Take Charge Tom takes lead in stretch to win Canadian Derby

Take Charge Tom slipped through along the rail in the turn for home and raced to a 5 3/4-length win Saturday night in the 96th running of the Grade 3, US$144,566 Canadian Derby at Century Mile in Edmonton.

The Tom’s d’Etat gelding trained by Robertino Diodoro would have two-thirds of the Western Canadian Triple Crown if he had not been disqualified for interference from his Manitoba Derby win Aug. 4 at Assiniboia Downs.

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Sent off as the favorite in the field of 11 3-year-olds, Take Charge Tom (9-5) raced in fourth around the first turn and up the backstretch. Pioneer Storm King (7-1) set the pace with fractions of 23.17, 47.38 and 1:11.93 through the first six furlongs of the 1 1/4-mile race.

Ridden for the third time in a row by Rasheed Hughes, Take Charge Tom moved into second place on the second turn as Pioneer Storm King clicked through a mile in 1:37.87.

Racing to the inside, Take Charge Tom took the lead early in the stretch and extended it through the finish line to record a final time of 2:03.99 on the fast main track. He paid $5.90, $3.40 and $2.70.

Accidental Genius (12-1) closed from last to place second by a head and pay $9.40 and $6.00. Attack (5-2), who was promoted to victory in the Manitoba Derby, finished third Saturday and returned $2.90 to show. Pioneer Storm King faded to fourth.

A Randy Howg homebred from Kentucky out of Take Charge Indy mare Gorgeous Ginny, Take Charge Tom is 9: 6-0-1 with five stakes wins, including one at Turf Paradise, two at Sunland Park, one at Assiniboia and Saturday’s at Century Mile.

It was the fifth Canadian Derby victory for Diodoro, the second for Howg and the first for Hughes.

The 1 1/8-mile British Columbia Derby (G3) on Sept. 13 at Hastings in Vancouver is the last race in the 2025 Western Canadian Triple Crown.