Chad Brown | Horse Racing Free Tips

Jack Christopher Eyes Bigger and Better Things

After Jack Christopher (Munnings) romped in the GI Champagne S. at Belmont Park last year, his connections were optimistic that the horse had the talent to get them to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. That happened, just not the way anyone had planned. Not ready for the GI Kentucky Derby after seven-month layoff, Jack Christopher ran instead in the GII Pat Day Mile S., which he won by 3 3/4 lengths. While the victory was somewhat of a consolation prize, it set the colt up for what still could be a very productive year.

“I was very impressed,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He was coming off a long layoff and going into a graded stakes on Derby Day. There were a couple of really nice horses in there. So I thought it was a big test for him, a big challenge. He passed it well. I was so pleased and so relieved that he's back and ready to move forward.”

Jack Christopher was expected to go off as the favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but was withdrawn after Brown discovered that the horse had a shin problem. He subsequently had a screw inserted into his left shin to repair a stress fracture. Had Brown decided to rush things he might have had Jack Christopher ready in time to make the Derby, but he decided to go a more cautious route.

“We decided to give him enough time and not rush him back,” the trainer said. “It was the right approach.”

Jack Christopher had his first published workout on the year on March 27 at Payson Park and made steady progress from there. In order to make the Derby, he would have had to have run in a prep race in order to pick up points. Once Brown realized that wasn't going to happen, he settled in on the Pat Day Mile. He liked the distance and the timing and how it might set the horse up for the rest of the year.

“At the mile, it worked out perfectly,” Brown said. “He was able to find his stride down the backside. He broke a little tardy and had to be used just a touch to get into position. When Jose (Ortiz) sat back on the horse against the bit the horse was a comfortable mover, just tugging along gently the entire race. He was running within himself.”

The Pat Day simply confirmed what Brown already knew, that this is a very good race horse.

“He's very special. He is an incredible talent,” he said.

Yet, Brown couldn't escape the obvious. He has what very well might be the most talented 3-year-old in training and won a graded stakes race on Kentucky Derby day. Only it wasn't the Kentucky Derby.

“It is bittersweet,” he said. “You only have one crack at the Derby. But that's part of what makes the Derby so difficult to win. There is a small window. Could he have won the Derby? We'll never know. Now it's in the books and the horse didn't make it. There are a certain number of people out there who believe this is the most talented colt in this crop. With previous crops through history, sometimes the most talented horse in the crop does not make the Derby. I'm not saying that's the case here. There are still long careers to be had out of this crop with many different horses. He's one of them. Ultimately, we'll find out down the road who the most talented horse is.”

The problem now for Brown and owners Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister is that there is no obvious next step when it comes to the next race. The GI Preakness S. comes up too soon and is not under consideration. The GI Belmont S. is out because it would be asking too much to go from a mile to a mile-and-a-half. Brown isn't in love with the idea of cutting back in distance, but he also wants to keep Jack Christopher on a steady schedule. With that in mind, he said the seven-furlong GI Woody Stephens S., run June 11, Belmont day, will be next. The larger goal is the GI Haskell S. on July 23 at Monmouth.

“When we decided to take some extra time with the horse and take him out of consideration for the Derby, the race I spoke to Mr. Bakke about was the Haskell,” Brown said. “I told him he wasn't going to make the Derby but the Haskell is really the target. I do think the horse will get a mile and an eighth.”

That's the sort of a race where he could meet Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) along with a number of other top horses from this division. It will be a test, but one he seems capable of passing. Is Jack Christopher an “incredible talent?” We're about to find out.

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TDN Snippets: Week of May 1-8

It was a hectic week in the Thoroughbred business with all eyes firmly focussed on Louisville, Kentucky. Here are some facts and figures that you might have missed in the rush.

Record Numbers…

Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby (single race) totaled $179 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5-million set in 2019. This year's wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle put through the window in Japan.

The Smart Strike Factor…

As a broodmare sire, Smart Strike has the distinction of having two of the four biggest longshots in history to win the Derby with Mine That Bird (Birdstone), who paid $103.20 in 2009, and now Rich Strike at $163.60. Rich Strike is actually inbred 3×2 to the former Lane's End stallion.

Five And Counting…

It was a long time between Kentucky Oaks wins, but Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas now has five to his credit. Blush With Pride (1982), Lucky Lucky Lucky (1984), Open Mind (1989), Seaside Attraction (1990). Will Secret Oath (Arrogate) prove to be the best yet?

Galileo's Week in Europe…

This week has taken the form of a prolonged tribute to the late, great Galileo. After clinching the worldwide stakes record from Danehill (347) only last week, the floodgates have well and truly opened since then, and Sadler's Wells's finest son now sits on 353. Not sure all records are made to be broken?

The New Ghostzapper?…

In the post-race interview, Chad Brown compared undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Jack Christopher (Munnings) to Hall of Famer Ghostzapper (Awesome Again), who Brown worked with while under the tutelage of Bobby Frankel. “This horse reminds me a lot of Ghostzapper, I was fortunate to work with that horse, he moves about the same as him and that one had a few rough patches as well.” Music to the ears of Jim Bakke, Gerry Isbister, Coolmore Stud and White Birch Farm.

A Curlin Graded Double For Mott…

Hall of Famer Bill Mott registered a graded-stakes triple over the weekend, including a pair of Curlin offspring for two of the world's premier breeding operations. At Churchill Saturday afternoon, Juddmonte Farms' Obligatory flashed home for a breakthrough Grade I success in the Derby City Distaff, while in New York a few hours later, Godolphin's Cody's Wish was a towering winner of the GIII Westchester S., a course-and-distance lead-up for the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. on Belmont Day June 11. Mott also won Friday's GII Alysheba S. with the progressive Olympiad (Speightstown).

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Rich Strike ‘Looking Great’ After Derby Shocker

RED TR-Racing's Rich Strike (Keen Ice) left Churchill Downs around 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday to head back to his main base at trainer Eric Reed's Mercury Equine Center in Lexington as a GI Kentucky Derby winner.

“I couldn't sleep last night,” Reed said after achieving his first Grade I victory and second graded victory in a career that began in 1985. “At four this morning I was wondering if this was real or if it was a dream. I got home and my kids and their friends were there with champagne. I finally told them at 2:30 I had to go up to bed. I just kept seeing him in my head come up the rail.”

As the longest shot on the board in a field of 20 horses at 80-1, Rich Strike took advantage of a crafty ride from Sonny Leon to charge past Epicenter (Not This Time) and Zandon (Upstart) in deep stretch to pull off the second biggest upset in Derby history with Donerail at 91-1 in 1913 serving as the biggest longshot winner.

Next on the agenda most likely will be Reed's first trip to Pimlico and a shot at the GI Preakness S. May 21.

“That's probably the plan,” said Reed, who indicated Rich Strike would return to Churchill Downs to work over the track before deciding on the colt's next start. “I'm not going to do a whole lot with him and I don't like to run back quick. You get one like this in a lifetime and you have to protect him.”

A 17 1/4-length victory in a $30,000 maiden claimer at Churchill Downs last September had served as the only win on Rich Strike's resume until Saturday. A fourth-place finish in the John Battaglia Memorial S. and a third in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks gave Rich Strike 21 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and enough to land a spot on the also-eligible list when entries were taken Monday.

The defection of Ethereal Road seconds before scratch time Friday morning put Rich Strike in the starting gate.

“We were hoping and praying all week just trying to get there,” Reed said. “Then we went a step further than we could have dreamed.”

Despite breaking from post 20, Leon gave Rich Strike a ground-saving trip, immediately moving toward the inside behind a wall of horses shortly after the break and then cutting the corner at the top of the stretch.

“When I saw that move at the quarter pole, I told my dad [Herbert] that might get us on the board,” Reed said. “Then, I don't really remember what happened except my back gave out on me. I ended up on the ground before the horse even crossed the wire. All my friends and family just piled on top of me. He looks great this morning. He ate up everything last night and seems really good. He gains weight after every race and I don't think we've gotten to the bottom of him.”

As for Reed, it was a low-key night as he went back to Lexington where his wife Kay was overseeing the training center and 100 horses.

“My friends drank a lot but I didn't,” said Reed, who has horses entered this week at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Mountaineer and Belterra. “I was happy for my crew and so proud that they got to make the walk [over to the paddock for the Derby].”

Reed's story, coming back to win the Kentucky Derby with his first starter and a first-time Derby rider after a barn fire claimed 23 of his horses and all of his tack and equipment six years ago, is made for Hollywood. And if a movie could been made from this year's Run for the Roses, who would play Reed?

“Maybe Mark Wahlberg,” Reed said with a laugh. “He's short like me.”

One day removed from Epicenter's runner-up effort, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen was on the track alongside assistant Scott Blasi to continue their normal schedule of training. Epicenter exited the Derby in good order, according to the team.

“We'll just try and move forward. I haven't spoken with [owner] Ron [Winchell] yet but I will later and will figure out what we are going to do next,” Asmussen said.

Zandon was back at trainer Chad Brown's Barn 25 at Churchill Downs Sunday morning.

“We had a really good trip but just weren't able to get the job done,” Brown said.

Tami Bobo's Simplification (Not This Time) came out of his fourth-place effort “very well” according to trainer Antonio Sano.

“I was very happy with his race,” Sano said. “I am going to talk with the owner in the next two days and a make a decision on whether to go to the Preakness or to go home.”

Trainer Tim Yakteen was at Barn 37 Sunday morning to see how his two Derby colts–Messier (Empire Maker), who finished 15th, and Taiba (Gun Runner), who ran 12th–were doing the day after Kentucky Derby 148.

The report was good. Both 3-year-olds were none the worse for wear and would “live to fight another day.”

“My family [his wife, Millie Ball, and his two teenage sons] will be on a plane and headed back to California today,” Yakteen said. “I'm going to stick around for a while. There will have to be some decisions made in the next 48 hours about what's next for these two. Taiba is under consideration for the Preakness, but that call has yet to be determined.”

Reflecting on Messier's effort, he said, “I thought Johnny [Velazquez] rode a good race on Messier. I'm not sure, but maybe we have to consider distance limitations with him.”

In the case of Taiba, who was making only the third start of his career, Yakteen felt the horse was hindered by all the kickback he encountered, causing him to “climb some and be very uncomfortable.”

Also, he noted, “His lack of experience certainly could have played a role in the situation.”

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Jack is Back in Pat Day Mile

In the post-race interview, trainer Chad Brown compared Saturday's impressive GII Pat Day Mile winner Jack Christopher (Munnings) to Hall of Famer Ghostzapper (Awesome Again), who Brown worked with while under the tutelage of Bobby Frankel. Like Jack Christopher, Ghostzapper also missed the Triple Crown series and focused on races around one turn during his 3-year-old season before blossoming into a top handicap horse at four, including a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

“This horse reminds me a lot of Ghostzapper, I was fortunate to work with that horse, he moves about the same as him and that one had a few rough patches as well,” Brown said. “He has a lot more to do, how far we'll see. It's a wonderful victory, very gratifying, but it's bittersweet that we got him to the first Saturday in May [but not the Derby], which we had been thinking about since he debuted at Saratoga. To get him here on the first Saturday in May, and to get him to the winner's circle, it'll always be in the back of my mind what could have been. It is what it is.”

While those are some big shoes to fill, and whether a 10-furlong Classic is in Jack Christopher's future remains to be seen, but he's certainly off to a good start with three impressive victories from as many starts.

Well hyped heading into his six-panel debut at Saratoga Aug. 28, the flashy chestnut–who is the spitting image of his sire–more than lived up to the buzz with a dazzling 8 3/4-length score, earning 'TDN Rising Star' honors. He followed suit with a decisive score in Belmont's one-mile GI Champagne S. Oct. 2, earning a 102 Beyer Speed Figure. The early favorite for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the $135,000 FTKOCT buy was scratched by the vets the night before the race. A stress fracture was discovered in his left shin which required a screw and he did not return to Brown until February, making the GI Kentucky Derby basically impossible.

Hammered down to 3-5 favoritism for this return, Jack Christopher brushed with his inside neighbor a bit after the break, but was kept steady by Jose Ortiz and tugged his way up three wide between horses to establish position exiting the chute. He pressed from a joint second as GII Best Pal S. winner Pappacap (Gun Runner) clocked early fractions of :22.70 and :45.61. Sidling up besides the pacesetter on the backstretch run, the Brown pupil seized command at the top of the stretch with Pappcap still to his inside and GIII Swale S. victor My Prankster (Into Mischief) ranging up to challenge on the outside. Neither proved to be any match for Jack Christopher, who was kept to task by Ortiz when he began to drift slightly in the lane and gunned clear in the final sixteenth to win as he pleased. Pappacap held second over My Prankster.

“We asked a lot of him today after a long layoff and an injury,” Brown said. “Coming off of a layoff, you never know, especially running a mile. I had a really good feel, here on Derby Day, I asked a lot of him. I chose this race because I wanted him to run against his own age group, and I didn't want to sprint the horse. I wanted to run him in a race that allowed him to stretch his legs a little bit, get comfortable at some point of the race, protect him, and to move him forward. It certainly worked today.”

The Eclipse winner continued, “Jose did a great job, he got squeezed a little bit at the start, and made the good decision to use him early to move him up and out and in the clear. He really took control of the race at that point. At the end of the day, he's a super talented race horse and if we can keep him on the track, we'll see a lot of great things from him.”

“Cutting back to one mile brought my horse's 'A' game today,” Ortiz said. “I was worried around the three-eighths pole because I thought if there was one horse that could beat me it was Pappacap after he ran so well last time [fourth in the GI Curlin Florida Derby]. So I moved into him and when I got to him at the five-sixteenths, I felt like I had him. I heard Flavien [Prat on Pappacap] asking for more and he wasn't getting anywhere. So I was confident and waited longer so I had plenty horse for the end.”

Pedigree Notes:
Jack Christopher is one of five Grade I winners for Coolmore's Munnings and one of three of his offspring to secure that top-level score in 2021 along with Eda and Kimari. Breeder Castleton Lyons purchased the winner's dam Rushin No Blushin for $70,000 at the 2014 KEENOV sale in foal to Congrats. The half-sister to MGISW sire Street Boss (Street Cry {Ire}) did not have much luck at first. The resulting foal died and her next two foals did not do much running. She was barren in 2018 and then came Jack Christopher. The 13-year-old mare's only foal since is a juvenile filly by Mo Town. Rushing No Blushing failed to get back in foal to Munnings for 2022 and visited Complexity last spring. This is also the family of graded winners Bellera, Life Imitates Art and Beyond Blame.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
PAT DAY MILE S. PRESENTED BY LG&E AND KU-GII, $500,000, Churchill Downs, 5-7, 3yo, 1m, 1:34.81, ft.
1–JACK CHRISTOPHER, 122, c, 3, by Munnings
1st Dam: Rushin No Blushin, by Half Ours
2nd Dam: Blushing Ogygian, by Ogygian
3rd Dam: Fruhlingshochzeit, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
($145,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $135,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT). *TDN Rising Star*. O-Jim Bakke, Gerry Isbister, Coolmore Stud and White Birch Farm, Inc.; B-Castleton Lyons & Kilboy Estate (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $291,400. Lifetime Record: GISW, 3-3-0-0, $621,400. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pappacap, 122, c, 3, Gun Runner–Pappascat, by Scat Daddy. O/B-Rustlewood Farm, Inc. (FL); T-Mark E. Casse. $94,000.
3–My Prankster, 120, c, 3, Into Mischief–My Wandy's Girl, by Flower Alley. ($600,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Lawana L. and Robert E. Low; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $47,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, HD, 2. Odds: 0.70, 7.50, 8.20.
Also Ran: O Captain, Trafalgar, Doppelganger, Tejano Twist, Kavod, Major General, Trademark, Ben Diesel. Scratched: Howling Time.
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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