Channel Maker leads parade of Mott runners in weekend stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – After warm and dry conditions dominated the majority of the month at Belmont Park, some rain and cooler temperatures are forecast to end September and usher in October. On that front, the timing couldn’t be better for trainer Bill Mott, at least as far as his three-time Grade 1 winner Channel Maker is concerned.

When Channel Maker runs in Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Mott would certainly like to see the Belmont turf course less firm than it has been for the first two weeks of the meet, when firm ground led to some really quick times.

“I hope it’s not this hard,” said Mott, noting that the final time of Saturday’s Grade 3 Noble Damsel, a one-mile stakes for fillies and mares, was a stakes record 1:32.06.

:: Get DRF Betting Strategies for Belmont’s Saturday card

Channel Maker is coming off a dominant victory over soft Saratoga turf in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on Aug. 29, earning a career-best 108 Beyer Speed Figure. The victory ended a 10-race losing streak.

“He’s consistent in that he’s always right there, but he doesn’t always run a 108 Beyer,” Mott said.

Channel Maker, a 6-year-old gelding by English Channel, will be making his fourth straight appearance in the Joe Hirsch, named in honor of Daily Racing Form’s esteemed columnist who died in 2009. Channel Maker won the race in 2018 and finished second in it last year.

Channel Maker is expected to head a field that will include Cross Border, the Sword Dancer runner-up, as well as Highland Sky, Laccario, Master Piece, Rockemperor, and Sadler’s Joy, who also will be making his fourth straight appearance in the Hirsch.

The Joe Hirsch, a stepping-stone to the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 7 at Keeneland, is one of eight graded stakes scheduled for the weekend at Belmont. Mott could have runners in all of them.

Mott plans to run Moon Over Miami and South Bend in Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational for 3-year-olds.

Moon Over Miami will be running back just three weeks after he won the Dueling Grounds Derby on Sept. 10 at Kentucky Downs.

“There’s not many 3-year-old races left,” Mott said. “He’s proven he wants a little more ground, so you got a 3-year-old race with a little more ground, what are you going to do? His coat is as slick as a seal right now.”

South Bend will be switching back to the turf after a last-place finish behind Authentic in the Kentucky Derby. South Bend had actually shipped to Churchill Downs to run in the $500,000 American Turf for 3-year-olds on turf, but was re-routed to the Derby after several defections, most notably that of Art Collector.

“If you look at his numbers, he’s equally good on both” surfaces, Mott said.

Speaking of the Kentucky Derby effort, Mott said, “They got away from him early and I don’t think [jockey Tyler Gaffalione] beat him up the last part, which was good on his part.”

:: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Belmont Clocker Report

On Sunday, South Bend, worked a solid half-mile in 47.81 seconds over the Belmont Park training track.

Mott will send out Endorsed in the Grade 2, $150,000 Kelso Handicap going a mile on dirt. Earlier this year, Endorsed finished second to Code of Honor in the Grade 3 Westchester, a one-turn 1 1/16-mile race here. He finished seventh, beaten 4 1/2 lengths, in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on July 4.

The Kelso is not expected to draw a big field. As of Sunday, only Code of Honor, Complexity, and Endorsed were confirmed. Bon Raison and Mo Dont No are possible.

Code of Honor worked a solid half-mile in 48.52 on Monday morning over the Belmont main track.

Mott is expected to send out American Monarch in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Pilgrim Stakes for 2-year-olds on turf. American Monarch, a debut winner on Aug. 8 at Saratoga, would be wheeling back just two weeks after he finished fourth in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine.

Mott didn’t feel American Monarch had the greatest of trips in the Summer and is worthy of another stakes try.

Mott also supplemented the 3-year-old filly Frank’s Rockette to Saturday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap. Mott had been planning to run her in Saturday’s Miss Preakness at Pimlico, but logistics in having to be at Pimlico by Wednesday as well as the prospect of a light field in the Gallant Bloom may prompt Mott to run her in New York.

On Sunday, Mott plans to run Horologist in the Grade 2, $150,000 Beldame Stakes, Chewing Gum in the Grade 3, $150,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational, and Lovestruck in the Grade 2, $150,000 Miss Grillo Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on turf.