Murtagh bullish ahead of Take Charge Star's Deauville assignment
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Thu 6 Aug 2026
Trainer Johnny Murtagh believes that Take Charge Star is a major player in sunday's Group One Prix Maurice De Gheest.
The three-year-old only has a Gowran maiden win to his name, but has run several fair races in defeat this season, most recently when almost causing a 50-1 upset when dropped back to seven furlongs in the Jersey Stakes won by Thesecretadversary.
The Starspangledbanner colt takes a further drop in trip on Sunday, but Murtagh is confident that won't be a problem.
He told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast: “We’ve freshened him up, we feel dropping back to six-and-a-half won’t be a problem and we’re looking forward to the weekend.
“We gave him a little bit of a break, sometimes I feel I run them back a little bit quick after Ascot and it’s then you find out it takes more than you think out of them.
“We were very happy. We were happy going into Ascot as we’d tried him over a mile a couple of times where he’d travelled strongly without getting home. So I did think seven furlongs at Ascot going a fast pace would suit him really well.
“Fozzy Stack’s horse on the day got out and got rolling and then you see what he did in France last week, there was no fluke about it.
“I think my horse is one of the best horses I’ve had in training. He’s got that pace, a great pedigree and I’m hoping six-and-a-half furlongs on fast ground in Deauville will see him at his best.
“He’s not a slow horse so he could have a kick at the end.”
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