Veteran 9-year-old gelding Channel Maker proved that age has not caught up to him when powering to a front-running two-length score for trainer Bill Mott in Sunday’s $250,000 Bowling Green (G2), a 1 3/8-mile inner turf test for older horses at Saratoga Race Course.
“He’s one of the happiest horses going to the track,” said Mott. “He doesn’t hesitate. He just goes and trains and he’s got his ears up. He’s happy and dappled from one end to the other. If there’s something wrong with them, they don’t look like that.”
Owned by Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Channel Maker visited the winner’s circle for the first time in eight starts since taking the 2022 Grand Couturier last July at Belmont Park. He finished a game sixth in the Man o’ War (G1) in May at Belmont where he utilized his usual pacesetting tactics and was beaten 1 1/2 lengths while part of a five-way photo for place honors. This year’s edition of the Bowling Green was Channel Maker’s fifth attempt in the historic turf marathon, adding to another win in 2018 and a third-place finish in 2020.