The Champagne (Grade 1) (BC)- $500.000 Purse
AQU- For Two Year Olds
One Mile on the Dirt
October 1, 2022
After watching a horse he let get away win the Miss Grillo, Arindel was able to sit back a little more and enjoy the running of the Champagne, as Peace Pipe handled the slop well to win the race in a photo finish. It was not the first time that Peace Pipe had to deal with the rain, as his last start was the Hopeful, and that was also sloppy. The added furlong from that race was also to his liking, as after all in the Hopeful, he was coming on well in the stretch to finish fourth and now he would have more time to run. He’d also be a little closer to the front here early as he scored the win and punches his ticket to the BC Juvenile. It is the first win in the race for Arindel and for jockey D Moran. Congratulations to them! The time of the win in the slop was 1:39.96. Let’s take a look at it!
(1/4 Mile- :23.73)- They begin the run down the long AQU backstretch with Fractious- trained Twirling Candy claiming the top spot. He’s a length ahead of a group of three stalkers, and of them, the horse in the middle, Night Mare Racing’s Domiano, has a head in front. To his inside, is Spoiled, for Mb Stables, and in the third lane, it is Union Avenue, who is trained by D J C Racing Stables. Running in the middle of the field are three more, and this is where we find our eventual winner, Arindel’s Peace Pipe. He could be on the rail, but opts instead for the second lane and to follow Domiano for now. A horse he will be seeing closely at the wire, Mb Stables’ Mamba is right beside him here as well, and Red Wine takes the outside lane for Hippyheart. Delightful Rubicon (TwinTowersRacing) is a length behind them, then Hurricane Fly (Fractious) and Royal Valor (Nakamura Stables). Trailing is Twin Rackets (Alydar Stables).
(½ Mile- :48.00)- There isn’t anything new to report as they finish the backstretch trip and prepare to round the turn. Twirling Candy is still out in front, and leading by a length and a half. Everyone else is still holding their lines for now. Peace Pipe continues to be behind Domiano, but begins to position himself for a move between that one and Union Avenue. Let’s move forward.
(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Moving around the turn, it is still Twirling Candy, and he is still running well with a length advantage over the rest of the field. On the rail, Spoiled still looked to be a good contender as well. Meanwhile, for Peace Pipe, that gap between Domiano and Union Avenue would slam shut in the turn. That was good news for Mamba, who was now able to move to the outside of Union Avenue, and was making a very strong bid on the outside. He had also pulled a length ahead of Peace Pipe, a horse he was actually behind at the top of the turn. Hitting the top of the stretch, the four wide trip for Mamba wouldn’t make things easy, and a lane was starting to set up now for Peace Pipe to potentially take on the outside of Spoiled. It would be his only chance at having a shot at the victory.
(Finish- 1:39.96)- Peace Pipe pounces on the lane to the outside of Spoiled and puts forth a strong charge right away. That would be fine in regards to getting by Twirling Candy, but Mamba was looking really strong at this point. As they closed in on the wire, the race would come down to be between these two, and both of them gave a strong effort as the rest of the field was left behind. At the wire, there would be just enough time for Peace Pipe, as he prevails by a neck over Mamba. It was a length back to third place Hurricane Fly who came surging late for that spot, ahead of another late runner in Twin Rackets. Twirling Candy tired to fifth, beating Domiano, Royal Valor, Spoiled, Red Wine, Union Avenue, and Delightful Rubicon.
About The Winner- Peace Pipe, trained by Arindel, and ridden to victory by D Moran, is a two year old gelding by Apache and is out of Real Big Hugs. He was bred by Iolaus Racing as a yearling in California, and was acquired by Arindel in private sales for $250.000 in May. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in five starts and is second stake win, each of which are graded. His career earnings are now $504.320.
Track: Sloppy
Time: :233 :48 1:131 1:394
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 1 – 2 Paid 85.80
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 2 – 8 Paid 1,680.60
Scratched: Range Rover
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
