A clear early lead and a liking for a turf course softened by an afternoon thunderstorm Aug. 29 was a recipe for success for Channel Maker in the $500,000 Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course.

The 6-year-old English Channel gelding went to the lead under Manny Franco and was never challenged en route to an emphatic 5 3/4-length victory. Cross Border ran second, followed by stablemate and third-place finisher Aquaphobia. Sadler’s Joy was fourth, while Corelli, Pedro Cara, and Marzo completed the order of finish.

The Bill Mott-trained winner, owned by Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, raced 1 1/2 miles on a soft turf course in 2:34.86. He paid $18.

Franco employed an aggressive style that may have persuaded rival jockeys not to engage Channel Maker early. Once they took back, seeing him and his mount intent on the lead, the pace slowed from a half-mile in :51.14 to three-quarters in 1:17.27 and a mile in 1:42.33.

“I made the lead and tried to open up to let them know I wanted to go, and they let me go. It worked out good for me,” said Franco, who next week will pilot favored Tiz the Law in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs.

The Sword Dancer was a Breeders’ Cup Challenge event for the Nov. 7 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) at Keeneland. Channel Maker’s previous starts in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in 2018-19 resulted in rear-half finishes, leaving Mott to believe his trainee might need his preferred soft-turf condition to keep up.

“That water gets very deep. We’ve tried it a couple times and it hasn’t worked out with him. You get a whole different group of horses,” he said. “But who knows? There was a year at Keeneland where it was a bottomless ground, and if that situation came up, maybe he would benefit from it.”

The Hall of Fame trainer won his fourth Sword Dancer, his first since Broadway Flyer in 1996. His other winners were Fraise (1992) and Theatrical (1987).

“What people didn’t realize is that he loves soft ground,” Hill said. “He was 3-for-4 on a soft turf, and today is four out of five. I thought it was a spectacular run by the horse.”

The Sword Dancer was the fourth graded stakes victory for Channel Maker following victories in the Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) in 2018 and the Man o’ War Stakes (G1T) last year. The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic victory also came on soft turf when he was able to control the pace.

Bred in Canada by Tall Oaks Farm, Channel Maker is one of three black-type winners out of the stakes-winning Horse Chestnut mare In Return, the others being Court Return and Canadian champion Johnny Bear. The latter won back-to-back runnings of the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (G1T) in 2017-18.

Channel Maker was originally campaigned by owner Joey Gee Thoroughbreds in Canada with trainer Danny Vella. His ownership grew after his third race as a juvenile in 2016 when Wachtel and Barber purchased an interest. He joined Mott in 2017, and in late 2018 his ownership changed to his current partners.

Article courtesy of the BloodHorse