Field has grown for Grade I Stephen Foster at Churchill

Churchill Downs' Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap on Saturday night serves as a reminder that there is life for racehorses after the Triple Crown.

The revered 3-year-old series can take a toll on a horse, and some will never be heard from again. But the Grade I Foster's field of nine showcases several horses that competed in the 2013 spring classics.

Most notable is Will Take Charge, the Foster's 123-pound starting high-weight who became the first horse to win the 3-year-old championship after not hitting the board in all three Triple Crown races. But Will Take Charge had a huge summer and fall, winning the $1 million Travers and Pennsylvania Derby and Churchill's Grade I Clark Handicap, his only defeat in that skein being by a nose in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Also in the 1¹/₈-mile Foster is Revolutionary, third in last year's Derby and fifth in the Belmont, as well as Mylute, fifth in the Derby and third in the Preakness.

Revolutionary, the 2-1 favorite in the Foster, comes into the race off a rallying victory in the Grade III Pimlico Special on Preakness Eve. He did not race the rest of last year after the Belmont.

"Elliott and I talked about it," said trainer Todd Pletcher, referring to owner WinStar Farm's president, Elliott Walden. "He'd lost a little bit of weight in the Triple Crown series. We felt he'd be a better 4-year-old, give him some time to fill out and mature, which he's done."

The Foster comes a week after 2013 Belmont winner Palace Malice, also trained by Pletcher, won his fourth straight race in the Metropolitan Mile. Palace Malice, in a failed experiment with blinkers, set a withering pace in the Kentucky Derby before fading to 12th.

Saturday night's subplots include a rematch of the April 12 Oaklawn Handicap, which Will Take Charge won by three-quarters of a length over Revolutionary. Will Take Charge came out in mid-stretch, and there was a long stewards' inquiry into whether he had impeded Revolutionary, though the order of finish was upheld.

Will Take Charge, the 5-2 second choice in the Foster, was a dull sixth at 3-5 odds in Churchill's Grade II Alysheba on the Oaks undercard in his last start. That race was won virtually wire-to-wire by Moonshine Mullin by a half-length over Golden Ticket, both coming back in the Foster.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas says he's throwing out Will Take Charge's last race, which he lost by 10 lengths in his first start with Hall of Famer Gary Stevens.

"I think that was an out-of-the-blue deal," he said. "I'm not a bit concerned, he's trained so superbly since then. It will be a good race. It's not an easy spot."

Lukas said a happy benefit of the Foster is that it's a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" Challenge Series race, meaning the victor gets his $100,000 entry fee paid to the Breeders' Cup Classic, along with a $10,000 travel stipend.

"When you go to the Classic, with that huge entry fee, that's no small deal," Lukas said. "Its timing is perfect. It comes at a time when we had a great weekend in New York and we scattered (the competition) a little bit, getting us kind of set up for Saratoga, where they're all going to show up."

Revolutionary closed from 30 lengths back to take the Pimlico Special by a neck over Foster candidate Prayer for Relief.

"I think he's shown that when he's on his A game — which he indicates to us he is — he's capable of running with anyone," Pletcher said.

Mike Smith comes in from California to ride.

Mylute ran poorly in Saratoga's Jim Dandy in his first start after the Preakness, getting the rest of the year off. He won a March 27 allowance race in New Orleans, then was fourth in the Alysheba.

"When you look back at Mylute's Triple Crown campaign last year, they were very competitive races on his part," said trainer Tom Amoss. "After the second leg, it was apparent to us that he needed some time instead of running in the third leg.

"… Mylute has come back a stronger and better horse, as any 4-year-old typically does. And he's going to be running against the top of his class Saturday night. Last year I wasn't so sure it was a great group of 3-year-olds. But I do agree that this has turned out to be a great crop."

Foster contender Departing's Triple Crown experience was a sixth place in the Preakness. But he made the most of the regional derbies, winning the Illinois, West Virgina and Super Derby.

Contact Jennie Rees at (502) 582-4042. Follow her on Twitter @CJ_Jennie, Facebook.com/CJJennie and courier-journal.com/racingblog.

Stephen Foster Handicap

Updating the 2013 Kentucky Derby field

• Combined record since Derby: 29 wins, 19 seconds, six thirds in 103 starts.

• Racing at 4 (in order of Derby finish): Golden Soul, Revolutionary, Normandy Invasion, Mylute, Lines of Battle (in Hong Kong), Will Take Charge, Charming Kitten, Giant Finish, Palace Malice, Verrazano (in Europe), Itsmyluckyday, Frac Daddy, Goldencents, Vyjack, Falling Sky.

• Graded stakes wins: (14): Revolutionary (Pimlico Special), Oxbow (Preakness), Will Take Charge (Travers, Pennsylvania Derby, Clark Handicap, Oaklawn Handicap), Charming Kitten (Belmont Gold Cup), Palace Malice (Gulfstream Park Handicap, New Orleans Handicap, Westchester, Met Mile), Frac Daddy (Ben Ali, Eclipse), Goldencents (Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile).

• Retired: Derby winner Orb, Preakness winner Oxbow, Arkansas Derby winner Overanalyze.

• Yet to race this year: Java's War.