bowling green stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Cross Border Repeats In Bowling Green At Saratoga

Three Diamond Farm's New York-bred Cross Border ran down pacesetter Channel Cat in the stretch and repelled Rockemperor's late bid for a 1 1/4-length victory to repeat as the winner in Saturday's $250,000 Grade 2 Bowling Green for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Cross Border tracked in third position as Channel Cat and Channel Maker – who like Cross Border were sired by English Channel – with the opening quarter-mile going in :24.75, the half in :49.37, three-quarters in 1:14.52, and a mile in 1:38.71 over a course rated good.

Under jockey Luis Saez, who won the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on Essential Quality in the prior race, Cross Border was angled out slightly from the rail out of the final turn, challenging Channel Cat when straightened for home before overtaking him in the final furlong. Rockemperor made up ground in the final jumps, but Cross Border hit the wire in 2:16.36 to secure his first win since the Lubash in July of last year at the Spa.

Cross Border improved his Saratoga record to four wins and one second from five starts.

“He loves it here. This is a special horse that I love riding,” Saez said. “He always tries hard. Today, he ran huge. It set up perfect with a good pace. When we came to the top of the stretch, he really gave me that kick and he battled. He always wants to give me everything. It all went according to plan.”

Trained by Mike Maker, Cross Border started his 7-year-old campaign with consecutive third-place finishes in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park followed by the Grade 2 Pan American in March at the same track.

Returning to stakes company after running second in an allowance on June 27 at Belmont Park, Cross Border had to defeat a field that included 2019 Bowling Green-winner Channel Cat and 2018 victor Channel Maker [who dead-heated that year] to secure a second straight win in the contest. Cross Border crossed the wire second in 2020 but was elevated to first when Sadler's Joy was disqualified for causing interference.

“He's a model of consistency and durability,” Maker said. “Hopefully, we have another couple of years with him. He's handled everything. Especially here.”

Bred by Berkshire Stud and B.D. Gibbs, Cross Border went off at 6-1 and returned $14.40 on a $2 win bet. He improved to 10-8-4 in 35 career starts and approached millionaire status with his bankroll at $948,821.

[Story Continues Below]

The $750,000 Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer for 4-year-olds could be Cross Border's next start. The 1 1/2-mile turf contest for 4-year-olds and up is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifier to the $4 million Longines Turf in November at Del Mar.

Rockemperor, trained by Chad Brown, bested Shamrocket by one length for second under jockey Joel Rosario. The Irish bred was making his first stakes appearance since running fifth in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

“He ran really well,” Rosario said. “On the first turn, I got a little out of position, but he ran well. The horse who won ran the best.”

Shamrocket, conditioned by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., rallied from sixth to edge Channel Cat by a head for third.

Red Knight, Moon Over Miami, Channel Maker, and Breakpoint completed the order of finish.

The post Cross Border Repeats In Bowling Green At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Channel Cat Primed To Take On Saratoga’s Bowling Green

Calumet Farm homebred Channel Cat and his trainer, Jack Sisterson, are no strangers to springing upsets in graded stakes. The duo will look to add another exclamation mark to their collective ledgers in Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green, an 11-furlong inner-turf test for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Channel Cat, who is one of three sons of English Channel entered for Saturday's 63rd renewal, captured the 2019 Bowling Green at odds of 13-1 for former conditioner Todd Pletcher. The 6-year-old chestnut, who was transferred to Sisterson's care last year, won a dramatic renewal of the Grade 1 Man o' War in May at Belmont Park at 8-1 by a nose over Gufo, who was a neck better than Bowling Green-rival Moon Over Miami.

The Man o' War score completed a personal trifecta of Grade 1-wins at all three NYRA tracks for Sisterson following Vexatious' [9-1] score in the Personal Ensign last year at Saratoga and True Timber's [7-1] Cigar Mile victory in December at Aqueduct Racetrack

John Velazquez, who has also enjoyed surprise success in the Bowling Green, is tied with fellow Hall of Fame riders Javier Castellano, Jerry Bailey, and Jorge Velasquez for most Bowling Green wins with three. He will look to secure the standalone record victory from the inside post after scores with Turk Passer [1994, 31-1], Cetewayo [1998, 9-1], and Air Support [2012, 7-5].

Channel Cat has posted a trio of recent works at Saratoga, including a half-mile effort in 48.66 seconds Saturday on the Oklahoma training turf.

“He couldn't be doing any better,” Sisterson said. “He's done all his works within himself. On Saturday, John Velazquez worked him and was very happy with him. The key to Channel Cat is keeping him happy and he seems to be going into the race in great shape and happy form. We look forward to a fun summer with him.”

Channel Cat, who has competed over good turf in his last three outings, ran second in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Elkhorn at Keeneland in April ahead of his Man o' War score.

Last out, in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan on June 5 at Belmont, Channel Cat pressed the pace and faded to seventh in a race won by Domestic Spending. The second and third-place finishers exited that event to win stakes, including a Grade 1 United Nations coup for the Chad Brown-trained Tribhuvan and a Grand Couturier-score for the Christophe Clement-conditioned Gufo.

“I ran him back in three weeks after the Elkhorn because he was doing so well. I probably should have skipped the Manhattan because he had a tough race in the Man o' War, but we gave him a little break now prior to the Bowling Green,” Sisterson said. “It was good to see Chad Brown's horse come back and win the United Nations so the form held up well.”

Bill Mott, who is tied with fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for most Bowling Green victories with four, will saddle a trio of contenders, including the reigning Champion Turf Male Channel Maker, graded-stakes winner Red Knight and multiple graded-stakes placed Moon Over Miami.

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Channel Maker, a 7-year-old Ontario-bred son of English Channel, boasts a record of 39-7-6-5 with purse earnings in excess of $3.2 million.

The prominent chestnut, last seen finishing eighth in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March, will make his fourth-consecutive Bowling Green appearance, including a dead-heat win in 2018, a fourth in 2019 and a third a year ago.

Channel Maker captured the 12-furlong Grade 1 Sword Dancer here last summer over soft going ahead of a similar front-running score in the Grade 1 Turf Classic Invitational in October over firm Belmont turf. Manny Franco, aboard for both of those victories, returns to the irons from post 5.

Trinity Farm homebred Red Knight, a 7-year-old New York-bred son of Pure Prize, made the grade in October in the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland. The consistent chestnut sports a ledger of 25-8-8-1 and will look for his first win of the season, adding blinkers from post 6 under Tyler Gaffalione.

Summer Wind Equine's Moon Over Miami, a 4-year-old Malibu Moon colt, captured the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Derby in September at Kentucky Downs to secure his only stakes win. He has made all three starts this year in graded company, finishing third in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida in February and second in the Grade 2 Pan American, both at Gulfstream, ahead of his last-out third in the Grade 1 Man o' War.

Junior Alvarado retains the mount from post 7.

Pletcher will saddle Donegal Racing's Shamrocket, a 4-year-old Tonalist bay in search of his first graded win. The normally late-running colt, who finished fourth in the Grade 1 Man o' War in May, utilized a more prominent approach last out when third in the Grand Couturier.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the call from post 8.

Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border, a 7-year-old New York-bred son of English Channel, was elevated to victory in last year's Bowling Green following the disqualification of Sadler's Joy.

Trained by Mike Maker, Cross Border has thrived on the Saratoga turf with five wins and one second from six starts. Last year's efforts at Saratoga included a win in the Lubash and a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. In 2019, Cross Border went 3-for-3 in a perfect Spa summer campaign.

Bred in the Empire State by Berkshire Stud and B.D. Gibbs, Cross Border will exit post 2 under Luis Saez in search of his first win this year.

Brown, a four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer, combined previously with Hall of Fame rider Castellano to capture the Bowling Green with Hyper [2013] and Flintshire [2016].

On Saturday, Castellano will pilot Three Chimneys Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Siena Farm and Jeff Drown's Breakpoint, a multiple Group 1-winner in his native Chile, from post 3.

The 4-year-old Constitution colt broke slow en route to a fourth-place finish last out in his North American debut in a nine-furlong optional-claiming event on June 27 on the Belmont turf.

Brown will also saddle Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Wonder Stables, Michael Kisber and Michael J. Caruso's multiple Grade 1-placed Rockemperor [post 4, Joel Rosario], who enters from a sharp optional-claiming win traveling 10-furlongs on June 26 over firm Belmont turf.

The 5-year-old Irish-bred son of Holy Roman Emperor finished third in the 2019 Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational and second in last year's Grade 1 Manhattan at Belmont.

The Bowling Green is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also includes the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt in Race 8 and the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy in Race 9. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

The post Channel Cat Primed To Take On Saratoga’s Bowling Green appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Cross Border Gets The ‘W’ In Bowling Green After DQ Of Sadler’s Joy

The 62nd running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was not without some anxious moments during the stretch run, but Cross Border, 10 days removed from a victory in the Lubash, was awarded the victory and kept an unbeaten record at Saratoga intact for leading owner Three Diamonds Farm and trainer Mike Maker.

The dark bay son of English Channel was named the winner of the 1 3/8-mile event over the Mellon turf following the disqualification of four-time graded stakes winning millionaire Sadler's Joy, who was placed fourth due to interference within the final eighth of a mile. Cross Border arrived at the Bowling Green off a 6 1/4-length victory in the Lubash on July 22.

Stable mate Marzo established command heading into the first turn and opened up by five lengths past the Saratoga grandstand through an opening quarter-mile in 25.30 seconds and a half in 50.38 seconds over a firm turf course.

Meanwhile, jockey Jose Ortiz had Cross Border tucked along the rail in fourth with Sadler's Joy just to his outside. Approaching the far turn, Ortiz gave Cross Border his cue while Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano did the same aboard Sadler's Joy. At the top of the stretch, Cross Border was five wide in between horses with Sadler's Joy in pursuit.

In the final furlong, Sadler's Joy assumed command with Cross Border and Channel Maker to his inside coming in close quarters and crossed the wire first by a neck in a final time of 2:14.77.

Highland Sky, who crossed the wire third, was subsequently elevated to second.

Following the race, the stewards ruled that Sadler's Joy would be disqualified from first to fourth due to lugging into the path of Cross Border and Channel Maker who crossed the wire second and fourth respectively. Following the ruling, Channel Maker was elevated to third.

The official remaining order of finish was Sadler's Joy, Marzo and Dot Matrix. Pillar Mountain was scratched.

The triumph was a fifth victory in as many starts over the Saratoga turf for Cross Border, who joined Maker's stable last year.

“We weren't sure which horse would be the pacesetter, but Marzo coming off the layoff was up there. I thought Marzo ran an incredible race. When it comes down to a street fight, Cross Border is awfully tough,” Maker said.

The victory pushed Cross Border's lifetime earnings past the half-million mark to $534,471 after banking $137,500 in victory. He returned $6.40 for a $2 win wager.

The Bowling Green marked a fifth win of the meet for current leading owners Three Diamonds Farm.

“This is just a gutsy New York bred and it's good for the game that they can breed a New York bred that can win a Grade 2 at Saratoga,” said Three Diamonds Farm owner Kirk Wycoff. “We love the Bowling Green. We were second in it three years ago with Bigger Picture. It was a calculated risk to come back in 10 days and we weren't all in agreement, but Mike Maker made the decision and obviously it was the right one.”

The win was a third stakes victory of the meet for Maker, who also saddled Somelikeithotbrown to victory in Sunday's Grade 2 Bernard Baruch over the inner turf.

Bred in New York by Berkshire Stud and B.D. Gibbs, Cross Border is out of the Empire Maker broodmare Empress Josephine and comes from the same family as leading New York sire Central Banker.

Castellano, aboard Sadler's Joy, stated his case and said the contact was incidental.

“You could see I hit the hole when it opened and I saw the [other] horse, but I never came over,” Castellano said. “We were all on the same line and I think the inside horses was involved a little bit and we all ended up caught in an overreaction. Of course, that put everyone under pressure and they were going to blame the horse on the outside [Sadler's Joy]. It was a decision for the stewards.”

Live racing returns on Sunday with a 10-race card which features the $100,000 Birdstone for 4-year-olds and upward going 1 ¾ miles over the main track. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

The post Cross Border Gets The ‘W’ In Bowling Green After DQ Of Sadler’s Joy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post