Channel Maker - 2020 - The Sword Dancer

The Sword Dancer turf event at Saratoga..a race won by such vaunted steeds as Gallant Bob, Flintshire and John Henry  .. enjoyed an exciting renewal this year, despite the raging pandemic, which limited the audience on hand to staff and owners. Heavy rains caused earlier turf outings to be moved to the dirt. The Sword Dancer surface by most measures was yielding.

That cut in the ground proved a benefit for winner Channel Maker, trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Manny Franco. The horse has won under such conditions several times in the past, and few among the other contestants could make that claim. Channel Maker (6-1 on the morning line) is a talent and has garnered #2.2 million in winnings, but is not a dependable trier. Today, he went straight to lead and was never headed. Cross Border,winner of the recent Bowling Green Grade 2 - after the DQ of stalwart Sadler's Joy - gained second, followed by Aquaphobia and the aforementioned Sadler's Joy. 

This was a hard race to handicap, as it was stocked with many capable runners - the selection was tough but the numbers that Romeo ran held Cross Border and Channel Maker with possible edges. The best data seemed to come from Time Form US. That's not always the case with turf races which less and less have any early pace at all. Channel Maker was the tougher choice - he hasn't prevailed since May of last year tho he carried some speed a little further and gained 4th, 2 lengths of the winner in the Bowling Green. And, in the words of DRF analyst Mike Beers, while "Channel Maker has tactical speed and can handle the distance, he needs to find more at crunch time." His performance in the wet caused us to pocket our doubt, and go with him, along with Cross Border, who was favorite at post time. Channel Maker returned a nice 8-1.