year in which a horse running in the Derby will compete to boost the chances of his sire returning to the United States from Korea after the sire was exported before his first runners hit the track.
Last year, Fast and Accurate raced under the colors of Kendall Hansen, who also campaigned the colt’s sire and the owner’s namesake, the champion Hansen. The equine Hansen stood one season at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., before being exported to Korea, likely making Fast and Accurate his sire’s only shot at a U.S. classic and the linchpin for the human Hansen’s mission to warrant bringing the stallion back to his home soil. Fast and Accurate finished 17th.