Timberlake skips away in Champagne victory
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Timberlake established himself as one of the top choices for next month’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after his 4 1/4-length win over General Partner in the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne on Saturday at Aqueduct.
With the win, Timberlake earned not only a berth into the championship race Nov. 3 at Santa Anita – but also 10 points for next year’s Kentucky Derby.
“You obviously turn your attention to the Breeders' Cup as it comes up first,” trainer Brad Cox told the New York Racing Association. “We'll get him back to Kentucky and see how he comes out of it and let him tell us if we take a march towards Santa Anita. We'll enjoy this victory and go from there."
Timberlake ($11.80), who removed blinkers Saturday, broke a step slow and moved into contention soon afterward, settling along the rail as General Partner took the field through fractions of 22.49 for the opening quarter, 45.44 for the half-mile and 1:10.41 for six furlongs on a sloppy, sealed track.
Timberlake began to advance on the turn, was angled off the rail coming to the quarter pole, and ran down General Partner by the eighth pole. Timberlake was in a drive to the wire and covered the one-turn mile in 1:35.90. Timberlake was assigned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I think it sets him up perfect for the Breeders' Cup and hopefully the horse comes back healthy and we can move forward,” winning rider Florent Geroux told NYRA. “He's not the quickest horse out of the gate, but he always puts himself in a good position. We knew what we had.
"Last time, he was the favorite in the Hopeful and had a little bit of trouble and was very rank. Today, we took the blinkers off and he was way more relaxed and [I'm] hoping he is going to improve again."
Timberlake was second in the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 4 at Saratoga, one start after winning a maiden special weight by more than nine lengths in his second career start July 21 at Ellis Park. The son of Into Mischief has now won 2 of 4 starts and the $275,000 first-place check he picked up Saturday pushed his earnings to $375,600.
Timberlake had added blinkers the day he won his maiden and kept them on for the Hopeful.
“We used blinkers early on just to keep him focused and we felt like he needed them early,” Cox said. “He trained very well leading up to the Hopeful and looking back it would have been great to take them off, but he was also coming off a victory, too. He's a young horse continuing to learn and I think he put it all together today.”
Timberlake, who was scratched from the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland to run in the Champagne, races for the partnership of Siena Farm and WinStar Farm.
“We talked about it and thought this was a good spot,” Elliott Walden, the CEO of WinStar, told NYRA. “The Champagne is a great race, a stallion-making race. We’re excited to win it, It’s the first time we've ever won it.”
Walden said decisions will come concerning the Breeders’ Cup, which would mark the two-turn debut for Timberlake.
“He’s accomplished a lot in a short period of time,” Walden said. “I think [two turns] will be good, but we’ll see. He’s a big strong horse with a beautiful pedigree, a two-turn type of pedigree.”
Timberlake is out of the Lookin At Lucky mare Pin Up. He was bred in Kentucky by St Elias Stables.
Dancing Groom finished third in the Champagne, 6 1/4 lengths behind General Partner. The remaining order of finish was Gold Sweep in fourth, Air Cav, El Grande O, Fierceness, and Sweet Soddy J. Kentucky Derby points also went to the second through fifth place finishers, on a sliding scale of 5-3-2-1.
Timberlake was the third choice in the Champagne behind 2-5 favorite Fierceness, and General Partner. Fierceness finished seventh Saturday.
“He hopped at the start,” Irad Ortiz Jr. told NYRA. “He moved right when they opened the gate. After that, I just tried to give him a good trip. I sat in the clear from third or fourth trying to bide my time. I made a little run and that was it. After the break, it was hard to catch up.”
Fierceness came into the Champagne off a more than 11-length debut win in a maiden special weight at Saratoga. The start came on a wet track and he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 95.
Timberlake, who was racing on a wet track for the first time Saturday, will soon head back to his base of Churchill Downs.
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