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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