Take Charge Star (3c Starspangledbanner - Freedonia, by Selkirk) gained a first stakes success with a clear-cut win in the Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson Stakes at Kentucky Downs on Monday. The Johnny Murtagh-trained colt has come close to striking at Pattern level this season, finishing a neck second to subsequent Group 1 Prix Jean Prat winner Thesecretadversary (by St Mark’s Basilica) in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot. He then finished fourth in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville, beaten just a length. Ridden on this occasion by Jamie Spencer, Take Charge Star settled in rear after breaking slowly and he travelled well turning into the home straight. He loomed up beside his rivals on the inside and took up the lead to strike by a length and three-quarters. Murtagh said: "The trip suited him well. I was a little worried early on because he was so far back, but when he gets into gear, this horse has a good turn of foot. Would he stay a mile in America? He just might. "That's Jamie [Spencer] at his best. You can see by the way he finished, he's a horse with a really good turn of foot." A tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland could be on the cards for the son of Starspangledbanner according to his trainer. "The owners are from that area, so they'd be keen on that. I think he's a horse who's capable of running a big race in the Breeders' Cup Mile,” he added. A half-brother to Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Albigna, Take Charge Star was bred by the Niarchos family.