Call Me Harry looks like a contender in English Channel Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – He’s only sprinted and only faced New York-breds, but Call Me Harry has been impressive winning his first two starts. Those victories, combined with a pedigree that indicates he should stretch out in distance and a pair of strong recent works, suggest he’s a player in Saturday’s $100,000 English Channel Stakes for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.

A field of eight was entered for the English Channel, scheduled for one mile on the inner turf course.

Trainer Kelsey Danner said the goal all along was to run Call Me Harry a route of ground. But at Saratoga, the options were 5 1/2 furlongs or 1 1/8 miles, so she opted to start him out sprinting. In his debut, Call Me Harry won from a stalking position. He came back to win his first-level allowance condition by four lengths in front-running fashion.

“I’m surprised how quick he was last time taking them gate to wire. That was a salty bunch,” Danner said. “We asked him that day. I do think he can sit off of it. I don’t know if he will going a mile. I’ve been impressed with him. He does everything right all the time. His works have been really great up there.”

On Oct. 13, Call Me Harry worked a bullet five furlongs in 59.67 seconds over the inner turf at Belmont. He came back last week and worked a strong six furlongs in 1:13.41.

The horse to beat in the English Channel is Front Run the Fed, who has reeled off three consecutive victories on turf, including a half-length victory in the Better Talk Now Stakes going a mile at Saratoga. Front Run the Fed is trained by Chad Brown, who is about to put a bow on his eighth consecutive Belmont fall meet trainer’s title.

Bourbon War finished second in the Better Talk Now. He came back and finished seventh in the Grade 2 Hill Prince three weeks ago. Trainer Mark Hennig said Bourbon War was too far back off a slow pace in the Hill Prince.

“I throw that last race out based on pace. We were in the wrong place,” Hennig said. “He didn’t get to run much in that race.”

Seismic Wave is shortening up to a mile, the distance at which he won the Cutler Bay at Gulfstream in March. He finished sixth in the Hill Prince last out.

“He’ll suck you in to running him farther,” trainer Bill Mott said.

Halladay trains like a horse who one would figure has already won a stakes. But the English Channel will be his stakes debut. He is trained by Todd Pletcher, who was the trainer of English Channel.

Power Player, Chilly in Charge, and Digital Footprint complete the field.

Big field for Awad Stakes

Tiesto and Don Juan Kitten were both impressive winning their debuts here earlier in the meet. Saturday, the pair square off in a large field of 11 entered in the $100,000 Awad Stakes for 2-year-olds at one mile.

Tiesto, a $600,000 2-year-old-in-training purchase by Tiznow and a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Promises Fulfilled, came from off the pace to win his Sept. 21 debut by 3 1/2 lengths for trainer Bill Mott and owners LNJ Foxwoods and NK Racing. Mr. Shortandsimple, seventh behind Tiesto, won Thursday’s opener, a maiden $30,000 claiming race on dirt.

“He’s a big, long-striding horse – he was able to get the trip without being bounced around or anything,” Mott said of Tiesto.

Mott said he would have rather seen the Awad run at a distance farther than one mile.

Don Juan Kitten, a son of Kitten’s Joy trained by Danny Gargan for Ken and Sarah Ramsey, was a front-running maiden winner here going a mile on Oct. 5. Gargan’s only concern is coming back in three weeks.

“If I had five weeks, I’d tell you he’d win the race,” Gargan said. “I’ve said it all year, he’s the best 2-year-old I have. He’s really a talented horse.”

Talking won a one-mile maiden race in front-running fashion on Aug. 17, then finished sixth to Decorated Invader coming from off the pace in the Grade 1 Summer at Woodbine.

“That was a deep race. Clearly [Decorated Invader] was the class of the field,” said Jonathan Thomas, the trainer of Talking. “We learned a little bit more about him. On numbers, it looks like he belongs.”

Irish Mias won the Laurel Futurity as a maiden for trainer Graham Motion in his first start going long. Get Smokin also successfully stretched out from a third in a sprint to win his maiden here on Sept. 18. Buy Land and See was a dominant winner of a two-turn 7 1/2-furlong maiden race at Parx on Sept. 21.