Adam Wachtel, part-owner of the Bill Mott-trained 2020 Champion Turf Male Channel Maker, said the 8-year-old English Channel gelding will remain in training in 2023.
The Ontario-bred, who is third on the all-time leading Canadian-bred earners list with over $3.7 million to his name, was seventh in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf on November 5 at Keeneland last out to cap off a season that included victories in the Elkhorn (G2) in April at Keeneland and the Grand Couturier in July at Belmont Park.
“Physically, the horse looks unbelievable. He’s eight years old and Bill and his staff said this summer that he looks better now than he did two years ago,” Wachtel said. “He’s all dappled out and he looks phenomenal, and he hasn’t lost anything. As long as he is physically well enough, we see no reason why we shouldn’t go on with him. He’s getting a little break, but he’s not leaving the track. We probably won’t run him until late February at the earliest.”
Channel Maker, bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm, has won some of the NYRA circuit’s premier events for turf horses, including the 2019 Man o’ War (G1), 2020 Sword Dancer Invitational (G1) and 2018 and 2020 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (G1).
Also co-owned by Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Channel Maker won the 2017 Sovereign Award as Canada’s Champion 3-Year-Old Male.
LIFETIME LEADING CANADIAN-BRED EARNERS
Horse Name – YOB -Sex, Sire – Sts – 1sts – 2nds – 3rds – EARNINGS – BEST RACE CLASS by Blacktype rules
1 Awesome Again 94 h by Deputy Minister 12 9 0 2 $4,374,590 GBW
2 Shaman Ghost 12 h by Ghostzapper 17 8 3 2 $4,020,914 GBW
3 Channel Maker 14 g by English Channel 43 7 6 5 $3,729,482 GBW
4 Victory Gallop 95 h by Cryptoclearance 17 9 5 1 $3,505,895 GBW
5 Chief Bearhart 93 h by Chief’s Crown 26 12 5 3 $3,381,557 GBW
6 Sky Classic 87 h by Nijinsky II 29 15 6 1 $3,320,398 GBW
7 Dance Smartly 88 m by Danzig 17 12 2 3 $3,263,835 GBW
8 Private Zone 09 g by Macho Uno 33 10 9 3 $2,924,620 GBW
9 With Approval 86 h by Caro (IRE) 23 13 5 1 $2,863,540 GBW
10 Izvestia 87 h by Icecapade 21 11 2 2 $2,702,527 GBW
11 Wando 00 h by Langfuhr 23 11 2 2 $2,566,060 GBW
12 Pink Lloyd 12 g by Old Forester 38 29 3 2 $2,455,430 GBW
13 Quiet Resolve 95 g by Affirmed 31 10 6 4 $2,346,768 GBW
14 Rahy’s Attorney 04 g by Crown Attorney 41 14 10 4 $2,221,732 GBW
15 Soaring Free 99 g by Smart Strike 27 15 4 0 $2,138,670 GBW
16 Heart to Heart 11 h by English Channel 41 15 6 4 $2,038,771 GBW
17 Marketing Mix 08 m by Medaglia d’Oro 21 10 5 1 $2,017,986 GBW
18 Up With the Birds 10 h by Stormy Atlantic 36 8 4 7 $2,002,934 GBW
19 Mobil 00 h by Langfuhr 29 12 9 1 $1,951,384 GBW
20 Lexie Lou 11 m by Sligo Bay (IRE) 24 10 4 4 $1,939,106 GBW
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