SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The stalwart turf distance specialist Channel Maker will make his sixth start in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga. Could he be saving his best for last? “Obviously, he’s gotten older, but he still gives you everything he’s got every time he steps out on to the track,” said Randy Hill of R.A. Hill Stables, one of the owners of the 9-year-old gelding, who won the race in 2020 and will be retired after his 2023 campaign. “It’d be something if he could go out there and win it. If he does, then you have to think about the Breeders’ Cup [Turf] again.” Certainly Channel Maker comes into the 1 1/2-mile Sword Dancer – a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Turf – with better form than in recent years. Four weeks ago at Saratoga, Channel Maker went to the lead in the 1 3/8-mile Bowling Green Stakes and didn’t look back, posting a two-length victory that earned him a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, his best number since his 2020 championship campaign. But that was his first win since the Grand Couturier more than a year ago, which he followed up with a disappointing 10th-place finish in the 2022 Sword Dancer seven weeks later. And he obviously had things go his way in the Bowling Green – good turf, rather than firm, and the scratch of the only other speed in the race, Strong Quality. :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  While Strong Quality will not face him this time either, Channel Maker will likely get challenged on the lead by two feisty globe-trotting Irish-breds, Stone Age and Bolshoi Ballet. Both are owned by the connections of Coolmore, the worldwide racing and breeding operation that seeks out big wins on multiple continents as a way to make a stallion page pop. Even though it’s been more than a year since he won a race, morning-line favorite Stone Age seems to be the biggest threat in the Sword Dancer to get the lead or press Channel Maker. Still, it’s tough to make a 6-5 case for him, given the mileage, questions about his fitness, and the lack of recent success. Since finishing fifth in the 2022 Saratoga Derby Invitational, he’s traveled to Ireland, England, Kentucky, Hong Kong, and Qatar, with nary a win on his dance card, though he did finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. When he was shipped back to the United States earlier this year, he went from the barn of one turf specialist to another: Aidan O’Brien to Chad Brown. Stone Age last raced in February, was initially shipped to Brown down at Palm Meadows in Florida, and didn’t get back to the track for serious work until July. Brown has put five works into the 4-year-old Galileo colt, all over the turf, but he acknowledged that jumping into a Grade 1 race at 1 1/2 miles is a dicey prospect off a six-month layoff. “I’m about a work or so short of what I normally would do for this type of race off a layoff,” Brown said Thursday. “But the race is here and I really want to get him started. I’ve been very pleased with how he’s moving and his condition.” Bolshoi Ballet, who is trained by O’Brien and winless in his last six starts – including a 21 1/2-length drubbing at 125-1 in a Group 1 at Royal Ascot – was shipped to the United States in the hopes of finding firmer ground, according to assistant trainer T.J. Comerford. “He’s arrived in good order, he’s grand and fresh,” Comerford said. “We’re hoping he’s starting to pick it up now and he’s back to somewhere near where he should be. You’re not going to get your ground at home at the moment. It’s been very wet.” Unfortunately, he might not get the ground he wants on his second stateside tour either. Rain is in the forecast Thursday through Saturday. :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. A closer who might like softer ground is Soldier Rising, who was bumped and had to check hard going into the final turn in the Bowling Green and is looking to make amends. Christophe Clement trains the 5-year-old, and Jose Ortiz is in the saddle. The up-and-comer in the race is the closer Pioneering Spirit, winner of his last four, all on turf, the last at 1 3/8 miles. Linda Rice claimed him out of a $40,000 race in his first start in 2023 after Todd Pletcher was unable to get a win out of him in 2022. Rice moved him to the turf after two disappointing maiden starts, and he’s been a rocket ship ever since. Still, his best Beyer is a 93, not enough to win this, but he’s still improving, according to Rice. “No one said we’re confident,” Rice said. “But he’s getting better and better, he’s loved the grass, and he’s getting better even as we stretch him out. And so we’re here, and his owner is coming down from Canada, and he’s excited to be in a big race on Travers Day.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.