Bizzee Channel wins battle with Two Emmys; will move on to Mister D. Stakes
In a battle of 5-year-old English Channel geldings, it was Bizzee Channel up by a neck over Two Emmys in the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes last Saturday.
Two Emmys led for much of the 1 3/16-mile Arlington, but Bizzee Channel and Jareth Loveberry slipped through along the fence in upper stretch, and the two horses engaged in a prolonged duel from which Bizzee Channel emerged victorious.
The margin was narrow, but Larry Rivelli, Bizzee Channel’s trainer, said his horse had plenty left in the tank.
“Watch him gallop out. He looks like he could have gone around again,” said Rivelli. “These English Channels, it takes them a while to get good.”
Rivelli hopes Bizzee Channel proves good enough for the Grade 1, $600,000 Mister D. Stakes, formerly the Arlington Million, on Aug. 14.
“I like to give him a little more time between races,” he said, “but we’re home, we’ve never had a starter in that race, and Patricia’s Hope never has either.”
Vince Foglia’s Patricia’s Hope long has been a key client of Rivelli, both owner and trainer regularly topping the Arlington standings.
Bizzee Channel had more comfortably handled Two Emmys in a June allowance race at Arlington, and Two Emmys got closer to the form that landed him a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial on March 20 at Fair Grounds. Trainer and part-owner Hugh Robertson said Two Emmys would be considered for the Mister D., but didn’t seem enthused about throwing his gelding into Grade 1 competition. Domestic Spending, the best grass horse in North America, is expected to start in the race.
◗ The Rivelli-trained One Timer, a 2-year-old who debuted last month with a 12 1/2-length Polytrack maiden win that yielded an 80 Beyer, will start July 31 at Woodbine in the $125,000 Victoria Stakes.