Glycogen First Stakes Winner for Jack Christopher
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Glycogen defeats Mel Went Home in the P. G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Jack Christopher was perfect in his five one-turn dirt races, winning the 2021 Champagne Stakes (G1), 2022 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1), and 2022 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1), among other contests. A third-place finish in the 2022 Haskell Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles was his lone defeat.
Not surprisingly, many of the freshman sire's progeny have shown promise in dirt sprints, but his first stakes winner, the chestnut filly Glycogen , did something altogether different. She broke through in her stakes debut Sept. 4 by defeating four other 2-year-old fillies in the $194,000 P. G. Johnson Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on grass at Saratoga Race Course. The victory was her second at that distance after she notched a maiden victory at 1 1/16 miles in late July in her second career outing at Ellis Park.
In Thursday's race, the chestnut filly stalked fractions of :24.94, :50.01, and 1:13.67 before launching a successful closing bid to complete the distance in 1:43.94 on a firm turf course. The John Servis trainee paid $10.32 for a $2 win wager.
Mel Went Home ran second, 1 1/4 lengths behind the winner, but 3 1/2 lengths ahead of favored Pros and Cons in third. Pacesetting Baliage weakened to fourth.
Winning jockey John Velazquez called his trip "perfect," noting that Glycogen placed herself within needed range of the slow early pace and that he was able to angle her into the clear in the stretch after saving ground.
"She was very professional," he said. "I pushed out right at the three-sixteenths pole and got rolling. That was very nice. Well done."
Glycogen, bred by H. Allen Poindexter in Kentucky out of the Giant's Causeway mare My Sugar Bear , was a $180,000 purchase last year by fellow trainer John Ennis on behalf of owners Main Line Racing Stable and Avalon Racing Stables from the Wynnstay Sales consignment to Fasig-Tipton's The July Sale. Earlier, her dam also produced Friar's Road (Quality Road ), winner of the 2022 San Marcos Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park.
With Glycogen based at Turfway Park, where Servis has a division of horses, the trainer suggested next month's Jessamine Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland is most likely in her future. That race, as well as the Oct. 3 Miss Grillo Stakes (G2T) at Belmont Park, are some stakes that grant automatic berths to their winners into the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Keeneland.
"We'll see how she comes out of this and try and play it by ear," Servis said. "I know the owners would be tickled to death to go to the Breeders' Cup if that's one of the options, which it probably is."
Jack Christopher stood for a $15,000 fee this past breeding season at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.