channel maker | Horse Racing Free Tips

Frank’s Rockette Pleases Mott With ‘Smooth’ Move, Leaning Toward Facing Males Males In Sprint

Trainer Bill Mott has four of his six Breeders' Cup pre-entrants at Keeneland, and he put that quartet through works on a breezy Sunday morning over a fast surface on the Lexington, Ky., track.

First at 6:30 a.m. was Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Frank's Rockette going the half in :49 under Neil Poznansky. Next working together were Juddmonte Farms' Tacitus and Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Channel Maker with Tacitus going 5 furlongs in 1:00 and Channel Maker a half in :47.40. Finally, There's A Chance Stable, Medallion Racing, Abbondanza Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Paradise Farms and David Staudacher's Horologist worked in a half in :47.40 under Poznansky.

Frank's Rockette is pre-entered in both the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) at 7 furlongs and the Sprint (G1) against males going 6 furlongs.

“She went nice and easy,” Mott said of the work. “She went smooth and was really relaxed. I was very happy. She was very typical of when she works by herself.

“I will speak with the connections later today, but I am leaning toward the Sprint. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The Sprint will be a tough race, but we know she is good at 6 furlongs. The Sprint probably will have a full field, probably 14 horses, whereas the Filly and Mare Sprint will probably have no more than 10. That does come into the equation. The seven-eighths of a mile in the Filly and Mare Sprint comes into the equation as well.”

Tacitus (Classic) worked with Felipe Castro aboard while Poznansky was aboard Channel Maker (Turf).

“Tactitus and Channel Maker went very good,” Mott said. “Tacitus was tracking Channel Maker. We went just a half-mile with Channel Maker. He was nice and sharp and doing it the right way. Tacitus tracked him a couple of lengths back and joined him in the stretch. We had Tacitus go out another furlong afterward and then gallop out.”

The post Frank’s Rockette Pleases Mott With ‘Smooth’ Move, Leaning Toward Facing Males Males In Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Mott Leaning Toward Running Frank’s Rockette Against Males In Sprint

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott worked a trio of Breeders' Cup contenders, including Tacitus, Channel Maker and Frank's Rockette at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., over the weekend, as well as Horologist on the Oklahoma training track on Friday at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's multiple Grade 1-winner Channel Maker worked inside of Juddmonte Farms' multiple graded-stakes winner Tacitus Saturday on Big Sandy though a half-mile in 48.71 seconds, reaching five eighths in 1:01.2 and out six furlongs in 1:15.

“They went well. It was a very useful work and I'm happy enough with them,” said Mott.

Channel Maker secured his fourth Grade 1 win last out with a stellar front-running performance in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on October 3. That performance matched the career-best 108 Beyer Speed Figure earned by Channel Maker in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on August 29 over soft going at Saratoga.

Channel Maker will be making his third attempt at the 12-furlong Grade 1 Breeders' Turf, and Mott said he is cautiously optimistic of his chances.

“There's a lot of them that don't get that,” said Mott with a laugh regarding a Breeders' Cup win. “His last couple of races have been good. We'll know a lot more after pre-entries tomorrow about how he looks in there.”

Channel Maker's other Grade 1 scores were secured in the 2018 Turf Classic Invitational and 2019 Man o' War at Belmont.

The regally bred Tacitus, a 4-year-old Tapit grey who boasts a record of 14-4-4-3 with more than $2.9 million in earnings, is 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. He will enter the Breeders' Cup Classic in search of a first Grade 1 win after hitting the board in the Kentucky Derby, Runhappy Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup as a sophomore and this year in the Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup where he was a last-out third.

Frank's Rockette, owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations, worked a half-mile Sunday in 49.42 in company with unraced 3-year-old filly Strings Attached on the Belmont dirt training track.

“It was a good, even work. We wanted to go in 49 and that's about what we did. It was a nice, useful work,” said Mott.

The Into Mischief filly posted a 7 3/4-length victory in the Grade 2, $150,000 Gallant Bloom last out at Belmont to mark her fourth consecutive triumph and third straight graded score following wins in the Grade 3 Victory Ride in July at Belmont and the Grade 2 Prioress in September at Saratoga.

While Frank's Rockette is under consideration for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at seven furlongs on November 7 at Keeneland, Mott said he is more than like to enter the speedy filly against the boys in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint, which offers a potentially more favorable distance of six furlongs.

“Right now, were thinking about the Sprint,” said Mott.

There's A Chance Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing and Abbondanza Racing's New Jersey-bred Horologist breezed a bullet five-eighths Friday in 1:00.61 on the Oklahoma training track.

“She worked super,” said Mott. “She is coming around nicely. Her last win was good.”

The 4-year-old Gemologist bay captured the Grade 2 Beldame last out on October 4 at Belmont and is to be supplemented to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff.

A multiple graded-stakes winner, Horologist captured the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks last year and added Monmouth's Grade 3 Molly Pitcher to her ledger in July.

The post Mott Leaning Toward Running Frank’s Rockette Against Males In Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

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.”

The post Back-To-Back ‘Huge’ Races Propel Channel Maker Into Breeders’ Cup Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Channel Maker Wires Joe Hirsch

Winner of the 2018 GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S., Channel Maker (English Channel) made amends for a close second in last year’s renewal with a front-running score in the 2020 edition Saturday at Belmont. Taking up his preferred position at the head of affairs, the chestnut clicked off splits of :22.89, :49.44 and 1:14.45. Still in front turning for home, the hard-knocking gelding kept on finding in the lane, rolling clear to victory.

“We would have wanted to envision it working out this way and it worked out,” said winning trainer Bill Mott. “It doesn’t always work out as planned, but it did today and it did last time [in the GI Sword Dancer S.] He had a little pressure early from Cross Border, but he was able to sneak away from him.”

“I just felt like when he made that jump turning for home, I didn’t think they could come get him,” part-owner Dean Reeves said. “He’s that kind of horse. He’s just tough.Bill has him so fit. When he came back, it looked like he could he could go another lap. He had a lot left in the tank turning for home.”

Scoring his lone win of 2019 in the GI Man o’ War S., Channel Maker was fourth in the GII Mac Diarmida S. Feb. 29 and was eighth in both the GII Mervin Muniz Memorial S. Mar. 21 and Tiller S. June 4. Completing the superfecta in the GI Manhattan S. over this course on Independence Day, he crossed the line fourth in the GII Bowling Green S. Aug. 1, but was promoted to third via DQ. The 6-year-old entered this event off a wire-to-wire triumph on soft ground in Saratoga’s GI Sword Dancer S. Aug. 29.

Pedigree Notes:

The winner’s full-brother is Sovereign Award winner Johnny Bear, who captured consecutive renewals of Woodbine’s GI Northern Dancer Turf S. Their stakes-winning half-sister Court Return (Court Vision) is the final foal out of their stakes-winning dam In Return and both of them set new course records with their black-type scores. Channel Maker hails from the family of Grade I winner Auntie Mame (Theatrical {Ire}).

Saturday, Belmont Park
JOE HIRSCH TURF CLASSIC S.-GI, $250,000, Belmont, 10-3, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:25.99, fm.
1–CHANNEL MAKER, 126, g, 6, by English Channel
                1st Dam: In Return, by Horse Chestnut (Saf)
                2nd Dam: Bartered Bride, by Shadeed
                3rd Dam: Lady Vixen, by Sir Ivor
($57,000 RNA Ylg ’15 KEESEP). O-Wachtel Stable, Barber, Gary,

R. A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing; B-Tall Oaks

Farm (ON); T-William I. Mott; J-Manuel Franco. $137,500.
Lifetime Record: 36-7-5-4, $2,631,551. *Full to Johnny Bear,
Ch. Turf Male-Can, MGISW, $702,706; and 1/2 to Court Return
(Court Vision), SW & GSP, $139,106. Werk Nick Rating: A+++
*Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Laccario (Ger), 126, c, 4, Scalo (GB)–Laccata (GB), by Lomitas
(GB). O-Manfred Ostermann; B-Gestut Hof Ittlingen (GER);
T-Andreas Wohler. $50,000.
3–Sadler’s Joy, 126, h, 7, Kitten’s Joy–Dynaire, by Dynaformer.
O/B-Woodslane Farm (KY); T-Thomas Albertrani. $30,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, HF, 1HF. Odds: 2.80, 9.30, 4.50.
Also Ran: Master Piece (Chi), Rockemperor (Ire), Cross Border, Highland Sky. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post Channel Maker Wires Joe Hirsch appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post