After a Red Light, Green Light Go Set for Champagne

In the end, it all worked out as planned for Stronach Stables' Green Light Go.

In the winner's circle Aug. 10 after the 2-year-old homebred son of Hard Spun  posted a decisive 3 3/4-length victory in the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2), trainer Jimmy Jerkens indicated that returning the unbeaten juvenile in the Sept. 2 Runhappy Hopeful Stakes (G1) would probably be too quick of a turnaround.

He pointed to the Oct. 5 Champagne Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park as a more likely target.

But Green Light Go had other plans. He bounced out of the Saratoga Special with so much vim and vigor that Jerkens entered him in the Hopeful, only to have Mother Nature interfere. When heavy rains left Saratoga Race Course's main track sloppy for the closing-day feature, he put up a red light and scratched Green Light Go.

"It was the muddy track. If the track was fast, he would have run. He seemed like he was in great shape, but it was a little nerve-wracking running on a track that didn't look like it would get better as the day went on, which it didn't," Jerkens said. "We had talked about the three weeks between races and that wasn't a major issue, but with the wet track, we thought it was best to be a little cautious. Those type of wet tracks are treacherous, and you're always taking more of a chance running on them rather than fast tracks."

So now, all systems are go for the Stronach runner as he was entered in Saturday's $500,000 Champagne after all and will face six rivals in the one-turn, one-mile test that will award the winner a free spot in the $2 million TVG.com Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) through the "Win and You're In" Challenge Series.

The Champagne will be Green Light Go's first start beyond 6 1/2 furlongs. He rallied from a close-up fifth to take the Saratoga Special at that distance and also prevailed in frontrunning fashion by 3 1/4 lengths in his debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race at Belmont Park July 4, and so far Jerkens has yet to see a sign that Saturday's distance will present a formidable obstacle for his promising colt.

"He acts like the distance will not be a problem, looking at his races and the way he's training, though the proof is also in the pudding," said Jerkens, who is back on his feet less than two weeks after hip replacement surgery. "Yet I would be surprised if he doesn't run real well, and it's because of the distance."

Green Light Go, who will break from post 3, has an interesting pedigree mixing speed and stamina. He's a Kentucky-bred son of grade 1 winner Hard Spun, who was second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), out of 2009 Prioress Stakes (G1) runner-up Light Green, who is a daughter of Pleasantly Perfect, a Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (G1) winner at 10 furlongs.

"Even though his mother was a sprinter, she wasn't bred to be a sprinter," Jerkens said. "There's a lot of stamina in his pedigree on the dam side, though that's probably where the speed is coming from because you don't think of speed with the sire (Pleasantly Perfect). It just worked out to be a good nick with Hard Spun. Who knows? Maybe he's a horse that can do it all. It's wishful thinking, but so far from what I've seen, he's acting like he's something special."

Zayat Stables and Gary Barber's Gozilla was tested on the sloppy track in the Hopeful and wound up third for trainer Steve Asmussen as the 6-5 favorite. A 4 1/2-length winner of his only other start, the son of Flatter  battled on the front end through fractions of :22.66 and :45.84 in the seven-furlong grade 1 test but finished 6 3/4 lengths behind his victorious Asmussen stablemate Basin and missed second by a neck to Shoplifted, completing an Asmussen trifecta in the Hopeful.

Since then, Gozilla has put in three works, topped by a five-furlong work in a bullet 1:00.90 Sept. 22 at Saratoga's Oklahoma training track.

Bred in Kentucky by Wildwood Farm and Indian Creek out of the Stormy Atlantic  mare Atlantic Dream, he was bought by Zayat Sables last year for $150,000 from the Indian Creek consignment at The October Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky fall yearling sale, but was a $395,000 RNA at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. 

August Dawn Farm's Three Technique enters the Champagne off an impressive 5 1/2-length score in an Aug. 31 maiden race at Saratoga for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. It marked the third start for the son of Mr Speaker  who was second to Basin one start before that.

"He seems like the type of horse where, with added distance, he's gotten better and better," Englehart said.

Owned by two-time Super Bowl-winning and Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, Three Technique was purchased last year for $180,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky select yearling sale. Bred in Kentucky by Omega Farm and Bally Breeders out of the Harlan's Holiday mare Nite in Rome, he originally went to Spin to Win Stables for $50,000 from the Garrencasey Sales consignment at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Paul Pompa Jr.'s Alpha Sixty Six was a sharp Sept. 7 debut winner at Belmont, overcoming some traffic at the quarter pole to prevail by a neck at 6 1/2 furlongs as an even-money favorite. The son of Liam's Map  is trained by Todd Pletcher, who already owns six Champagne victories, two of them with future Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners.

Bred in Kentucky by Overbrook Farm and Kildare Stud, Alpha Sixty Six is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Giant Sensation. He was purchased for $400,000 by Steven Young from the Eaton Sales consignment at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

"It's an ambitious placing, but we're doing so because he run well first time out and you don't have a lot of options this time of year," Pletcher said. "We've been successful in the past in doing this with some nice 2-year-olds, so hopefully he can step up."

Alpha Sixty Six drew the rail in the field of seven.

Since 2010, the Champagne has produced three winners, two runners-up, and two third-place finishers in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

The Champagne, with a post time of 5:22 p.m. ET, will be the 10th race on an 11-race Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Racing Festival card that features four graded stakes.

There will be television coverage of the card on Fox Sports 2 from 2:30-6 p.m. and from 4-6 p.m. on MSG Networks.

Entries: Champagne S. (G1)

Belmont Park, Saturday, October 05, 2019, Race 10

• Grade I
• 1m
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 2 yo
• 5:22 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Alpha Sixty Six (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Todd A. Pletcher	5/1
2	2Truculent (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	122	Jack Sisterson	30/1
3	3Green Light Go (KY)	Junior Alvarado	122	James A. Jerkens	8/5
4	4Three Technique (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	122	Jeremiah C. Englehart	7/2
5	5Gozilla (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	122	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1
6	6Big City Bob (KY)	Christopher P. DeCarlo	122	Jorge Duarte, Jr.	20/1
7	7Tiz the Law (NY)	Manuel Franco	122	Barclay Tagg	5/2