Jack Christopher wins Grade 1 Champagne impressively off debut victory
ELMONT, N.Y. -- In 2017, the last time the Breeders’ Cup was held at Del Mar, trainer Chad Brown won the $2 million Juvenile with Good Magic, a maiden after a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Champagne.
This year, when the Breeders’ Cup returns to Del Mar on Nov. 5-6, Brown will be back with a contender for the $2 million Juvenile with Jack Christopher, who dominated Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths at Belmont Park. He earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.
Commandperformance, a maiden, rallied from well back to finish second, seven lengths clear of Wit. My Prankster was fourth, followed by Hopeful winner Gunite and longshot Kavod.
The victory earned Jack Christopher a fees-paid berth into the Juvenile, to be run Nov. 5. Brown said Jack Christopher kind of reminds him of Good Magic. Jose Ortiz rode Good Magic and he rides Jack Christopher.
“I gave this mount to Jose because when this horse first breezed he reminded me of him,” Brown said. “We’ll see where he ends up. He’s done one thing Good Magic couldn’t do and that’s win this race.”
Jack Christopher, a son of Munnings, was a flashy 8 3/4-length debut winner at Saratoga on the Aug. 28 Travers Day undercard. Saturday, he validated that performance by beating a field that includes Grade 1 winner Gunite and Grade 3 winner Wit.
Under Ortiz, Jack Christopher moved into second, outside of Kavod, and a couple of lengths behind Gunite, after a quarter of 23.57 seconds. Jack Christopher continued to follow Gunite through a half-mile in 46.49 and drew alongside of him at the three-furlong pole. The two ran together until upper stretch when Jack Christopher opened up while Gunite shortened stride. Ortiz continued to push on Jack Christopher as Commandperformance tried to make a run at him in the stretch.
Jack Christopher, a son of Munnings owned by Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, and Coolmore Stable -- the latter having recently bought into the colt -- covered the mile in 1:37.61 and returned $5.40 as the favorite.
Ortiz said he was open to riding Jack Christopher in any manner. When he saw Gunite and Kavod show speed out of the gate, he took him back to the outside and put him in the clear. He quickly moved in front of Kavod and followed Gunite before Ortiz asked him to run.
Ortiz said when Jack Christopher passed Gunite in upper stretch “he stopped running a little bit and didn’t give me everything he had, I believe. First time going a mile, I think this will help him a lot for the next step.”
The next step will be the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at 1 1/16 miles around two turns. This is Brown’s third Champagne winner. His previous winners, Practical Joke and Complexity, couldn’t win the Juvenile.
“What he has going for him is he switches off nicely, which you saw,” Brown said. “He’s not a horse that pulls. If you drop your hands on him he’ll switch off and he’ll rate. Will he do it around two turns? I don’t know, but we’ll be sure to have him prepared in the morning.”
Commandperformance, owned by Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola and trained by Todd Pletcher, may have given his connections something to think about as it relates to the Juvenile. After finishing second in his debut, he was again second in the Champagne -- a similar pattern to Good Magic -- with a good late run under Tyler Gaffalione.
“i think if he had a little more seasoning he might finish off a little better,” Gaffalione said. “He’s still green, he’s still learning but he’s got a bright future.”