Breeders' Cup Challenge Series | Horse Racing Free Tips

Brody’s Cause Colt Sittin On Go Rallies Late To Win Iroquois

Albaugh Family Stables' Sittin On Go roared past Midnight Bourbon at the sixteenth pole en route to a 2 1/2-length victory on Saturday in the 39th running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Iroquois Stakes for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Corey Lanerie, Sittin On Go covered the mile on a fast main track in 1:35.

In addition to picking up 10 points toward the 2021 Kentucky Derby, the winner also earned a fees-paid berth into the $2-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) at Keeneland on Nov. 6.

Favored Therideofalifetime led the field of 10 through uncontested fractions of :23.04, :45.64 and 1:10. At the top of the lane, Midnight Bourbon made the first move at Therideofalifetime and opened a daylight advantage that evaporated at the sixteenth pole.

The victory, the second in two starts for Sittin On Go, was worth $117,800 and boosted Sittin On Go's earnings to $145,520.

Sittin On Go is a Kentucky-bred son of Brody's Cause out of the More Than Ready mare Set'n On Ready.

Sittin On Go returned $50, $18.60 and $9. Midnight Bourbon, ridden by Gerardo Corrales, returned $6 and $4 and finished 1 ¾ lengths in front of Super Stock who paid $5.20 to show under Ricardo Santana Jr.

It was another 5 1/4 lengths back to Therideofalifetime who was followed in order by Pico d'Oro, Notary, Ultimate Badger, Crazy Shot, Drop Anchor and Belafonte.

“He broke really good and put me right where I thought he would be after watching his replay from Ellis Park,” said Lanerie. “Down the backside, he was trying to get out on me. I don't know why, but he settled in real nice. I was actually going to follow Dale's (Romans) other horse (Ultimate Badger), but I had so much horse, I went to the outside and let him come on. Watching the races, it looked like the outside is the best place to be. I didn't want any excuses for getting him stopped. I put him in the clear and he was just like his daddy (stakes winner Brody's Cause).”

“We're having ourselves a great weekend,” said Romans, who on Thursday saddled Girl Daddy to win the Pocahontas, a Win and You're In for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. “This horse reminds us a lot of his father (Brody's Cause). We were pretty confident he'd be able to stretch out from his training and this race set up perfectly for us. We're on to the Breeders' Cup.”

“Man, to pick up the Pocahontas (with Girl Daddy) and then follow it up with the Iroquois two days later is unreal,” said Dennis Albaugh. “We couldn't be happier. That's why we're in the racing business. That horse was unbelievable coming around the turn. I was like, 'Man, he's moving.' ”

Steve Asmussen was positive about the performances of his two runners, Midnight Bourbon and Super Stock. “Both of them are solid colts, good finishing times,” Asmussen said. “Just another step in the development of 2-year-olds that we hope end as good 3-year-olds. Super Stock, he kind of stumbled just a tad away from there. He wasn't exactly where we expected him to be early but I thought he adjusted and ran a solid race considering. And Midnight Bourbon ran really well. I thought he should have won from the position he was in but he was back on short rest and has room to improve.”

Florent Geroux, aboard favored Therideofalifetime, the beaten favorite who finished fourth, said: “Disappointed. He broke sharp and made the lead very easily. He did not finish for some reason. I don't know if it was too far for him or if it was too soon after the Saratoga race.”

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C Z Rocket Rolls To Fourth Straight In Pat O’Brien Stakes At Del Mar

Tom Kagele's C Z Rocket, a classy, old veteran who seems to have found a new lease on life since he was claimed by trainer Peter Miller for $40,000 at Oaklawn Park in April, continued his rebirth at Del Mar Saturday when he went gamely through the stretch to capture the Pat O'Brien Stakes by half a length at the seaside track near San Diego, Calif.

The 6-year-old gelded son of City Zip won his fourth race in a row since the claim, the previous three having come against claiming and allowance company in Kentucky. He picked up a check for $90,000 from the $150,000 purse in the Grade II stake that pushed his bankroll up to $431,641.

The bay ran the seven furlongs in 1:22.25 and, as the 11-10 favorite, paid $4.20, $2.60 and $2.20 across the board. Finishing second was Lane's End Racing and Hronis Racing's Flagstaff, while Dan Agnew, Gerry Schneider and John Xitco's Law Abidin Citizen ran third.

“We saw that he'd been breaking slow in his races, so we were prepared for that,” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “But he broke well today and we were right in the race. Then the pace wasn't that fast (:23.10 :46.04 1:10.06), so we were right there. When I asked him, he was good. He's a willing horse.”

The victory added more accolades to an accolade-filled summer for his rider and trainer. Prat registered his 12th stakes win of the meet, just one away from the Del Mar record of 13 set by Rafael Bejarano in 2012. Miller picked up his fifth stakes win of the session and his meet-leading 22nd tally in the 21st day of racing.

“He broke well and usually he doesn't,” said Miller. “The pace was slow and Flavien had him in the perfect spot. Tom Kagele (owner) actually called me (about claiming the horse) and I said, 'His form is bad right now, but he's a runner.' You could see he had run some really fast races. I like old class horses that have shown talent. If you can get them going in the right direction they can run back to

The O'Brien was a Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” race guaranteeing the victor entry into the $2-million BC Dirt Mile with all fees paid. That race will be run on Saturday, November 7, at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

In the day's Pick Six bet, a two-day $247,091 carryover stirred the pot and drew $1,167,066 in “new” money to the pool. After Facts Matter paid $9.00 for winning the 11th and final race on the card, there were 147 tickets with all six winner, each paying out $5,941.60. There will be a “Jackpot” carryover into Sunday's card of $186,553.

Racing resumes Sunday starting at 2 p.m. PT. There also will be a Monday racing card this week with the same 2 p.m. post.

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Channel Maker Leads All The Way In Soggy ‘Win And You’re In’ Sword Dancer

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's multiple Grade 1-winner Channel Maker led at every point of call to capture Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Sword Dancer, a 12-furlong inner turf test for older horses at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 6-year-old English Channel gelding flourished on the soft going and earned an automatic berth to the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Turf on November 7 at Keeneland Race Course.

Saturday's blockbuster card offered four graded events, including a last-to-first score by Win Win Win in the Grade 1, $300,000 Forego presented by America's Best Racing at seven furlongs on the main track for older sprinters; a gate-to-wire effort by Yaupon in the Grade 2, $150,000 Amsterdam at six furlongs for sophomore sprinters; and Bye Bye Melvin started the stakes action with a dramatic nose score over favored Don Juan Kitten in the Grade 3, $100,000 Saranac at one mile on the Mellon turf for 3-year-olds.

Channel Maker, making his third appearance in the Sword Dancer following a runner-up effort in 2018 and a fourth last year, was sent straight to the lead by jockey Manny Franco to mark the opening quarter mile in 25.10, with Marzo racing inside in second position and Corelli in third.

Bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm, the hard-knocking chestnut maintained a length and a half advantage as he led the field past the finish line for the first time with Marzo and Corelli continuing to chase.

Channel Maker dictated the pace through a mile in 1:42.33 with Corelli making a run up the rail and Aquaphobia, last-out winner of the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park, following suit as Marzo gave way.

Cross Border, the lukewarm 3-1 mutuel favorite, brought a perfect 5-for-5 record at Saratoga into the Sword Dancer and jockey Jose Ortiz gave the New York-bred his cue to follow Aquaphobia as Channel Maker took the field around the final bend.

Boasting a 5 ½-length advantage at the stretch call, Channel Maker continued to find more, easily covering the soft going with strong, smooth strides. Sadler's Joy, the 2017 Sword Dancer champ, launched his trademark move from the back of the pack but there was no reeling in a runaway Channel Maker, who strode through the wire a 5 ¾-length winner in a final time of 2:34.86.

Cross Border found his best stride late to complete the exacta by 3 1/2-lengths over Aquaphobia, who was four lengths clear of Sadler's Joy. Rounding out the order of finish were Corelli, Pedro Cara and Marzo. Highland Sky was scratched.

Channel Maker, who captured the 2018 Grade 2 Bowling Green at the Spa, broke through at the top flight in the 2018 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont and doubled up in the Grade 1 Man o' War in May 2019, which was his last winning effort prior to the Sword Dancer.

“He was strong throughout the stretch. He ran a powerful race,” said Mott. “He loves the going. He likes it here. He's tough when he turns for home on the lead.”

Mott credited Franco for making a winning move early in the race.

“We thought Marzo could be on the lead and we might be laying second, but opportunity presented itself for him to be on the lead and the jockey accepted the opportunity and it worked out very well,” said Mott. “Sometimes, you make the right decision and it worked out well today.

“He's very tricky to ride,” continued Mott. “You could see how level he was coming through the stretch and he was straight as an arrow, but if he gets in crowded, sometimes he'll get his head up or bear away from horses. So, he's not an easy horse. He wouldn't be what every rider wants, but in this particular case, everything went well for him and he finished up straight and strong.”

Last out, when elevated to third in the Grade 2 Bowling Green, Channel Maker was caught behind horses in the stretch run which saw Sadler's Joy demoted from first to fourth for lugging in late in the lane and Cross Border elevated to first.

Today, Franco said he was intent on dictating his own terms.

“I made the lead and tried to open up to let them know I wanted to go and they let me go. It worked out good for me,” said Franco.

Mott said he will take a wait-and-see approach with regard to the Breeders' Cup Turf, a race in which the gelding has finished off-the-board in the last two years.

“That water gets very deep. We've tried it a couple times and it hasn't worked out with him,” said Mott. “You get a whole different group of horses. But who knows? There was a year at Keeneland where it was a bottomless ground and if that situation came up, maybe he would benefit from it.”

Ortiz gave full credit to the classy winner.

“We were facing a Grade 1-winner and he got loose today on the soft turf and he liked it. It was hard for everybody to catch up,” said Ortiz. “It was very hard to get going from the half-mile to the three-eighths pole. The second time we passed the three-eighths pole, it was getting very messy, but Aquaphobia made a good move and I tried to follow him. But he struggled, too, and it was hard to make up ground. My horse gave me a little kick, but it was really late passing the three-sixteenths pole when he finally got a good grip on the outside part of the course and gave me a good run. But it wasn't good enough.”

Channel Maker banked $275,000 in victory while improving his record to 35-6-5-4. He returned $18 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card that features the Grade 3, $125,000 Shuvee for older fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles in Race 9 at 5:46 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:10 p.m.

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Breeders’ Cup Announces Challenge Series Races for September and October

Led by the 145th GI Preakness S., the G1 Irish Champion S. and G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, a total of 44 automatic berths into the 37th Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be up for grabs over the next two months as Breeders’ Cup Ltd. released its schedule of Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races for September and October.

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge, now in its 14th year, is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid for a corresponding race in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

“Win and You’re In” qualifiers will be contested in Brazil, Canada, England, Ireland, France and the U.S. over the September-October time frame, including 27 Grade or Group 1 stakes.

Among the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series racing highlights are:

Three “Win and You’re In” automatic qualifiers for the $7-million GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, featuring the Preakness at Pimlico Oct. 3, the first Triple Crown race to be in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. Bookended around the Preakness are the GI Awesome Again S. Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park and the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park Oct. 10.

The complete Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series schedule can be accessed here.

As part of the enhanced benefits to horsemen competing in the series, Breeders’ Cup will pay the entry fees and guarantee a starting position in a corresponding Championships race for winners of all Challenge races. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the Championships’ pre-entry deadline of Oct. 26 to receive the rewards, and those rewards must be used in the year they are earned.

Breeders’ Cup also will provide a $10,000 travel allowance for starters within North America that are stabled outside of Kentucky, and a $40,000 travel stipend to the connections of all Championship starters from outside of North America.

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