Channel Maker, Sadler's Joy Renew Rivalry in Joe Hirsch

The wheel of fortune for older distance turfers in New York will be spun once again Oct. 3, and as a carnival barker would say, where it stops nobody knows.

A year after Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar dominated the scene, turf racing in New York has been like an Alphonse and Gaston comic strip, with the top horses politely taking turns winning the major races.

Heading into the $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park, it's Channel Maker's turn in the spotlight against six rivals. He's coming off a decisive 5 3/4-length victory over Cross Border in the Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T), which accounted for his first victory since May 11, 2019, when he captured the Man o' War Stakes (G1T).

"We've seen some good ones from him before, and that was a good one in the Sword Dancer," trainer Bill Mott said.

Owned by Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, the 6-year-old English Channel  gelding has earned nearly $2.5 million from a record of 6-5-4 from 35 starts, which speaks quite well for his consistency and ability to rise up and turn in a strong effort on a big stage.

As proof, the multiple grade 1 winner prevailed in the 1 1/2-mile Joe Hirsch in 2018 and was second, a half-length back, in 2019. Yet he's never won back-to-back starts.

"I never count on a big effort. You never know what can happen. It all depends on what type of situation it is for him and what type of trip he gets. He came out of his last race in good order and he likes it here at Belmont Park, so we'll see," Mott said. "He's put in some good efforts back-to-back, but sometimes someone might run a big one and he gets beat. He's a neat horse. He always gives you a good effort, and if he gets the right situation, he's tough."

In his start before the Sword Dancer, Channel Maker was fourth across the wire in the Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) but had an excuse.

He was bumped and steadied in the stretch when Sadler's Joy drifted in while charging to a neck victory, causing a chain reaction that consisted of Sadler's Joy bumping Cross Border, who in turn bumped Channel Maker.

While Woodslane Farm's homebred Sadler's Joy narrowly beat Cross Border to the wire, Highland Sky, who rallied wide and steered clear of the traffic issues inside of him, finished ahead of Channel Maker for third by a little less than a length. 

That sequence of events led to Sadler's Joy being dropped from first to fourth and everyone else moving up a notch, much to the chagrin of Sadler's Joy's trainer, Tom Albertrani.

"It was unfortunate he was disqualified in the Bowling Green," Albertrani said. "It could have gone either way with the DQ, but he was the best horse in the race."

While Sadler's Joy, Cross Border, and Channel Maker all moved on to the Sword Dancer, the soggy conditions for the Aug. 29 stakes at Saratoga Race Course worked against the 7-year-old Kitten's Joy  horse as he wound up fourth, 13 1/4 lengths behind Channel Maker.

"It's a shame we got all that rain that weekend. It poured all day long, and I was hoping they would cancel the card with tornado warnings all over the area that day. Then more rain came right on top of the race," Albertrani said. "I was thinking about scratching because he likes firm ground, but he did so well in the (2018) Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Churchill Downs when it was boggy (third behind Enable) that I was hoping he would run as well as he did that day. It was a tough decision to make, but unfortunately we knew he would want firm turf. So we'll just draw a line through that one since he's usually right there every time he runs. He's doing really well now and training fine for the Joe Hirsch."

Though Sadler's Joy has raced twice in the Turf, Albertrani is uncertain if a third trip to the World Championships is on the horizon.

"It depends. A lot of factors are involved," Albertrani said.

Albertrani is also unsure if there will be an 8-year-old campaign for a horse with a mark of 7-4-10 from 32 starts with earnings of $2.6 million.

"There's some talk about retiring him," Albertrani said. "We're trying to find him a stallion farm. That would be the goal, to make him a stallion."

The field of seven also includes Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border, a 6-year-old English Channel ridgling trained by Mike Maker, and Joyce B. Young, Gerald McManis, and Jerrie Stewart McManis' Highland Sky, a 7-year-old Sky Mesa  gelding trained by Barclay Tagg.

Also on hand will be Wonder Stables, Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Michael Kisber, and Bethlehem Stables' Rockemperor, who was second to Instilled Regard in New York's other grade 1 distance turf stakes, the Manhattan Stakes (G1T), and Master Piece, who will be making his United States debut for Fernando Diaz-Valdes Stable, Baalbek Corporation, and Don Alberto Stable after winning at the group 2 level in Chile a few races ago. Both 4-year-old colts are trained by Chad Brown, who is seeking a third victory in the Joe Hirsch.

Rounding out the field is Laccario, a 4-year-old colt making his first start in the U.S. who was a group 1 winner in Germany for trainer Andreas Wohler.

Entries: Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. (G1T)

Belmont Park, Saturday, October 03, 2020, Race 7

• Grade IT
• 1 1/2m
• Turf
• $250,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:03 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sadler's Joy (KY)	Javier Castellano	126	Thomas Albertrani	7/2
2	2Master Piece (CHI)	Jose Lezcano	126	Chad C. Brown	8/1
3	3Channel Maker (ON)	Manuel Franco	126	William I. Mott	5/2
4	4Rockemperor (IRE)	Jose L. Ortiz	126	Chad C. Brown	2/1
5	5Cross Border (NY)	Kendrick Carmouche	126	Michael J. Maker	9/2
6	6Laccario (GER)	Dylan Davis	126	Andreas Wohler	15/1
7	7Highland Sky (KY)	Junior Alvarado	126	Barclay Tagg	12/1