Jonathan Lintner

@JonathanLintner

Citing a mild strain to a branch of Will Take Charge's suspensory apparatus, trainer D. Wayne Lukas and co-owner Willis Horton announced Sunday they've retired the reigning 3-year-old champion racehorse.

The multiple Grade I winner finished his racing career with $3,924,648 in earnings after hitting the board 14 times in 21 starts. He won at distances ranging from 7 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, with a late-running style that awarded him victories in races such as Churchill Downs' Stephen Foster, the Travers Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby.

Lukas called the Unbridled Song colt "the best of his generation," adding that "he is a proud addition to my resume."

Will Take Charge will stand at Three Chimneys Farm in Versailles, Ky., to start the 2015 breeding season. A stud fee has not been announced.

Nicknamed "Hickory," Will Take Charge was described by Horton as "a horse of a lifetime…He's been a real fan favorite, and we think he'll be a Kentucky breeders' favorite too. I also can't compliment Wayne enough on developing this exceptionally talented horse into a Champion. It's been one heck of a ride."

The suspensory apparatus, located in a horse's leg, contains bones and ligaments that support joints bearing weight. The suspensory ligament in particular is a common source of injury in racehorses.

"Will Take Charge's retirement is particularly disappointing as we were primed, as an older horse, to win the (Breeders' Cup) Classic this year which we lost by a whisker last year," Lukas said. "If the race were a mile and a quarter and two inches, Will Take Charge's career earnings would be at nearly $6 million. This horse has done what few other horses can do any more."

Jonathan Lintner can be reached at (502) 582-4199; follow him on Twitter @JonathanLintner .