Channel Maker wins from the front

JOE HIRSCH TURF CLASSIC

STAKES (GRADE 1)

CHANNEL Maker earned his first Grade 1 stakes score, taking the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park last Saturday. Owned by Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber and trained by Bill Mott, the four-year-old son of English Channel led every step of the way to win by four and a half lengths over the favourite Robert Bruce and Sadler’s Joy.

Jose Ortiz deputised for Joel Rosario, not an easy task on the high-headed gelding.

“He’s a really difficult horse to ride,” Mott said. “I think he’s hard to get comfortable on, you’ve got to sit still but you can’t make any bad moves on him. If you push too hard or pull too hard his head comes up and he goes in.”

The simplest way to ride any horse is from the front end, which Ortiz engineered with his typical aplomb.

Channel Maker lost seven starts (all stakes) in a row before finishing in a dead-heat for the win with Glorious Empire in the Bowling Green at Saratoga in July. He came back to finish second to that rival in the Sword Dancer. Trainer Chuck Lawrence opted to skip the Hirsch and aim Glorious Empire at the Breeders’ Cup.

“He’s good, really good. He’s had two strong works, he runs well fresh,” Lawrence said this week. “I thought we would skip the Joe Hirsch and go there fresh. He’s proven he runs well like that.”

Little horse looks imperious

VOSBURGH STAKES

(GRADE 1)

IMPERIAL Hint continued his reign as the best sprinter in the country, dominating the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park last Saturday for Raymond Marmone and trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. Ridden by Javier Castellano, the five-year-old son of Imperialism won for the third consecutive time and 12th time in his storybook career.

Sent off the overwhelming favourite in the field of seven, Imperial Hint controlled the race from the start, strolling to a one and a quarter-length score over Mr Crow and Silver Ride. “I can’t give any more credit to the horse and the jockey,” said Carvajal. “The horse makes the trainer. This horse is just taking me to the spotlight and I love him. He’s a small horse but he has tons of heart.”

Next stop, Breeders’ Cup.

“We wanted to try to get an easy race before the Breeders’ Cup, because you don’t really want to go into that race having to run really hard and I was happy the way the field for this race came out,” said Carvajal. “You always worry, especially when you’re 1/5, 1/9, but the way he did it was good. I was a little worried at the end, hoping that Javier didn’t hold him back too much, but the track is fast, and I couldn’t ask for anything else from this little horse he was great.”