Jack Christopher cruises in Champagne; Sail By surprises Miss Grillo

Chad Brown sent out favorite Jack Christopher to win Saturday’s $500,000 Champagne (G1) in style, but his odds-on McKulick was overturned in the $200,000 Miss Grillo (G2) by Sail By.

Champagne (G1)

Jack Christopher was no secret in his Aug. 28 unveiling at Saratoga, where he was dispatched as the 11-10 favorite. After the flashy Munnings colt forced the pace and powered away by 8 3/4 lengths, his bandwagon grew – not only fans, but bloodstock industry titans. Coolmore Stud and Peter M. Brant bought into Jack Christopher, joining co-owners Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister.

The main question going into the Champagne was how the strongly-made chestnut would handle the step up from a six-furlong maiden to Belmont Park’s one-turn mile. Bettors kept faith by making him the 17-10 favorite, and Jack Christopher responded affirmatively to earn a free pass to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).

Breaking alertly from post 3, Jack Christopher was tractable as jockey Jose Ortiz eased him into a stalking spot. They let Hopeful (G1) hero Gunite dash ahead through fractions of :23.57 and :46.49, then moved to attack.

Jack Christopher dismissed Gunite with ease by the six-furlong mark in 1:11.15, and increased his advantage to 5 1/2 lengths in midstretch. Late-running Commandperformance struck top gear to reduce the margin to 2 3/4 lengths, but the winner was long gone. Jack Christopher did lose momentum in the final quarter, clocking :26.16 to complete the mile in 1:37.31.

“We knew we had speed,” Brown told NYRA publicity, “and Jose (Ortiz) and I agreed to not take that away from him. We just wanted to break out of there and get a good spot.

“A very quick decision he made - which was the right one - was to slip out to the outside right away and I think, from there, I felt super-confident that we would get there with no excuse and he showed up.”

Jack Christopher also earned 10 points toward the Kentucky Derby (G1). The rest of the Derby points went to Todd Pletcher juveniles. Runner-up Commandperformance received four points, and the twice-raced maiden continues to have appeal as distances increase. Stablemate Wit, who found traffic trying to improve from last, picked up two points for finishing a distant third. My Prankster got one point for fourth. Gunite and Kavod rounded out the order under the wire.

The third Champagne winner for Brown, following Practical Joke (2016) and Complexity (2018), Jack Christopher hopes to fare better on the stretch-out than they did. He will bring a 2-for-2 mark, and $330,000 in earnings, to the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile at Del Mar.

“He was a horse that identified himself as early on as his first work,” Brown said. “I was on the phone with the connections saying, ‘This is potentially a really good horse. I can’t believe what I just saw.’ He’s just been brilliant in every work. There was some buzz around him before he ran, and he lived up to it.”

Bred by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate in Kentucky, Jack Christopher sold to BSW/Liz Crow, agent, for $135,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling. His dam, the Half Ours mare Rushin No Blushin, is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winning sprinter Street Boss.

Jack Christopher is expressing his speed-oriented pedigree, so the jury is out about whether he can maintain his dominance over further. Brown points to his temperament as reason to think he might transfer his game to a route.

“What I like a lot about him is that he switches off nicely,” his trainer said. “He’s not a horse that pulls. If you drop your hands, he’ll switch off and rate. Will he do that around two turns? I don’t know, but we’ll be sure to have him prepared in the morning to take a little dirt and sit. We’ll see if he can do it at Del Mar.”