Jack Christopher Takes Command in Champagne Stakes
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Janet Garaguso
Jack Christopher wins the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park
Running true to his odds as the 8-5 favorite, Jack Christopher captured the $500,000 Champagne Stakes (G1) Oct. 2 at Belmont Park by more than two lengths over graded stakes winners Gunite and Wit .
The strapping son of Munnings , owned by Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud, and Peter Brant, stalked early leader and Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner Gunite in the early going, then took command as they rounded the turn. The colt trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz pulled away to an easy victory, stopping the timer for a mile on a fast track in 1:37.31.
Jack Christopher stamped himself as a serious contender in his division when he won his debut Aug. 28 by 8 3/4 lengths in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course. His performance was so impressive that handicappers made him the heavy favorite over Gunite and Wit. The latter won the Sanford Stakes (G3) and was the only other stakes winner in the field.
Gunite shook free in the early going to take the lead but Jack Christopher moved quickly into a stalking position. Gunite, Winchell Thoroughbreds' homebred son of Gun Runner , led through an opening quarter in :23.57 and a half in :46.49 but in mid-turn he and Jack Christopher were bridle-to-bridle.
With the shake of the right rein from Ortiz, Jack Christopher pulled away and never faced a serious challenge. Longshot Commandperformance put in a strong run in mid-stretch to finish second, followed by Wit in third.
"He gave me a great kick," said Ortiz. "When he passed (Gunite), he stopped running a little bit. He didn't give me everything he had, I believe. I think first time going a mile this will help him for that next step."
Brown said Jack Christopher showed his exceptional talent as early as his first work.
"I was on the phone with the connections saying, 'This is potentially a really good horse. I can't believe what I just saw,'" the trainer said. "He's just been brilliant in every work. There was some buzz around him before he ran, and he lived up to it."
Jack Christopher is Brown's third Champagne winner, following Complexity in 2018 and Practical Joke in 2016.
The Champagne Stakes is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race for the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1). Complexity went to be unplaced in the Juvenile and Practical Joke was third. Brown said he's hoping Jack Christopher follows in the steps of Good Magic , who was second in the 2017 Champagne and went on to win the Juvenile and 2-year-old championship honors.
"Where does he fall? I hope with Good Magic. He looks a lot like him," said Brown when asked to compare the three runners. "What I like a lot about him is that he switches off nicely. He's not a horse that pulls. If you drop your hands, he'll switch off and rate. Will he do that around two turns? I don't know, but we'll be sure to have him prepared in the morning to take a little dirt and sit. We'll see if he can do it at Del Mar."
Jack Christopher and his connections head to the winner's circle at Belmont
Jockey Tyler Gaffalione aboard Commandperformance said Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's son of Union Rags put himself in a great spot down the backside.
"I was able to see everybody in front of me. Going around the turn, I started to get him into gear and he kept responding," Gaffalione said. "His gallop out was great. He seems like he'll love the distance going forward."
Byron Hughes, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, said he was happy with Commandperformance's run.
"He had the outside post and Tyler took advantage of that. He kept him out there and kept his face clean. He was gaining on the winner at the end and had a good gallop out. We're happy with the effort."
Hughes also saddled Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable, and Gainesway's Wit, a son of Practical Joke, who was slow out of the gate and the trailer in the early going.
"It was his typical start," he said about Wit. "I don't think he's ever going to be that fast out of the gate. Irad (Ortiz Jr.) got him into a good rhythm, but he had a little trouble there on the turn. He made up some ground but just couldn't get to the winner."
Jack Christopher paid $5.40, $3.40, and $2.70. Commandperformance paid $7.10 and $3.10, and Wit paid $2.60. A $2 exacta paid $45.40.
After his Champagne victory, Jack Christopher has earnings of $330,000 from his two wins in as many starts. He was bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate out of the Half Ours mare Rushin No Blushin, a half sister to multiple grade 1 winner and sire Street Boss , whose last reported foal is a yearling Mo Town filly. The mare was bred to Complexity for 2022.
BSW/Crow bought Jack Christopher for $135,000 from Paramount Sales' consignment to the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale.