Belmont Park
Gunite will look for Grade 1 double in Champagne
Debra A. Roma Gunite wins the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga.
ELMONT, N.Y. – In 2020, Jackie’s Warrior followed his Grade 1 victory in the Hopeful with a Grade 1 victory in the Champagne.
Steve Asmussen, who trains Jackie’s Warrior, is hoping for history to repeat itself when he sends out Hopeful winner Gunite in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne with a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on the line.
Gunite, a son of Gun Runner, will be making the sixth start of his juvenile campaign in the Champagne, a one-turn mile race.
He will take on five rivals: Hopeful runner-up Wit; impressive maiden winners My Prankster and Jack Christopher; Kavod; and the maiden Commandperformance.