Channel Maker battled through a contested pace to graduate in style in Sunday’s $150,800 Vandal Stakes, at Woodbine.
Trained by Dan Vella for owner Joey Gee Thoroughbreds, the English Channel chestnut arrived at the Vandal from a determined third-place run, behind Vandal rivals Fleetway and Woodbridge, in a six furlong maiden turf allowance on July 24.
With Luis Contreras aboard for the first time in Sunday’s 6 1/2-furlong turf event for Ontario-bred juveniles, Channel Maker, with blinkers on, broke well and won a battle for the lead while marking off splits of :23.62 and :47.46 under pressure from Rare Appeal, Jurojin, Fleetway and State of Honor.
Malibu Secret, the 3-1 mutuel favourite on debut, settled into sixth position along the rail under Eurico Rosa da Silva as Channel Maker led the charge. Fleetway and State of Honor continued to hound Channel Maker through the turn, but the stubborn pacesetter found another gear and surged clear.
Channel Maker owned a three-length lead at the top of the stretch as Malibu Secret advanced with a purpose down the lane. The debuting favourite angled off the rail in deep stretch to take dead aim at the leader, but there was no reeling in an impressive Channel Maker who scored by 2 1/4-lengths. Malibu Secret stayed on for place, while a rallying Woodbridge won a show photo over Silent Flash after a bumping stretch run.
An inquiry into the stretch run involving Woodbridge and Silent Flash resulted in no changes. Channel Maker covered 6 1/2-furlongs in 1:18.19 over a yielding turf course.
Vella was pleased with the trip engineered by Contreras in the Vandal.
“He’s a big, strong horse,” said Vella. “So, the discussion was to really let him run his own race. Luis has great hands and understands horses, that’s why he wins all those races. He did the right thing and it worked.”
Vella won the Queen’s Plate in 2012 with Strait of Dover, a dark bay son of English Channel, and also captured a three-year-old maiden allowance event earlier on the Vandal card with English Illusion, yet another son of the top sire who stands at Calumet Farm in Kentucky.
“Because of Strait of Dover, I’m very partial to English Channel. I’ve had great luck with them,” said Vella. “This (Channel Maker) is a good horse. The horse that won earlier (English Illusion) is a later bloomer and this guy is coming to hand very quickly. They have some idiosyncrasies (English Channel progeny), but they sure want to run.”
Channel Maker, out of the stakes winning mare In Return, was bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm and banked $90,000 in his first career victory.
He paid $10.70, $5.50 and $3.50, combining with Malibu Secret ($5, $4.20) for a $53.40 (5-4) exactor. A 5-4-7 triactor (Woodbridge, $4.10 to show) was worth $257.60, while a $1 Superfecta [5-4-7-1 (Silent Flash)] came back $740.05. Happy Is Lucky was scratched.
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