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Back-To-Back ‘Huge’ Races Propel Channel Maker Into Breeders’ Cup Turf

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Channel Maker secured his fourth Grade 1 win with a stellar front-running performance in Saturday's Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

The victory marked Channel Maker's second win from four Joe Hirsch starts, having previously won in 2018. His previous Joe Hirsch efforts included a sixth in 2017 and a second last year.

Bred in Ontario by the Tall Oaks Farm of Ivan Dalos, the 7-year-old was purchased privately early in his sophomore season and transferred to the care of Mott.

Channel Maker scored his first win for Mott in his fifth attempt by taking the 12-furlong Breeders' Stakes, third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, by a nose when traveling his preferred 12 furlongs on Woodbine's E.P. Taylor turf course.

The veteran English Channel gelding now boasts a record of 36-7-5-4 with purse earnings in excess of $2.63-million with his other Grade 1 scores coming in the 2019 Man o' War at Belmont and the Sword Dancer in August at Saratoga, which offered a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Turf.

“We got him as a 3-year-old and it took us a little while to get through the 'one-other-than' condition,” said Mott. “It's interesting how you go from that and he has now developed into winning four Grade 1s. He was a nice horse and we purchased him because he looked like he had potential, but he didn't really get going until he won the Breeders'.”

Channel Maker paired up back-to-back 108 Beyers for his last two winning efforts.

“I love the horse. He's run two huge, huge races,” said Mott.

Channel Maker is out of the late Horse Chestnut mare In Return, who also produced multiple Grade 1-winner Johnny Bear, also by English Channel, and a stakes-winning half-sister by Court Vision, the Ontario-bred Court Return, who ran third in the Grade 2 Canadian in September at Woodbine.

Mott said he is cautiously optimistic about Channel Maker's chances as he makes a third attempt at the 12-furlong Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf.

“You don't know what's going to show up [in the Breeders' Cup.], but it seems like he came back good,” said Mott. “He's run two spectacular races, has he got three in a row in him – we don't know. It's not going to cost us anything to find out.

“I would think in the fall you could get soft ground there,” added Mott. “That would be in his favor.”

Juddmonte Farms' regally bred Tacitus worked a bullet half-mile in 47.20 seconds Sunday morning on Big Sandy working in company with Will Sing for Wine, who applied pressure to the pacesetter.

“The track was pretty quick. His work looked good,” said Mott. “He went out with his ears up. [Will Sing for Wine] was just a length off to have somebody push him along a little bit.”

Tacitus will target Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup, a 10-furlong test on Big Sandy for 3-year-olds and upward with a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic on the line.

Jose Ortiz will have the call on Tacitus, a 4-year-old Tapit grey who boasts a record of 13-4-4-2 with more than $2.9 million in earnings. Out of the champion mare Close Hatches, Tacitus captured the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and Grade 2 Wood Memorial last year and added the Grade 2 Suburban to his ledger in July at Belmont.

The probable Jockey Club Gold Cup field includes Danny California (Orlando Noda), Happy Saver (Todd Pletcher), Mystic Guide (Michael Stidham), Plus Que Parfait (Brendan Walsh), and Prioritize (H. James Bond).

A busy Saturday of racing at Belmont for Mott also included off-the-board efforts from Moon Over Miami [sixth], who captured the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs in September, and South Bend [seventh] in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby.

“I guess there was a difference in the competition from the Dueling Grounds Derby to what he faced here,” said Mott. “I don't know that he ran quite as good a race as he did down there but I suppose the first two or three horses in here were better.”

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Gufo Up In Time For Belmont Derby Invitational Victory

Otter Bend Stables Gufo rallied from off the pace to win Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The victory gave the Christophe Clement-trained 3-year-old son of Declaration of War a fees-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Turf as part of the Challenge Series Win and You're In races for the Nov. 6-7 world championships at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Gufo raced past No Word and Mo Ready in deep stretch under Junior Alvarado, winning by one length, then had to wait out a stewards inquiry for possible interference at the top of the stretch when drifting out in front of Moon Over Miami.

The 7-5 favorite in the field eight 3-year-olds, Gufo paid $4.90 to win after covering 1 1/4 miles on firm turf in 2:02.25.

No Word held second, with Mo Ready third and Ajourneytofreedom fourth.

Mo Ready worked his way to the front as the fielded rounded the clubhouse turn, getting the opening quarter mile in :24.48 with pressure from the outside by Moon Over Miami.

Those two raced 1-2 down the backstretch, with fractional times of :50.61 for the half mile and 1:15.56 for six furlongs, and were joined by No Word approaching the far turn. Gofu, meanwhile, was saving ground while in the second flight approaching the turn, swung off the rail and took aim at the leaders with two furlongs to go, the mile in 1:39.26.

Mo Ready proved stubborn on the lead, aided by soft fractions, and was finally overtaken by No Word. But Gufo had all the momentum and grabbed the lead inside the final sixteenth of a mile.

“I had to do my homework,” said Alvarado, riding Gufo for the first time. “He's not a hard horse to ride, but it can be a little tricky with him to make sure he doesn't fall too far back or it takes him too long to get home. I kept him between horses; he was paying attention to everything and he was focused. When I turned for home, I knew I had a lot of horse under me.

“I definitely thought it was close. The way he was travelling there, I knew I had plenty of horse to still finish. He was in a nice, nice rhythm the whole way around so I was pretty happy. [Christophe] said, 'You have to ride him turning for home, it takes him a little bit to give you a nice kick'.”

The victory was the fifth in seven starts for Gufo, who had a four-race win streak broken when second to Domestic Spending in the Saratoga Derby Invitational in his last start on Aug. 15.

“He won well,” said Clement. “I thought he had a great trip from Junior [Alvarado] and when he asked him to quicken, he really quickened well in the stretch. He's a good horse. If you look at all his races this year, he's been running well all year round. I know he got beat last time but he actually ran a winning race when you look back at it.”

Clement wouldn't commit to a start in the Breeders' Cup.

“I'm not sure,” the trainer said. “We'll have to check with the owner and see how he comes out of it. There's also the Hollywood Derby [G1 on Nov. 28 at Del Mar] going a mile and an eighth.”

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Five Breeders’ Cup Challenge Races At Longchamp On Sunday’s Arc Card

Breeders' Cup Ltd., and France Galop are once again proud to announce that five Group 1 races at ParisLongchamp for the world-renowned Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe day on Oct. 4 will be part of the 2020 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

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 corresponding races in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.

The 1 ½-mile Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, is the centrepiece of the international spectacle on the ParisLongchamp program. For the second consecutive year, the winner of Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will receive an automatic berth into the US$4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1), which will also be run at 1 ½ mile at Keeneland. Prince Khalid Abdullah's Enable (GB) became the first horse to win the Arc and the Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year, which she accomplished in 2018.

Top turf sprinters will be in action in the 5-furlong Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines, with the winner receiving a “Win and You're In” position into the 5 ½ furlongs, US$1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1).

An automatic berth into the 1 3/16-mile, US$2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) will be awarded to the winner of the 1 ¼-mile Prix de l'Opéra Longines.

There will also be two “Win and You're In” races for 2-year-olds on the Arc day program. The 7-furlong Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère will give the winner a free placement into the 1-mile, US$1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), and the winner of the 1-mile Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac, for 2-year-old fillies, will earn an automatic starting position into the 1-mile, US$1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).

“We are extremely pleased to partner again with the great teams of France Galop and ParisLongchamp, who each year host international Thoroughbred racing at the highest level,” said Dora Delgado, Breeders' Cup Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer. “To align the Breeders' Cup World Championships with these prestigious races on the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe day program provides a clear path for Europe's finest horsemen, and we look forward to their participation in the World Championships at Keeneland Race Course.”

“Once again this year, France Galop is delighted to associate five Group1 races from this Sunday's program with the Breeders'Cup Challenge Series 2020. The winners of the most prestigious races of the weekend of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will have the chance to automatically qualify to run to one other International largest thoroughbred racing weekend in the world, the Breeders'Cup World Championship”, said Olivier Delloye, France Galop Chief Executive.

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 $40,000 travel stipend to the connections of all Championship starters from outside of North America.

The five Arc day races are among the seven total Breeders' Cup Challenge races in France this year.

Two “Win and You're In” races were held at Deauville. On Aug. 16, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's 3-year-old Palace Pier won the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (G1) and earned an automatic berth into the US$2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1). On Aug. 23, Stonestreet Stables' 2-year-old filly Campanelle (IRE) captured the Darley Prix Morny (G1) at Deauville and secured a free starting position into the US$1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2).

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Likely Favorite Love Withdrawn From Arc De Triomphe, To Target Breeders’ Cup Turf

With very soft going predicted for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, Oct. 4, trainer Aidan O'Brien has withdrawn the likely favorite Love from consideration, reports Sky Sports Racing. The dual classic winner will now be aimed at the Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

“Sadly I don't think there's any prospect of the ground improving much,” O'Brien told skysports.com. “So we'll give her a little time now and give her a nice run in the Breeders' Cup. The plan is to have her in training next year, so that's something to look forward to.”

The 3-year-old daughter of Galileo, a Coolmore homebred, has won a trio of Group 1 races this year: the 1,000 Guineas, Investec Oaks, and Darley Yorkshire Oaks.