October, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ageless Channel Maker Back at Belmont in Joe Hirsch

Seemingly written off last time out as a declining 8-year-old gelding, Channel Maker (English Channel) caught everyone napping with a dominant wire-to-wire score in the GI Sword Dancer S. over soft turf. Saturday, the chestnut will return to the scene of his previous two Grade I triumphs in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S. at Belmont.

Capturing the 2018 Turf Classic in similar fashion–wire to wire over soft turf–Channel Maker was out of the trifecta in his next three tries, but rebounded with a determined victory in the local GI Man O’ War S. last May. Just missing by a half-length four starts later in the 2019 renewal of this event, he was no better than fourth in six subsequent outings, but got beaten just a length at 23-1 in the GI Manhattan S. here July 4. Elevated to third via disqualification after getting steadied late in the GII Bowling Green S. Aug. 1 at the Spa, he blitzed to the lead and never looked back in a 5 3/4-length conquest of the Sword Dancer at 8-1 Aug. 29.

GIven a slight nod on the morning line at 2-1 is Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}). A fast-closing third in the local GI Belmont Derby in his U.S. debut last July after being brought over from France, the bay has come close but is still winless in six Stateside starts. Sixth in the Saratoga Derby in his 3-year-old finale, he was third in the GII Muniz Memorial Classic S. at Fair Grounds and GII Charlie Whittingham S. before finishing a neck short of stablemate Instilled Regard (Arch) when second in the Manhattan. He closed mildly to be third last out in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. Sept. 5 at Churchill.

A pair of horses making their respective North American debuts add spice to the lineup. Master Piece (Chi) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) took five tries to break his maiden in his native land, but reeled off four straight victories once he did, culminating with a score in the G2 Gran Clasico Coronacion. Third in the G1 El Derby Feb. 2 at Valparaiso, the gray was last seen finishing 14th in the G1 Gran Premio Latinoamericano Mar. 14 at San Isidro in Argentina.

Laccario (Ger) (Scalo {GB}) ships across the Atlantic for three-time German champion trainer Andreas Wohler. Second by a head on debut, the dark bay scored four straight successes, punctuating the streak with a triumph in the G1 IDEE Deutsches Derby last July at Hamburg. A well-beaten third in Baden-Baden’s G1 Longines Grosser Preis von Baden, he bounced back as a nose runner-up in the G3 Preis der Deutschen Einheit at Hoppegarten before checking in seventh making his 4-year-old debut over yielding turf in the G1 Preis von Europa Aug. 15 at Cologne.

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Code of Honor Meets Complexity in Kelso

W.S. Farish’s multiple Grade I winner Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) will meet surging ‘TDN Rising Star’ Complexity (Maclean’s Music) for the first time since their juvenile season over a flat mile in the GII Kelso S. Saturday at Belmont.

Second to Complexity at 14-1 in the GI Champagne S. here two falls ago, Code of Honor captured the GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S. two starts later and was runner-up via disqualification in the GI Kentucky Derby two starts after that. Dominating the GIII Dwyer S. over track and trip, he scored victories in the GI Runhappy Travers S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup before fizzling out when seventh in the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Annexing the GIII Westchester S. in his seasonal debut here June 6, the chestnut was third in the GI Runhappy Metropolitan H. before running an even fourth in the GI Whitney S. last out Aug. 1 at Saratoga.

Complexity picked up his ‘Rising Star’ badge with a 4 1/4-length debut victory on closing day at Saratoga in 2018, but following his wire-to-wire Champagne tally, beat just three horses combined in the GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and GI Woody Stephens S. Laid up for over five months, the $375,000 Keeneland September grad rediscovered his top form with a dominant optional claimer win at Aqueduct, but backed up to fourth when shipped cross-country for the GI Malibu S. Adding another optional claiming success in his track-and-trip return July 2, the bay produced clearly his best stakes effort since the Champagne when finishing a hard-fought, half-length second in the GI Forego S. Aug. 29 at Saratoga.

Endorsed (Medaglia d’Oro) battled Code of Honor to within a half-length as a runner-up in the Westchester, but made no impact when seventh in the Met Mile and finished second at 3-5 in the Alydar S. last out Aug. 9 at the Spa.

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Kingman Colt Looks Tough in Pilgrim

Klaravich Stables’ Public Sector (GB) (Kingman {GB}) will try to build off an impressive debut victory at Saratoga with a graded stakes success as a likely favorite in Saturday’s GII Pilgrim S. for juvenile males on the Belmont turf.

Bought for 170,000 guineas as a Tattersalls October yearling, the bay was unveiled as a 2-1 favorite Aug. 15 at the Spa and rallied from seventh to win going away by two lengths, clocking his final five-sixteenths in a sharp :28.80. He has drilled five times since then for Chad Brown, most recently going five furlongs around dogs on the local turf in 1:01 2/5 (3/11) Sept. 27.

The two most likely upsetters appear to be Larry and Jennifer Goichman’s Shawdyshawdyshawdy (Summer Front) and Mike Rutherford’s American Monarch (American Pharaoh). The former, a first-out victor Aug. 1 at Saratoga, shipped to Kentucky Downs for the Sept. 7 More Than Ready Juvenile S. and closed to be fourth, beaten just a length on the wire. The latter, another debut scorer in upstate New York Aug. 8, returns on just 13 days’ rest after running fourth in the GI Summer S. at Woodbine.

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Chances Galore in Deep Shadwell Mile

Last-out Grade I winner Halladay (War Front) is favored on the morning line for Saturday’s GI Shadwell Turf Mile S. at Keeneland, but there are strong contenders up and down the lineup of the 11-horse “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Dual stakes placed last fall as a sophomore, Harrell Ventures’ gray captured the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream to close his season before running fourth in the GIII Tampa Bay S. Feb. 8. Scoring victories with triple-digit Beyers in an optional claimer and the Sunshine Forever S. this spring in Hallandale, he settled for fourth when taken off the lead in the GII Bernard Baruch H., then reverted to his previous tactics and went wire to wire in the GI Fourstardave H. Aug. 22 at Saratoga.

Chad Brown, who failed to crack the superfecta with a quartet of challengers in the Fourstardave, is back with another foursome here. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Analyze It (Point of Entry) leads the charge in his second start off a long layoff. Winning his first three outings by a combined 15 3/4 lengths, the bay then finished second by a neck in the GIII Pennine Ridge S., by a head in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. and again by a neck in the GI Secretariat S. Fourth as the chalk in this event two falls ago, he went to the bench after a third in the 2018 GI Breeders’ Cup Mile and returned after over 22 months off to take the GIII Red Bank S. last out Sept. 5 at Monmouth.

Lightly-raced Flavius (War Front) dons the Juddmonte colors for Brown. Two-for-three in Ireland for Dermot Weld, he was fourth in his first two Stateside starts before running third with late traffic trouble in the First Defence S. June 7 at Belmont. The homebred put it all together with a late-running triumph in the Tourist Mile S. last out Sept. 7, earning a career-high 105 Beyer. Rounding out the Brown contingent are MGISW Raging Bull (Dark Angel {Ire}), who removes blinkers following a mild fifth in the Fourstardave, and Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a Group 1 winner in Great Britain who is winless so far in five North American starts.

Longshot contenders include Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), Born Great (Scat Daddy) and Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}). Casa Creed, last year’s GII Hall of Fame S. winner, ran two sneaky-good races to start his 4-year-old campaign and closed well to be third in the slow-paced Fourstardave. Born Great, who has run just three times, looks to strike while the iron’s hot after scoring two sharp successes in a seven-day span at Kentucky Downs. Ivar, a dual Group 1 winner in Argentina, upset a Churchill optional claimer with a 100 Beyer two back and was a strong third after dueling on a fast pace in the Tourist Mile.

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