Channel Maker will take a shot at Breeders' Cup Turf

A second-place finish in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Oct. 5 marked the sixth consecutive race in which Channel Maker has finished in the first four of a Grade 1 or Grade 2 race since early March. The consistent streak is enough for trainer Bill Mott to start Channel Maker in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.

Channel Maker was beaten a half-length by Arklow in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. Channel Maker led in the stretch, but could not sustain the advantage. Mott said earlier this week he considered the result to be a positive.

“His last race was very good,” he said. “He went into the race extremely well. If we can get him into the Breeders’ Cup as well as the Joe Hirsch, maybe we can get a piece of the action.”

Channel Maker, who races for Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, will be an outsider in the BC Turf, the richest grass race in the United States.

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The potential field is led by Bricks and Mortar, the leading turf runner in the United States this year, and candidates such as Anthony Van Dyck, Japan, and Magical for Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien. Magical may start in the Group 1 British Champions Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. O’Brien cautioned that Japan may not race again this year, but told reporters that no final plan had been reached.

Bricks and Mortar is also under consideration for the BC Mile.

Pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup races will be compiled on Monday and announced on Oct. 23.

Channel Maker has shown the ability to lead early in a race and be a factor at the finish, as he did in the Joe Hirsch, or make a winning move from off the pace, as he did in the Grade 1 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park in May.

While the Man o’ War is Channel Maker’s only win in seven starts this year, he has earned $1,062,108, a career-best for a single season. Overall, Channel Maker has won 5 of 28 starts and $2,152,108.

Last November, Channel Maker finished 11th in the BC Turf on a “good” surface. The course is likely to be firm on Nov. 2.

“I don’t know if we’re good enough,” Mott said. “We’re good enough to pick up a check.”

John Velazquez rode Channel Maker in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and will have the mount in the BC Turf, Mott said.

Enable done for the year

The 2019 campaign for Enable ended with her runner-up finish in the Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 6, but she could race next season at age 6 in an attempt to win the Arc for a third time.

The Racing Post reported Tuesday that Enable will not contest the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita. She won the race last year at Churchill Downs.

Enable is owned by Khalid Abudullah, whose racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe told The Racing Post that Enable’s “racing programme will be determined entirely by her wellbeing, so no racing plans will be announced at this stage. The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe remains an important target.”

John Gosden trains Enable, who has won 13 races and $13,663,326 from 15 starts, including the Arc in 2017-18.

– additional reporting by Brad Free