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Classic Winner Sir Winston Works For Pegasus; Sisterson Has Channel Cat ‘Ready To Go’ For Pegasus Turf

Tracy Farmer's Sir Winston breezed an easy five furlongs Friday morning at Palm Meadows Training Center in preparation for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park.

The 2019 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner was timed in 1:02.30 for his fifth workout at Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County since concluding his resurgent 2021 campaign at Woodbine.

“He's been training well. His breeze this morning was very good,” said trainer Mark Casse, who reported that he has yet to decide who will ride the 6-year-old son of Awesome Again in the Pegasus World Cup, which will be featured on a blockbuster program that will also include the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) and the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G3).

Sir Winston returned from a layoff of nearly a year to enjoy a solid four-race 2021 campaign, starting with an impressive Aug. 19 allowance win at Woodbine, where the Kentucky homebred finished a close second in both the Durham Cup (G3) and Autumn (G2) before winning the 1 ½-mile Valedictory (G3).

Calumet Farm's Channel Cat, the durable Grade 1-winning millionaire homebred, continues to train forwardly as he prepares for his next and possibly final start in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park.

Channel Cat, by late 2007 turf champion English Channel, has been working steadily since mid-December for trainer Jack Sisterson at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. The 7-year-old went an easy half-mile in 53 seconds Friday morning.

“You might think, 'What's going on here?' but this [was] the plan because he went a quick half last week,” trainer Jack Sisterson said. “We're just going to step back this week and then he'll have probably a half in company next week and be ready to go.”

In his previous three works, the Channel Cat went four furlongs in 47.05 seconds Jan. 9, the fastest of 37 horses; 48.95 Jan. 2; and 48.90 Dec. 24, ranking first of 46 horses.

“His [Jan. 9] work was his first one in company. I was debating whether to keep him at a half or go five-eighths. He's been doing enough at a half-mile; he's only going to do too much going five-eighths,” Sisterson said. “The work was not as planned.

“We worked another horse, [Grade 2-placed] In Effect, and he sort of got a little bit keen outside of [Channel Cat]. It was beautiful to see Channel Cat relax inside. He was always traveling well and had a ton of horse left. We don't want to run his race in the morning. He's had a lot of air left in the tank in his works.”

Channel Cat has run in the Pegasus Turf before, never getting in contention after being bumped at the start in 2019 and finishing 10th for his previous trainer, Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. Last winter, Channel Cat ran on the Pegasus undercard in the 1 ½-mile W.L. McKnight (G3), finishing fifth.

Since joining Sisterson in mid-2020, Channel Cat has run eight times with one win, the Man o'War (G1) at Belmont Park last May. Most recently he was second by a neck in the 1 3/8-mile Red Smith (G2) Nov. 20 at Aqueduct.

Overall, Channel Cat owns six wins, four seconds and five thirds with $1,456,022 in purse earnings from 30 lifetime starts. He is 2-1-2 in 10 career tries over the Gulfstream turf, running second in his July 1, 2017 debut. His other graded win came in the 2019 Bowling Green (G2) at Saratoga.

Channel Cat is listed on Calumet Farm's website as one of its 15 stallions for 2022, with an advertised fee of $7,500.

“He's a cool horse. He came in great shape off Todd, and I just didn't want to ruin what Todd had done with him, so I just didn't get in his way,” Sisterson said. “He's an older horse, he knows his job, and he loves to get out there and train. If he's not out there by 5:30, he shouts the barn down. If he's not the first walk in the afternoon, again he shouts. We just try to keep him happy and not get in his way.”

Pletcher sent out two of his Pegasus Day probables out for half-mile works Friday on the dirt at Palm Beach Downs. Repole Stable's multiple graded-stakes placed Never Surprised, last out winner of the Dec. 26 Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream, went in 51.40 seconds while Robert and Lawana Low's Sweet Melania covered the distance in 50.43.

Sweet Melania, who earned her third career graded-stakes triumph in the Dec. 18 Suwannee River (G3) at Gulfstream, is being pointed to the inaugural $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf. Never Surprised could join his stablemate and defending champion Colonel Liam in the Pegasus Turf.

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Title Ready needs defections from original list of 19 invitees to get into the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) field, but trainer Dallas Stewart said the 7-year-old will run if granted the opportunity.

Title Ready most recently finished sixth in Oaklawn Park's $200,000 Tinsel Dec. 18, but Stewart says to throw that performance out because of the sloppy track.

“He's doing well, he just didn't have a good race in the mud,” Stewart said. “We'll see how it plays out.”

Since winning the Louisiana (G3) last January, Title Ready has raced only two other times, finishing off the board in the Dubai World Cup (G1) and then a close third in a tough Churchill Downs allowance off a 7 1/2-month layoff.

Title Ready's second dam is Hall of Famer Personal Ensign, an extraordinarily rare unbeaten champion whose produce record lived up to her racing career. Personal Ensign's unraced daughter Title Seeker was sold to Charles Fipke, owner-breeder of Title Ready, for $1.7 million in 2006 and has been a very good broodmare.

Title Seeker's daughter, Seeking the Title, won the Iowa Oaks (G3) and was Grade 1-placed. Then Seeking the Title subsequently produced $3.78 million-earner Seeking the Soul, second in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup and 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and winner of the Clark Handicap (G1) and Stephen Foster (G2).

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Channel Cat Will Add Blinkers For Extra ‘Spark’ In Saturday’s Red Smith Handicap

Calumet Farm's Channel Cat headlines a deep field assembled for Saturday's 61st running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Red Smith Handicap going 1 3/8 miles for 3-year-olds and upward over the inner turf at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Channel Cat, a 6-year-old son of late turf champion English Channel, seeks his first triumph since capturing the Grade 1 Man o' War in May at Belmont Park for trainer Jack Sisterson.

The chestnut fended off a confrontation from dual Grade 1-winner Gufo in late stretch to win the 11-furlong Man o' War by a nose in his third start of this season. He arrives off a distant sixth in the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup on Sept. 11 at Kentucky Downs, where he was forwardly-placed but finished 9 ¾ lengths back of the winner Imperador.

As the lone millionaire in the Red Smith, Channel Cat boasts earnings in excess of $1.4 million through a ledger of 29-6-3-5. He captured the Grade 2 Bowling Green in July 2019 in wire-to-wire fashion while racing for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Channel Cat will see an equipment change for Saturday's engagement and will sport blinkers for the first time since May 2019 when finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy at Belmont.

“He lacked that little bit of spark in his past couple of starts and the addition of blinkers will help him do that,” Sisterson said. “In the race at Kentucky Downs, he didn't make the lead and didn't really finish up. I felt that there was something missing the last two races and I think blinkers will help.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez will seek his fourth Red Smith triumph when piloting Channel Cat, who will carry 126 pounds from post 7.

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle a pair of contenders in Serve the King [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 124] and Value Engineering [post 2, Dylan Davis, 122].

Owned by Peter Brant, who captured the 1979 Red Smith with Waya, Serve the King enters off a sharp runner-up effort when completing a Brown-trained exacta in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational on October 9 at Belmont. The 5-year-old Kingman bay garnered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, where he saved ground in fourth and made a move in between horses in mid-stretch to finish two lengths to stablemate Rockemperor.

Serve the King sports a consistent leger of 10-4-2-1 which includes a victory in the restricted John's Call on August 25 at Saratoga and a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 United Nations on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

“The horse is training really well. It looks like a really solid race,” Brown said. “He's coming off his best performance. He's one that keeps developing and one that we thought a lot of. He's well bred, very consistent and he's in good form right now.”

Also representing the Brown stable is Value Engineering, a consistent 5-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid who makes his stakes debut for Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stable.

The three-time winner has never finished off the board in 11 career starts and arrives off a rallying victory going nine furlongs four weeks ago over the Belmont inner turf. His other two victories include a third-out maiden triumph in August 2019 covering 1 3/16 miles at Saratoga and a 10-furlong score against winners off a nine-month layoff in June 2020 at Belmont.

“It's a big step but we always thought he was a stakes horse all along,” Brown said. “He lost his way a little bit and needed to breakthrough. I thought his last race was a breakout performance. He's got to step up but there aren't too many options for a horse like him this time of year, so we're giving it a shot.”

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Pletcher will seek his third Red Smith coup when saddling Donegal Racing's Shamrocket, who added a stakes win to his resume last out in the Point of Entry on October 24 at Belmont going 12 furlongs.

The 4-year-old Tonalist bay rounded out the trifecta in the July 5 Grand Couturier at Belmont ahead of a late-closing third in the Grade 2 Bowling Green on July 31 at Saratoga.

“I thought he got the trip we were looking for last time, it was nice to see him get that stake win,” Pletcher said. “I think the cutback is fine. He's had some success going three turns and seems to run well no matter what you throw at him.”

Shamrocket will leave from post 5 carrying 124 pounds. under Javier Castellano.

Wertheimer and Frere homebred No Word, also for the Pletcher barn, was a last out fifth in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker on October 10 at Belmont. The 4-year-old Silent Name colt has earned graded stakes placings three times, including a runner-up effort in last year's Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational.

Carrying 122 pounds, No Word will be piloted by Jose Lezcano post 9.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Morris Bailey, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso's Solider Rising will face elders for the first time while attempting to become the first 3-year-old to win the Red Smith since Monarch's Maze in 1999. The son of Frankel strives to make amends after cutting back to nine furlongs and finishing fifth as the beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Hill Prince on October 23 at Belmont.

Soldier Rising was second in both the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 7 and the Jockey Club Derby Invitational six weeks later at Belmont for trainer Christophe Clement.

“I think he's good enough to make the jump,” said Clement, who saddled previous Red Smith winners Flag Down [1995] and Grassy [2010]. “I thought he ran well last time, but we asked of him an impossible task being so far back.”

Solider Rising, who will carry 118 pounds, is owned by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Morris Bailey, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso. Jose Ortiz will ride from post 3.

Completing the field are Tide of the Sea [post 1, Luis Saez, 126], Corelli [post 6, Manny Franco, 126], Sanctuary City [post 8, Ruben Silvera, 122] and Price Talk [post 10, Eric Cancel, 122].

Known as the Edgemere Handicap until 1981, the Red Smith pays tribute to the late Pulitzer Prize winning author and sportswriter Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith, whose 55-year career in journalism covered a wide array of sports, including horseracing, for the New York Herald Tribune and the New York Times. The Red Smith will be carded as Race 9 on Saturday's 10-race program. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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Turf Festival At Del Mar Attracts Number of East Coast Trainers

The nomination deadline is not until Thursday night for the seven stakes races from Thanksgiving Thursday to closing day on Sunday, November 28, unofficially known as the “Turf Festival” at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

And New York-based trainer Chad Brown, who has shipped in nine winners from his deep bench of grass runners in the past, hasn't been heard from yet.

But several other prominent Midwest- and East Coast-based conditioners have, leading to expectations in the racing office of quality and quantity invaders for the main events on the Bing Crosby Season's final four days.

A sneak peek, with horse names being withheld until close of entries:

Hollywood Turf Cup, Friday, November 26th, Grade 2, $250,000, 1 ½ miles (turf), 3-year-olds and up: Trainer Mike Maker has placed five in nomination for a race Brad Cox won last year with Arklow.

Hollywood Derby, Saturday, November 27th, Grade 1, $400,000, 1 1/8 miles (turf), 3-year-olds: Wesley Ward, Dallas Stewart, Ken McPeek, Maker (2), Jack Sisterson (2), Graham Motion, and Gregory Sacco have nominees. Brown has won it three times, sending out Annals of Time (2016), Raging Bull (2018), and Domestic Spending last year.

Seabiscuit Handicap, Saturday, November 27th, Grade 2, $250,000, 1 1/16 miles (turf), 3-year-olds and up: One horse from Japan is listed while Maker has submitted two names and Motion one. Phil D'Amato has carried the locally-based trainer banner to wins with Midnight Storm (2015), Hunt (2017), and Count Again (2020). Add Richard Baltas' win with Next Shares in 2019 and this has been a good Festival race for the home team.

Jimmy Durante Stakes, Saturday, November 27, Grade 3, $100,000, 1 mile (turf), 2-year-old fillies: Maker and Motion (2) have nominees for an event dominated by shippers over the years. Brown-trained Fluffy Socks won last year. Mike Stidham won the two years before that and George Weaver, Motion, and Mark Casse have also scored in the seven editions at Del Mar.

Cecil B. DeMille Stakes, Sunday, November 28, Grade 3, $100,000, 1 mile (turf), 2-year-olds: Motion has an early nominee in an event that has been good for locals. Smooth Like Strait won for Mike McCarthy in 2019 and Beer Can Man for Mark Glatt last year. Both horses ran during the recent Breeders' Cup Week here.

Matriarch Stakes, Sunday, November 28, Grade 1, $400,000, 1 mile (turf), older fillies and mares: Trainer Joe Sharp has two nominated and Stidham one for the climactic stakes race of the meeting. Brown has shipped in three winners in seven meetings, among them Viadera in 2020.

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Sisterson Points Channel Cat To Red Smith At Aqueduct

Trainer Jack Sisterson said Calumet Farm's homebred Channel Cat will ship to New York for Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Red Smith at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Initially training for a start in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf last Saturday at Del Mar, Channel Cat did not draw into the race and did not breeze last weekend. On Saturday morning, Channel Cat went a half-mile in :49.60 over the Keeneland main track.

“He's showing signs that he's coming up for a big effort,” Sisterson said. “We had his work schedule penned out to run in the Breeders' Cup. We missed a work with him because we didn't want to put him over the top.”

Last out, Channel Cat was a distant sixth in the G2 Kentucky Turf Cup on September 11 at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., when tracking the pace from third.

Sisterson said he would like to see Channel Cat, who will add blinkers, show the same early speed which earned him victories in the G1 Man o' War in May at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and the G2 Bowling Green in August 2019 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“I felt like his last couple of starts he lacked that little bit of spark and the addition of blinkers will help him do that,” Sisterson said. “In the race at Kentucky Downs, he didn't make the lead and didn't really finish up. I felt that there was something missing the last two races and I think blinkers will help.”

Channel Cat boasts a ledger of 29-6-3-5 with earnings in excess of $1.4 million.

Sisterson spoke of the recent retirement of Grade 1-winner Lexitonian, who upset the G1 A.G. Vanderbilt field in July at Saratoga at 34-1 odds. The son of Speightstown, a Calumet Farm homebred, was ninth in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint last Saturday and will stand at Lane's End Farm in Midway, Kentucky for a $10,000 stud fee.

“It's a dream for myself, the barn, and the rest of the guys who do all the hard work for the horse to go on to a fantastic second career and to a farm like Lane's End,” Sisterson said. “It's very humbling that Calumet and Lane's End were able to work something out. He's every trainer's dream to have speed, be sound, and win a Grade 1. He should have a successful stud career.”

Lexitonian is the first progeny out of the Tapit mare Riviera Romper. His second dam is Swap Fliparoo, who captured the 2006 G1 Test at Saratoga.

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