Not many racehorses peak at age eight, but in the case of Spooky Channel (by English Channel), he won his first Grade 2 stakes over the weekend at the Fair Grounds in the Muniz Memorial. A winner three times at the Grade 3 level before this, Spooky Channel didn't win his first stakes until he was four, and not only that, there's quite a lot about him, in addition, that isn't the usual thing.
For instance, the chestnut gelding, like many another talented racer, has a sidekick, but in this case, that alter ego is a unicorn.
Trainer Jason Barkley said, “I wouldn't call him 'nervous,' but Spooky is intense. My wife Shelbi gallops him, and she says that, even at his age, he's just about the strongest galloping horse in the barn. Giving him a stuffed unicorn came from something that I had seen Roger Attfield do, giving a horse with some nerves something to nuzzle up to and give him something to think about and relax with.”
Spooky Channel is on his third unicorn at present, and it isn't the little, fit in your hand kind of plush toy one might buy at the grocery. This is a horse-size plushy, and Spooky Channel is pretty fond of his.
Certainly, the results from the racehorse are immensely positive since his acquisition by NBS Stables. After being claimed for $80,000 on Oaks Day 2021, Spooky Channel has earned a bit more than half of his lifetime earnings of $862,842, with four victories from eight starts, plus a second and a third, and yet only one of those starts came in 2022.
Entrepreneur and owner John Ballantyne recalled that “about three weeks after he won the (Grade 3) Sycamore at Keeneland (Oct. 22, 2021), Jason called me, and you know it's not good news when a trainer calls from out of the blue.
“Spooky had a 15 percent tear in a tendon. There was treatment available, and plenty of time. Even if the treatment didn't work, I wanted to give it a go to give him the best opportunity for a good quality of life thereafter. It's a credit to how good veterinary science has become and to this animal. He's a real tough horse.”
Trainer Barkley said, “At the end of December in 2021, we sent Spooky to Lori Hendrickson's farm in Shelbyville, Ky., where I send all my layups, and she puts a lot of personal attention into the work. We got him back in the shed row in late May or early June. We took plenty of time with him here, and we kept scanning the tendon. Finally, it got to the point that we were confident he was sound to go, and everything has come along smoothly in his conditioning since.
“It's an injury that a lot of horses don't come back from,” Barkley said, “and yet if you base it strictly off speed figures, he's a better horse now than he was before. He's doing so well now that it's a matter of managing him for the best results.
“It's really refreshing to work with clients like John and Art, who recognize the value of a long-term vision. They like action, but they are patient and easy to work with. Willing to let you do your job, put the trust in you to do it right. I can't say enough about the chances they've given us to show what we can do with nice horses.”
Spooky Channel is plenty nice and has won four of his last five races: two stakes before his injury, then two of the three stakes since, as well as a third in the G3 Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston.
The chestnut was bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, which sold Spooky Channel for $10,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale to Terry Hamilton, who owned him when the horse won his second start, going 7 ½ furlongs on turf at Turf Paradise in December of his 3-year-old season.
The next year, Spooky Channel won a trio of handicaps at Turf Paradise that were non-black-type events, and as a 5-year-old in 2020, he won his first recognized stakes in the G3 W.L. McKnight Handicap at Gulfstream, going 12 furlongs on turf in 2:26.16 and paying $36.30 as one of the longer shots in the race.
As a 6-year-old, Spooky Channel began his year with a victory in the G3 Connally Turf Cup, then was ninth in the 2021 Muniz Memorial, behind Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) and all but one other runner. The gelding's next start was for the $80,000 tag at Churchill.
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.Art Neuhedel, racing manager for NBS Stables, noted that “Spooky Channel was such a nice horse that, even at $80,000, we thought 'What's wrong here?' and almost backed out on claiming him. But John's preference is going long and on the turf, and he liked the upside with Spooky.”
“Honestly, the age didn't bother me,” the New Zealand-born Ballantyne said. “I'm used to following runners who are up there. So I thought, 'Let's take a shot!'
“He's done so well it's almost scary. Sometimes you see a horse change barns and a light comes on … or goes off. With Spooky, he'd never won a Grade 2 before, and now he's doing it at eight. He's getting good care, training really well, and racing better than ever. He's loving it.”
Neuhedel commented: “In bringing him back from injury, the thought was to keep him strong, keep him sound, and have some fun. Now he's earned the right to go anyway, try anything.”
Among the anything that Spooky Channel may try is the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, and there are other important races at nine to 12 furlongs on turf that come to mind also. One might even be at the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita on Nov. 3-4.
To find out how that works out, we'll have to stay tuned. Same Spooky time, same Spooky Channel.
The post Bloodlines Presented By Mill Ridge Farm: At Age Eight, The Best Might Be To Come For Spooky Channel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
