Surgery Goes Well for 'Brandi'; Back to Lukas
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A minor operation March 12 to place a pin in the right knee of champion 2-year-old filly Take Charge Brandi was a "textbook surgery," Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas reported March 13 at Oaklawn Park.
The 3-year-old daughter of Giant's Causeway shipped from Oaklawn to Rood & Riddle near Lexington to have the stabilizing pin set in her knee by Dr. Larry Bramlage after a non-displaced bone chip was discovered March 10. She was training at the Arkansas oval for a start in the March 14 Rebel Stakes (gr. II) against 2-year-old champion male American Pharoah, who will make his 3-year-old debut in pursuit of points on the road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
NOVAK: Take Charge Brandi Out of Rebel With Chip
"(Bramlage) actually was very, very positive, he said it was a textbook surgery on her, 60 days and she should be back on her way," Lukas reported. "If we're going to have a setback, it turned out okay."
Take Charge Brandi won her past four races for owner Willis Horton, beginning with a victory in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park and continuing with the Delta Downs Princess Stakes (gr. III) at Delta Downs, Starlet Stakes (gr. I) at Los Alamitos, and Jan. 31 Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn. She is expected to have 30 days of stall rest, then 30 days of walking before she returns to training, but she will make her recovery with the Lukas string at the track rather than on a farm.
"We would have liked to have been in the Rebel, especially the way it drew up," Lukas said. "I'm really heartbroken we didn't get to run Brandi in that spot. I wasn't so sure I wanted to be in that spot, but after they drew the race up, I really wanted to be in there."