The Champagne (BC) (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
BEL- For Two Year Olds
One Mile on the Dirt
October 2, 2021
North Island will be heading to the BC Juvenile, as the Falling Angel colt made the most of what was likely his only chance to get into the race, by winning the Champagne on Saturday. He had only made two starts up to this point, and while they were very good performances, others in the field were a little more known up to this point, and this led to North Island not getting much play in the Pick ‘em. He went off at odds of 7/1 and the fourth shot on the board, so he was not that big of a surprise. The winning trainer is Smokey Stover, and it is nice to see that one can still be patient with a horse like this and get them in the BC Juvenile. It’s the second time that he has won the race, doing so also in 2018 with the late Bo Knows. Jockey E Jaramillo is a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:35.09, which ties the stake record set in 2017 by Centerpiece. Let’s take a look at it!
(¼ Mile- :23.58)- Mb Stables sends Statuesque out to the early lead, and no one goes up front to run with him, so it is a length and a half lead for the pace setter after a quarter mile. They were lined up in our pretty typical formation after that, with a group of three stalkers, then four lined up behind them, and then four lined up at the back of the pack. The stalker group saw our eventual winner, Smokey Stover’s North Island run on the rail with Comanche Panther in the middle for TwinTowersRacing, and then Up In Smoke on the outside for Jive Inc. Eventually, Up In Smoke backs off of that, and Arindel’s Lord Cherokee looks to move up into his spot in the stalker group from the middle of the pack group. Loquacious Luka (Night Rider Stables) and Mount Tongariro (Smokey Stover) run on the inside of the middle group, with Come To Poppa (South Shore Stables) on the outside. The back four are Number Theory (Mb Stables), Grouse Mountain (John Henry), Hilarity (Mb Stables), and Rudy Is With Me (Fractious).
(½ Mile- :46.94)- Statuesque continues to lead the field, and no one has gone forward to challenge him as of yet. North Island holds the second spot, and is tucked in right behind the pacesetter as Lord Cherokee continues to push forward and move into the third position. He’s a half length behind North Island, and Comanche Panther is a similar distance behind him in fourth. Up In Smoke continues his wide trip in fifth. Then, there is a about a length to the rest of the field which is all running close to one another so some traffic issues could potentially come into play there as we move into the turn.
(Top Of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Statuesque is having a great run going up to this point, and still seems to be in good stride as he completes the run around the turn. North Island is not letting him get away, and moves over to the second lane to try and make the pass in the stretch. Behind them, there is no pressure since Lord Cherokee was not able to keep up with North Island, and the story was similar for Comanche Panther. Up In Smoke continues to run about five wide and while he is the third place horse, he has to make up about three lengths on the leader now. Grouse Mountain was leading the back group, and Rudy Is With Me looked to make an outside run. Hilarity, the post time favorite, could see them all in front of him with time running out.
(Finish- 1:35.09)- With a furlong to go, North Island completed the pass of Statuesque, and that would be all that was necessary as everyone else was going to be too far back to make a bid for the race win. It really was a perfect trip for this one on this day. Up In Smoke stayed on the outside and got by Statuesque in the late moments to take second, but never concerned North Island. The pacesetter takes third. Hilarity showed good closing kick, and with that he gets the fourth place check over Mount Tongariro and Rudy Is With Me. The rest of the order will read Loquacious Luka, Come To Poppa, Lord Cherokee, Grouse Mountain, Number Theory, and still a maiden, Comanche Panther.
About The Winner- North Island, trained by Smokey Stover and ridden to victory by E Jaramillo, is a two year old colt by Falling Angel and is out of Tennessee Titan. He was bred in California by Smokey Stover, who’s been his only owner. Congratulations to the connections! He’s now won two of three, and this was his first stake win. His career earnings improve to $347.400.
Track: Fast
Time: :232 :464 1:102 1:35
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 8 – 11 Paid 62.70
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 11 – 3 Paid 838.10
Scratched: Mad Diplomat
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
