Belmont Park Saturday

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (Grade 1)

THE Bill Mott-trained Channel Maker won his second renewal of the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes with a typical front-running effort in a US turf race.

Though the US turf horses seem below the standard of some past years, the son of English Channel has been consistent in his last few races and was adding to his Grade 1 Sword Dancer win from Saratoga last time.

Now a six-year-old, the chesnut gelding was ridden to victory by jockey Manny Franco who set a slow pace from the front to a mile in 1m 38.20secs, kicked into the stretch and could not be caught.

The gelding was making his fourth appearance in the Joe Hirsch. He finished second in the race last year to Arklow and was sixth in 2017. Channel Maker has now earned a tasty $2,631,551 in his career.

When the gates opened, Channel Maker took the early lead, was joined by Cross Border to his outside, but Channel Maker never relinquished his lead. The final time on the firm course was 2m 25.99secs.

Channel Maker won by two and a quarter from the 2019 Deutsches Derby winner Laccario and Sadler’s Joy with the favourite, Rockemperor, only fifth of the seven.

Laccario finished well on the outside having lost his place on the bend and is one to note now that he joins Graham Motion and when he gets a better pace to run at.

“It doesn’t always work out as planned, but it did today and it did last time,” Mott said.

“He had a little pressure early from Cross Border but he was able to sneak away from him.”

Kelso Handicap

One of last season’s top three-year-olds when he won the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup at 10 furlongs, Code Of Honor is still winless as a four-year-old as he failed to overhaul the Chad Brown-trained Complexity in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap over a mile.

Complexity, a Klaravich Stables-owned son of Maclean’s Music, took over on the turn and was in front into the stretch after running six furlongs in a reasonable 1m 10.05secs.

Code Of Honor challenged in the final furlong and a half but could never catch the leader who finished clear by two and a quarter lengths. The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile may be his end of season option.

It had seems a strange choice to run Code Of Honor here instead of over the longer distance in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup this weekend as he has looked short of speed at the shorter trip.

In the absence of Saratoga Derby winner Domestic Spending, who had held him by a head in that race, the favourite Gufo took the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes, a 10-furlong turf contest for three-year-olds.

The son of Declaration Of War is trained by Christophe Clement, has now won five of seven starts and was placed in the other two.

“He won well. I thought he had a great trip from Junior (Alvarado), and when he asked him to quicken, he really quickened well in the stretch. He’s a good horse,” Clement said.

He gains free entry to the Breeders’ Cup Turf but also has the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby as an option later on in November.