Take Charge Brandi to have surgery Thursday

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Hot Springs, AR (SportsNetwork.com) - Champion filly Take Charge Brandi will undergo surgery Thursday at Rood & Riddle Clinic in Lexington to repair a non-displaced bone chip in her right knee.

Take Charge Brandi, owned by Willis Horton and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, will miss Saturday's Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

"She's only going to be out for 60 days. The prognosis is 100 percent for her to come back, so we're looking at May 15," said Lukas. "She's been as clean as a hound's tooth, up to now. She's been an unbelievably maintenance free racehorse in every way, and I think this little setback will let her mature and grow a bit. I'm looking at it positively."

Lukas discovered the chip Tuesday morning following training Monday. He said Take Charge Brandi was "a little tender" Tuesday morning and he first thought it might be an issue with a foot.

In her seasonal debut, Take Charge Brandi won the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn. The filly, winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, has won five of nine starts for $1,680,126.