The likely top three betting choices for Saturday’s Grade 1 Champagne Stakes
— Strong Mandate, Honor Code and Havana — all completed their major
preparations with works on Sunday.
Hopeful conqueror Strong Mandate toured a half-mile in :48 on the fast main
track at his Churchill Downs base.
“It was just a little breeze to focus him a little bit, but we’re ready to
go,” Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. “We’re excited about getting him
back to New York and getting him in the Champagne.”
Strong Mandate is scheduled to travel by van to Belmont Park and will leave
on Monday.
Lukas’ newest star has three career races — all at the Saratoga meet — to
his credit. He won a maiden race in his second start before romping by 9 3/4
lengths over a sealed muddy track in the seven-furlong Hopeful. He will stretch
out to Belmont’s one-turn mile in the Champagne.
“I think he’s getting better,” Lukas said. “The last three or four weeks he’s
been so much more focused and obviously getting sharper as he develops. I think
he’s a pretty special horse.”
The Shug McGaughey-trained Honor Code, standout winner of a seven-furlong
maiden race in the slop on August 31 at Saratoga, breezed four furlongs in :47
4/5 over Belmont’s fast main track. The son of A.P. Indy worked in company with
Secret Bid, a three-year-old out of the champion mare Inside Information, and
the pair both tied for fifth-best work of 38 on the day at the distance.
Honor Code’s maiden victory was flattered Saturday when second-place finisher
Misconnect scored by a length at Belmont against eight others in his second
start, running seven furlongs in 1:22 3/5, and third-place finisher Purple Sky
later broke his maiden at Churchill Downs.
“He’s all set up for Saturday unless something jumps up in between,”
assistant trainer Buzz Tenney said of Honor Code. “The horse that was third came
back and ran a good race too, people told me. So, maybe that’s going to come
back and be a key maiden race.”
For trainer Todd Pletcher, spectacular maiden winner Havana covered four
panels in :49 4/5 over Belmont’s fast training track. By hot freshman sire
Dunkirk, Havana just missed the 5 1/2-furlong track record in his impressive Spa
debut August 23.
His stablemate Stopchargingmaria, the Spinaway runner-up who is on course for
Saturday’s Grade 1 Frizette, logged :49 1/5.
Pletcher reported that both juveniles went “very well” Sunday.
The trainer’s pair for Saturday’s Grade 1 Jamaica, Jack Milton and Notacatbutallama,
also posted half-mile moves. Jack Milton strode in :49 3/5 on the Belmont
training track, while Notacatbutallama clocked :50 3/5 over the fast Oklahoma
training track at Saratoga.
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