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Art Collector Goes Wire To Wire In Woodward Stakes

Art Collector planted his flag among the best in the older male division and earned his first Grade 1 victory on Saturday with a front-running triumph in the Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park.

The 4-year-old Bernardini colt was put on the lead early by jockey Luis Saez, challenged on the outside by longshot Mo Gotcha. Those two set an opening quarter-mile time of :24.02 seconds, tracked by a tightly bunched pack of Forza Di Oro, Code of Honor, and favorite Maxfield, with Dr Post trailing by several lengths.

Positions went relatively unchanged across the Belmont backstretch, with Art Collector going through a half-mile in :47.78 seconds, a half-length ahead of Mo Gotcha

Contenders behind the lead duo began to lodge their challenges as the field headed into the turn, led by Forza Di Oro on the outside, joined by Dr Post making his move from far back and far outside. Meanwhile, Maxfield approached from the inside, and moved just off the rail path to challenge Art Collector, as Mo Gotcha faded. Code of Honor also started to threaten from the inside path.

While many horses loomed, none of them were able to get close to Art Collector, who added to his two-length cushion at the top of the stretch under steady urging from Saez. After using the whip in the right hand, Saez flipped his crop to the left hand and flashed it at Art Collector repeatedly in the final eighth of a mile, helping him fend off any semblance of a challenge from his rivals and draw off to win the Woodward by 1 1/2 lengths over Maxfield. Dr. Post ran evenly down the stretch to finish a length behind Maxfield in third.

Art Collector completed the 1 1/8-mile race in 1:49.22 over a fast main track. He paid $7.50 to win as the field's second choice.

With the victory, Art Collector improved his lifetime record to eight wins in 15 starts for earnings of $1,535,305. He's been unbeaten in three starts since joining the barn of trainer Bill Mott earlier this year, also including victories in the listed Alydar Stakes at Saratoga and the G2 Charles Town Classic Stakes.

Art Collector races as a homebred for Bruce Lunsford, out of the Grade 1-placed stakes-winning Distorted Humor mare Distorted Legacy.

To view the full Equibase chart, click here.

Stakes Quotes Courtesy Of NYRA Press Office

Bill Mott, winning trainer of Art Collector (No. 3, $7.50) and fifth-place Forza Di Oro (No. 6): “Nice race, strong race. He's put three of them together. He's a nice horse. He's just done enough to beat his company. Each one probably got a little tougher. It was tougher today, but he handled it.

“He was in great shape. He had the winter off and he was a fresh horse. They ran him at Churchill once going seven-eighths. It was an odd race. He didn't have the greatest trip. When he came to me, he had a race under his belt and was ready to go. He's done well since we had him. With racing, I think he's gotten stronger and better and today is the result.

“He's been lucky. Luis [Saez] gets him away well and gets him in good position and that's important.”

On going from three turns in the Charles Town Classic to one turn in the Woodward: “He's a pretty smart horse. He has a great disposition because it didn't confuse him.”

On potential start in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic: “I'm not afraid. I'll talk to [owner] Mr. [Bruce] Lunsford. He makes the final decision, but I don't know what we have to lose. I'd run him a mile and a quarter. A mile and an eighth hasn't been a problem for him, so why would I cut him back?”

Luis Saez, winning jockey aboard Art Collector (No. 3): “It was a wonderful race. I had a lot of confidence in my horse. He always tries so hard. He always comes with a run and finishes with run and today he ran his race. We expected to be on the lead. He broke so well and he was able to control the pace. That was an exciting race.

On his confidence turning for home: “I felt pretty good. I felt like I had a lot of power and a lot of horse and when I asked, he took off.”

Brendan Walsh, trainer of runner-up and beaten-favorite Maxfield (No. 2): “I don't know that we had a lot of excuses. We had a good spot even if it was down inside a little bit. All credit to the winner. He ran a good race and he's a good horse. We ran a good race to be second. This horse doesn't let us down ever.

“I don't think [the blinkers] made a whole lot of a difference. They definitely weren't a negative in any way. Jose [Ortiz] said he ran a good race and found the gears he wanted him to find, but he just got outrun by a horse that was better on the day.”

On a potential start in the Breeders' Cup Classic: “He still hasn't done anything wrong. Every race is different and our day will come, too. I can't see why not.”

Jose Ortiz, jockey aboard runner-up Maxfield (No. 2): “I had a good trip. I followed the horse that won and was second best.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. jockey aboard third-place Dr Post (No. 1): “He ran great. He did everything right, he just got beat by two nice horses.”

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Art Collector All the Way in Woodward

The controlling speed of Saturday's GI Woodward S. on paper, Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (Bernardini) made best use of his best asset and took them gate-to-wire to earn an overdue Grade I victory. Favored Maxfield (Street Sense) completed the exacta, while Dr Post (Quality Road) flashed home from the tail to be third.

Looking to remain perfect in three starts since an amicable trainer switch from Tommy Drury to Bill Mott, Art Collector bounced beautifully from gate three and was soon in front for Luis Saez, as 64-1 Mo Gotcha (Uncle Mo) applied some token pressure with Forza di Oro (Speightstown) also prominent to the outside. Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) and Maxfield also raced in close attendance in a tightly bunched pack, while Dr Post, who veered inward at the break, brought up the rear.

Art Collector lobbed them along through an opening four furlongs in a very manageable :47.78 and the Woodward was very much his race to lose after a three-quarter split of 1:12.12. Maxfield was nipping at the front-runner's heels as they hit the two-furlong pole, but Saez hadn't spent a penny on Art Collector, who kicked when asked for an effort and won with relative ease. Maxfield, arguably better when able to settle a bit farther back and finish up, was forced to race closer to the pace than is his custom and fought on bravely in an out-of-his-element performance. Dr Post came home on his incorrect lead to be third.

“It was a wonderful race,” said Saez. “I had a lot of confidence in my horse. He always tries so hard. He always comes with a run and finishes with run and today he ran his race. We expected to be on the lead. He broke so well and he was able to control the pace.”

Winner of the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. last July, Art Collector prepped for a possible start in the GI Kentucky Derby with a facile score in the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby early the following month, but was withdrawn from the Run For the Roses in the week leading up to the race with a minor foot issue. Fourth in the GI Preakness S. and eighth to Knicks Go (Paynter) in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Art Collector was shelved, returning to be sixth in the June 25 Kelly's Landing S. at Churchill. Turned over to Mott thereafter, he wired the field in the Aug. 6 Alydar S. at Saratoga and was exiting a 1 1/2-length success in the GII Charles Town Classic Aug. 27.

A Breeders' Cup appearance would be in the Classic and not the Dirt Mile, Mott said.

“I'll talk to [owner] Mr. [Bruce] Lunsford. He makes the final decision, but I don't know what we have to lose,” the conditioner said. “I'd run him a mile and a quarter. A mile and an eighth hasn't been a problem for him, so why would I cut him back?”

Pedigree Notes:

Art Collector has legitimate claims to carry the torch going forward for the late Bernardini, who is now the sire of 16 Grade I/Group 1 winners worldwide, 13 of whom have accomplished the feat north of the equator. Distorted Humor is now the broodmare sire of 13 Grade I winners.

Art Collector is the lone winner from his stakes-winning and turf Grade I-placed dam, a half-sister to Lunsford's GSW/MGISP Vision and Verse (Storm Cat), runner-up in the 1999 GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. Distorted Legacy is also a half-sister to Performing Diva (Storm Cat), third in the 2005 GII Darley Alcibiades S. and SP Broadway Express (Broad Brush), the dam of GSP Character Builder (Coronado's Quest).

Now 14, Distorted Legacy is the dam of the 2-year-old colt Legionnaire (Into Mischief), a yearling colt by the Spendthrift maestro and a filly foal by Justify. She was covered by Medaglia d'Oro this past breeding season.

Saturday, Belmont
WOODWARD S.-GI, $500,000, Belmont, 10-2, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:49.22, ft.
1–ART COLLECTOR, 124, c, 4, by Bernardini
1st Dam: Distorted Legacy (SW & GISP, $421,466), by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Bunting, by Private Account
3rd Dam: Flag Waver, by Hoist the Flag
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-W. Bruce Lunsford (KY); T-William I.
Mott; J-Luis Saez. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 15-8-1-0,
$1,535,305. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: A+.
2–Maxfield, 124, c, 4, Street Sense–Velvety, by Bernardini.
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. $100,000.
3–Dr Post, 124, c, 4, Quality Road–Mary Delaney, by Hennessy.
($200,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $400,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-St.
Elias Stable; B-Cloyce C Clark (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, 1, 2HF. Odds: 2.75, 0.90, 10.40.
Also Ran: Code of Honor, Forza Di Oro, Mo Gotcha. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Arrest Me Red Changes Gears, Takes Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational In Front-Running Style

Arrest Me Red has previously found success sitting just behind early leaders, but a change in running style proved just the ticket to win the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational on Oct. 2. Irad Ortiz Jr. took the 3-year-old to the front, fighting Backtohisroots and Pulsate for early command and flattened out to keep clear of Pulsate's late charge in the stretch, as well as a closing effort from Chewing Gum.

Wesley Ward took over training of the 3-year-old colt ahead of his last start, a win in the Mahony Stakes at Saratoga, from Arnaud Delacour. The son of Pioneerof the Nile is a homebred for Roy and Gretchen Jackson's Lael Stables. He is out of Medaglio d'Oro mare Maraschino Red. His previous credits with Delacour include a win in the Atlantic Beach Stakes.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:07.86, with fractional times of :22.33, :47.75, and :56.80.

Arrest Me Red paid $6.60 to win. Pulsate was second, and Chewing Gum was third. See the full chart here.

G3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational Quotes

Irad Ortiz, Jr., winning jockey aboard Arrest Me Red (No. 2, $6.60): “He relaxed so well. He did everything right, honestly. He broke well from the gate, and I just stayed quiet and relaxed. I was on the front, so I just was biding my time to go. He was travelling perfectly and when I asked him to run, he responded really well. [Trainer] Wesley [Ward] did a great job with him. He's a great guy to ride for.”

Manny Franco, aboard runner-up Pulsate (No. 6): “He was second best. I had a good trip. No excuses. The winner just kept going.”

Eric Cancel, aboard third-place finisher Chewing Gum (No. 7): “I rode him once before and he likes to sit and make one run. That was the same scenario today, so I just tried to keep him in the clear and keep him comfortable and just make one run from the quarter-pole down.”

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Jack Christopher Makes Dominant Graded Debut In Champagne Stakes

Following an electric debut on Aug. 28, Jack Christopher proved that effort was no fluke in his first graded stakes test on Saturday at Belmont Park, running off with the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes.

The Munnings colt solidified his status as a leading candidate for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Del Mar, and earned a “Win and You're In” berth to the race by virtue of his Champagne win.

Jack Christopher was placed forwardly out of the gate by jockey Jose Ortiz, but quickly relented the lead to Gunite and Kavod on his outside. Ricardo Santana Jr. hustled Gunite out to a 1 1/2-length lead through an opening quarter set in :23.57 seconds, while Ortiz took the opportunity to get to the outside of longshot Kavod and pass that rival to sit in second.

While Gunite worked to keep Jack Christopher at bay, the pair distanced themselves from the rest of the pack heading into the turn of the one-mile race. Gunite held a one-length advantage over Jack Christopher as they passed the halfway point in :46.49 seconds, while the remaining four horses in the six-horse field bunched together well behind them.

Jack Christopher started to draw even with his foe at the crux of the turn, and he held a half-length advantage as they hit the quarter pole in 1:11.15. Save for the occasional left-handed whip from Ortiz to keep the colt's attention, Jack Christopher drove clear from a fading Gunite down the Belmont stretch, and he was untested in the final quarter-mile, crossing the finish line in 1:37.31 over a fast main track.

Behind the winner came a pair of runners staging closing moves. The maiden Commandperformance finished 2 3/4 lengths behind the winner, following a three-wide trip through the bend. Seven lengths behind him was Wit, who closed from last after being stalled by traffic on multiple occasions during an attempted rail move.

Jack Christopher paid $5.40 to win in the Champagne as the post time favorite. Saturday's race improved his record to a perfect two-for-two, with earnings of $330,000 after the colt won on debut by 8 3/4 lengths in a Saratoga maiden special weight.

Chad Brown trains Jack Christopher for the partnership of Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud, and Peter Brant. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, out of the placed Half Ours mare Rushin No Blushin. He was a $135,000 purchase out of the Paramount Sales consignment at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.

To view the full Equibase chart, click here.

Stakes Quotes Courtesy of NYRA Press Office:

Chad Brown, winning trainer of Jack Christopher (No. 3, $5.40): “It was such a hard race to handicap with some really talented horses. We knew we had speed and Jose [Ortiz] and I agreed to not take that away from him. We just wanted to break out of there and get a good spot.

“Jose had a feeling that running first time in blinkers he would do something to try and get involved and he was right. A very quick decision he made – which was the right one – was to slip out to the outside right away and I think, from there, I felt super confident that we would get there with no excuse and he showed up.

“He was a horse that identified himself as early on as his first work. I was on the phone with the connections saying, 'This is potentially a really good horse. I can't believe what I just saw.' He's just been brilliant in every work. There was some buzz around him before he ran, and he lived up to it.

“I'm just so appreciative to have the horse and have another opportunity with another good dirt horse like this in our barn. It's our third Champagne win and I'm proud of my team. When we have these kind of horses, we can surely get the job done. Here's another horse that's well on his way to a big career and probably a stallion career someday.

“It's going to be one of those things where, ironically, we took a horse close in defeat in Good Magic [second in the 2017 Champagne] to [win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile] and other that weren't able to do it in Practical Joke and Complexity. Where does he fall? I hope with Good Magic. He looks a lot like him.

“What I like a lot about him is that he switches off nicely. He's not a horse that pulls. If you drop your hands, he'll switch off and rate. Will he do that around two turns? I don't know, but we'll be sure to have him prepared in the morning to take a little dirt and sit. We'll see if he can do it at Del Mar.”

Jose Ortiz, winning jockey aboard Jack Christopher (No. 3): “I broke well and I knew I cleared the 2 [My Prankster]. I seen 4 [Kavod] and 5 [Gunite] going, so I took him back and put him in the clear.

“He gave me a great kick. When he passed the five-horse, he stopped running a little bit. He didn't give me everything he had, I believe. I think first time going a mile this will help him for that next step.”

Jim Bakke, winning co-owner of Jack Christopher (No. 3): “We're excited about the horse, obviously. He ran great today, Jose [Ortiz] rode him awesome, Chad Brown did a great job with the horse, but I also have to thank Bradley Weisbord and Liz Crow for buying the horse. He's got speed, we know that for sure.”

Byron Hughes, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher of runner-up Command Performance (No. 6), third-place Wit (No. 1) and fourth-place My Prankster (No. 2):

Regarding Commandperformance: “He had the outside post and Tyler [Gaffalione] took advantage of that. He kept him out there and kept his face clean. He was gaining on the winner at the end and had a good gallop out. We're happy with the effort.”

Regarding Wit: “It was his typical start. I don't think he's ever going to be that fast out of the gate. Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] got him into a good rhythm but he had a little trouble there on the turn. He made up some ground but just couldn't get to the winner.”

Tyler Gaffalione, jockey aboard runner-up Commandperformance (No. 6): “The horse put himself in a great spot. I had a great position going down the backside. I was able to see everybody in front of me. Going around the turn, I started to get him into gear and he kept responding. His gallop out was great. He seems like he'll love the distance going forward.

“Todd just said to let him run his race. Get him in a position where he's comfortable and let him do his thing. I was really pleased with his effort today.

“I think if he had a little more seasoning he might finish off a little bit better, but he's still green. He's still learning but he's got a bright future.”

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