ELMONT, N.Y. — On a star-studded program with eight Grade 1 races and the third jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, as its marquee attraction, Jack Christopher made a bid to shine brightest of them all on Saturday at Belmont Park with a complete tour-de-force victory in the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun.
Run at seven furlongs on the main track for 3-year-olds, the Woody Stephens was Jack Christopher’s second Grade 1 victory at Belmont and cemented his status as the nation’s preeminent sophomore around one turn, though his foray into two-turn racing may not be far off.
“This horse is an exceptional talent,” said Brown. “This is my 15th year of training and I’ve never had a dirt horse with this much pure brilliance. He reminds me a lot of Ghostzapper when I worked for Bobby Frankel. He’s a brilliant horse that can probably run any distance.”
Coming down the stretch Jack Christopher moved up before he went nuclear and left the field on planet earth to win the Grade 1 Woody Stephens for trainer Chad Brown.
With a good break for all, Jack Christopher went right to the lead from post 1 quickly challenged by Provocateur under Luis Saez. As Provocateur began to move ahead, Jose Ortiz on Jack Christopher went to the outside of his competition and slowly came around him on the turn.
Under Tyler Gaffalione, Chasing Time was close behind with Pappacap and Flavien Prat on his heels, Morello with Joel Rosario up several lengths back with a slow start and Wit in sixth. Opening 1/4 of 22.61.
Provocateur had lead into far turn by a half-length with Jack Christopher cloys and on the far outside was Wit with the others trailing. 1/2 in 45.38.
Pappacap went down into third on the rail, Wit fourth, Chasing Time then Morello last.
As soon as they came around the turn for home Jose Ortiz took over the lead and Jack Christopher went nuclear on a hand ride. They clocked 3/4 in 1:09.04.
As Provocateur and Pappacap dueled for second, Jack Christopher and Ortiz launched past the wire10 lengths ahead in a final time on was 1:21.18 for the seven-furlong sprint.
“It was very nice and easy,” said Ortiz. “When I took a peek back, I was ready to let him go and did a little bit. He was very impressive today.
“This is why we work hard and wake up every day,” the jockey added. “We dream about these kinds of races and he’s a very nice horse. Hopefully, he stays healthy, and we keep doing it.”
Pappacap (Gun Runner) was second under and paid . He is trained by Mark Casse. Third was Todd Pletcher trainer Provacateur (Into Mischief) who ran a gallant race and paid $4.60. Jack Christopher paid $2.70, 2.40 and 2.10.
“He ran good. The other horse was just a huge freak,” said Casse of Pappacap’s finish.
Bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons & Kilboy Estate, Jack Christopher is by Munnings out of Half Ours mare Rushin No Blushin. The chestnut colt is campaigned by Peter Brant, with partners Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister and Coolmore Stud. The colt was purchased at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky 2020 Fall Yearling Sale for $135,000. He had RNA’d at the September sale for $145,000 (they got a bargain!)
“[Munnings] is a sire I’ve always loved and had a lot of luck with,” said Liz Crow, who bought Jack Christopher at the Fasig-Tipton Sale in 2020. “We’ve had quite a few nice Munnings. I saw the horse at the October Sale, and I saw him at the Fasig-Tipton September Showcase Sale. He RNA’d in the first spot but I really liked him and bid on him.
“When I saw him again in October, he was a bigger and stronger version of what I saw in September, so I was pretty firm on wanting to get him bought,” Crow added. “It was funny because [co-owner] Jim Bakke wanted a filly and not a colt. I called Brad Weisbord, who manages him on a day-to-day basis, and said, ‘Please can we buy this horse? I love him.’ He said, ‘Okay, go to $125,000.’ We went to $135,000 and asked for forgiveness instead of permission and Jim said, ‘No problem.’ Jim and Gerry are great owners. They have the confidence in me to pick what I want to pick at sales.”
Jack Christopher began his career last summer at Saratoga Race Course, where he trounced a field of maidens by 8 3/4 lengths, before notching his first Grade 1 win in the Champagne on October 2 at Belmont with a Beyer Speed Figure of 102.
After being scratched out of a start in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to close out his 2-year-old campaign, which cost him a chance at being formally recognized as the best in his division in 2021, Jack Christopher didn’t made his belated sophomore debut until May 7 in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard, a race he won emphatically by 3 3/4 lengths.
Jack Christopher is undefeated with a career record of four starts, four wins, three being graded stakes, two grade ones.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont with a nine-race card featuring the $150,000 Jersey Girl for sophomore fillies going six furlongs on the main track in Race 3 at 2:03 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
By Maribeth Kalinich with NYRA press release edited.
Photo by Ryan Thompson
