WinStar homebred Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy) may have earned a start in the Jan. 6 Mucho Macho Man S. after his impressive debut (video) at Gulfstream Sunday. The Todd Pletcher trainee acted up behind the gate, but was a professional 8 3/4-length wire-to-wire winner of the seven-furlong event.
“We were hoping for a good effort,” Pletcher said. “He had been training really well. We'd been pointing to that race since the condition book came out. It was exciting. He's a big good-looking colt who's bred to run longer and for him to show good tactical speed when going seven-eighths is encouraging.”
Pletcher is keeping all options on the table for Noble Indy's next start.
“We'll play it by ear,” the trainer said. “I wouldn't rule out something like the Mucho Macho Man or a one-other-than [allowance]. We'll just see how he comes out of his race. The only thing he's been a little bit complicated about is making sure he behaves at the gate, which we've been working hard on. He still needs to improve in that area.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
