Channel Maker prevails by a neck in game Man o' War performance

ELMONT, N.Y. – When Channel Maker won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational here last September, he did so racing on the front end over a soft turf course.

Saturday, Channel Maker showed he can be equally as effective coming from off the pace over firm ground.

In a strangely run race, Channel Maker made up 8 1/2 lengths in the final three furlongs to run down the ambitious pacesetter Hunting Horn while holding off a late run from Arklow to win the Grade 1, $700,000 Man o’ War by a neck at Belmont Park. Arklow finished second by a half-length over Magic Wand, who edged her stablemate Hunting Horn for third.

Channel Maker gave trainer Bill Mott his second victory in the Man o’ War, his first coming 32 years ago with Theatrical. Since then, Mott had gone winless with 13 starters in 11 runnings of the Man o’ War.

It also came a week after Mott won his first Kentucky Derby with Country House.

Unlike that victory, which came complete with a controversial disqualification of Maximum Security, this one came with benefit of a good ride from Joel Rosario.

Hunting Horn, one of two horses shipped here from Ireland by trainer Aidan O’Brien, was sent hard to the lead by Michael Hussey. Hunting Horn ran fractions of 22.98 seconds for the quarter, 47.47 for the half-mile, and 1:12.48 for six furlongs while opening up a five-length lead. That advantage grew to eight lengths after he ran a mile in 1:36.27.

Rosario, meanwhile, had Channel Maker a clear third, about three lengths behind the second-place runner Epical and eight lengths off the pace.

“I thought they were going a little quickly for the distance, I just kind of stayed behind the other two there and was there without taking back,” Rosario said.

Rosario started really asking Channel Maker around the far turn and he moved into second by the quarter pole. In the stretch, he set sail after Hunting Horn, who wasn’t stopping, collared that one with about 70 yards to go and held off Arklow, who rallied from last to get second.

Channel Maker, a 5-year-old gelding by English Channel owned by Adam Wachtel, Gary Barber, Dean Reeves, and Randy Hill, covered the 1 3/8 miles in 2:12.43 and returned $15.80 as the sixth choice in the field of nine.

“I took my time but I was keeping my eye on the horse on the lead because on the [far] turn, he was definitely getting away a little bit,” Rosario said. “[Hunting Horn] ran a monster race. I got there, caught him, but with this horse you got to ride him. The more you ride him, the more he gives it to you. At that point, I stayed busy and hopefully nobody comes from the back and gets me.”

Florent Geroux was trying to get to Channel Maker, but he ran out of ground. In essence, this was Arklow’s first start of 2019 since in an allowance race at Keeneland on April 5 he unseated Geroux leaving the gate.

“I’m heartbroken,” Geroux said. “He ran too good to lose . . . We were worried about his fitness level since he hadn’t raced this year, but he was ready. An amazing race, it was just too bad.”

Magic Wand, a filly taking on boys, also came with a solid late run under Wayne Lordan but could only manage third.

T.J. Comerford, the assistant to O’Brien, said O’Brien wanted his two horses to run like that, with Hunting Horn speeding off from the rail and Magic Wand ridden to come from off the pace.

“I thought we went nice, even fractions the whole way and I thought he was going to hold on,” Comerford said of Hunting Horn. “He just ran out of petrol and the filly came home well. It was Aidan’s plan to take his time with the filly and to ride her to come like that.”

Comerford said both Magic Wand and Hunting Horn would return to Ireland but could come back to race in the U.S. again later this year.

Hunting Horn finished fourth by 3 1/2 lengths over Epical who was followed, in order, by Focus Group, the 5-2 favorite, Zulu Alpha, Village King, and Kulin Rock.