Ralis back for more in Champagne

ELMONT, N.Y. – Ralis shipped across the country to win the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga on Sept. 7, and he made another cross-country ship on Wednesday for Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes for juvenile males.

Ralis doesn’t act like a 2-year-old, according to trainer Doug O’Neill.

“He’s got the mind of an older horse,” O’Neill said. “Travel hasn’t bothered him at all. It was good to monitor him daily and see how well he came out of the Hopeful. He’s two-minute licked and breezed at Santa Anita. He’s really doing well. We’re hoping for a similar performance, and I think we got a big chance.”

Ralis will take on a group that includes Hopeful runner-up Magna Light, Sapling Stakes winner Sunny Ridge, and maiden winners Greenpoint Crusader, Portfolio Manager, Rafting, Ready Dancer, Sail Ahoy, and Tale of S’avall.

The winner of the Champagne gets a fees-paid berth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.