Channel Maker Runs Down Hunting Horn in Man o' War
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Channel Maker's perfectly timed run carries him to victory in the Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park
A late rally took Channel Maker straight to victory May 11 in the $700,000 Man o' War Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park.
The 5-year-old English Channel gelding found the winner's circle for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott for the first time since his Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) win at the New York oval in September. Forwardly placed throughout, he first ran down the frontrunning Hunting Horn inside the final furlong, then held off a late run from Arklow to win by a neck in the shadow of the wire.
Channel Maker settled off Irish import Hunting Horn's early pace in the 1 3/8-mile turf test, with the Aidan O'Brien trainee leading a nine-horse field through a crisp opening quarter in :22.98.
Stalking from third under jockey Joel Rosario, Channel Maker was covered up along the backstretch behind Epical as Hunting Horn maintained his advantage through the half in :47.47, three-quarters in 1:12.48, and a mile in 1:36.27 on the firm inner turf. Headed off the turn for home with Hunting Horn to catch, Rosario asked for more and Channel Maker responded with a strong outside surge.
At the same time, Arklow made his bid from farther outside under Florent Geroux with Magic Wand in close pursuit, but Channel Maker had the advantage and hit the wire in a final time of 2:12.43.
"I thought (Hunting Horn) around the last turn might keep going, but I thought he was going too fast for the distance, and the last half-furlong would be tough to get," Rosario said. "I felt confident, and he's the kind of horse that has a good, strong stride. The more you ride him, the more he gives to you."
Channel Maker won his third graded stakes; he also owns a victory in the 2018 Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course. Owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable, and Wachtel Stable, the gelding registered his first on-the-board finish in his 5-year-old campaign after running fifth in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) and fourth in the Mac Diarmida Stakes (G2T) at Gulfstream Park. He closed his 4-year-old season with a disappointing 11th in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).
Sent off at odds of 6-1, Channel Maker returned $15.60 on a $2 win bet. He improved to 5-4-3 in 24 starts, improving his earnings to $1,917,108 while giving Mott his second career Man o' War victory and first since Theatrical in 1987.
"I always thought the horse could go to the front or lay off it. He has tactical speed, and there was speed in the race today," said co-owner Randy Hill. "Joel rode a perfect race and was right where he needed to be. The horse bounced back off of two subpar performances."
Arklow, the fourth-place finisher in the Breeders' Cup Turf in November at Churchill Downs, defeated Magic Wand by a half-length for second.
"I'm heartbroken. He ran too good to lose," Geroux said. "He closed strong and galloped out amazingly. We were worried about his fitness level since he hadn't raced this year, but he was ready. An amazing race—it was just too bad. The good thing is we have a fresh horse for this year, and hopefully we can win a big one with him."
O'Brien's two entrants who shipped from Ireland, Magic Wand and Hunting Horn, finished third and fourth, respectively.
"I traveled well. I was down on the inside, and we had a real good gallop," said Wayne Lordan, Magic Wand's jockey. "I picked up off of the last turn. I kept going, and I didn't feel that I had any excuse. I think she ran a very solid race."
Epical, favored Focus Group, Zulu Alpha, Village King, and Kulin Rock completed the order of finish.
Hill said the $1 million Woodford Reserve Manhattan Stakes (G1T) June 8 at Belmont remains a possible next step for Channel Maker.
"I'll leave that to Billy Mott, but I'm sure after the way he ran today that he's got the Manhattan right on his radar," he said.
Channel Maker was bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm out of the stakes-winning Horse Chestnut mare In Return. He is a full brother to multiple grade 1 winner Johnny Bear, who was named Canada's champion turf male in 2017.