It was a winning 2026 debut for TAPIT’s Will Take It on Thursday in the Listed Fifth Season S. at Oaklawn Park.
Looking for his second career stakes win in this one-mile dirt race, the Dallas Stewart trainee was off a step slow but quickly hustled to an inside spot. He was forced to slightly check in the first turn before comfortably placing himself just behind the leader for a backstretch run.
He stayed in that spot until the stretch, when he found a hole and gunned for the lead. He confronted the pacesetter with a furlong to run and the pair dueled to the line with Will Take It getting his head in front just in time to win by a head.
In a driving finish, WILL TAKE IT comes out on top in the Fifth Season S. at Oaklawn Park! 🏆@DallasStewart3 trains and @RSantana_jr was in the saddle.
A nice 5/1 top pick winner from @EmilyOptixEQ!
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/qf6C3E16y6
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 5, 2026
Bred by Whisper Hill Farm, who races him with Willis Horton Racing, Will Take It has finished in the top three in 11 of 22 starts for $649,919 in earnings. His racing owners paid $700,000 for him from the Timber Town consignment at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Will Take It comes from the very prolific Take Charge Lady family as the first runner out of her War Front daughter Lady Take Charge. That mare is a three-quarter sister in blood to three-time Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach and Grade 1-placed Courage Under Fire – both out of Lady Take Charge’s half-sister Charming. That mare is also the dam of champion Take Charge Brandi, who produced TAPIT’s stakes winning Courvoisier.
Lady Take Charge is a half-sister to champion Will Take Charge and Grade 1 winners As Time Goes By and Take Charge Indy as well. Her sisters are also the dams of TAPIT’s Grade 2 winner and studmate CHRAGE IT and his stakes winner and Grade 3-placed Tapit Jenallie among others.
This is the second stakes winner of the year for TAPIT, giving him the third most stakes winners of any stallion this year while his five stakes performers is fifth best of all stallions in 2026.