Expert Pick of the Week: 2024 Champagne Stakes

Oct 02, 2024 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

An excellent field of 10 juveniles will travel one mile over the Aqueduct main strip in Saturday’s $500,000 Champagne S. (G1). The contest will reward the winner with an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar on Nov. 1 in the 'Win and You’re In' event.

Flanagan Racing’s Chancer McPatrick is 2-for-2 in his lifetime while displaying a potent turn of foot in each outing, led by a stylish tally in the Hopeful S. (G1) at Saratoga in his latest try. Purchased for $725,000 at OBS in the spring, the bay son of freshman sire McKinzie was unveiled at the Spa in a 6 1/2-furlong dash on July 27. Despite having just one horse beat at the top of the lane, the February foal inhaled his competition inside the final furlong to post a one-length win.

The Chad Brown trainee broke slowly once again in the seven-furlong Hopeful, but the result was the same in the end as he drove past the highly touted Ferocious in deep stretch under Flavien Prat. He seemingly bounced out of that tilt in fine fashion with a trio of solid morning drills over the Oklahoma training surface in the interim, and the move to eight panels on Saturday will be handled with relative ease, in my opinion. The Kentucky-bred lands in a group with a lot of early speed that will only aid his closing run as well.

#8 Chancer McPatrick surges late to take the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga at odds of 4/1!

Jockey: Flavien Prat
Trainer: Chad Brown
Owner: Flanagan Racing pic.twitter.com/Q3sgO57Q2U

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) September 2, 2024

Colonel Bob was a professional and impressive debut winner at Parx for Butch Reid and is worth a chance at a square price. The two-year-old son of Yorkton is taking an obvious class rise in the Champagne, but he came home swiftly at first asking in his win and tuned up for the contest with a bullet half-mile as of late. If the March foal can stay in range to the top of the lane, I envision him to be in a good spot to earn a top-three placing with Mychel Sanchez retaining the ride.

Of the two contenders for the always dangerous Todd Pletcher, I will give a slight edge to debut victor Tip Top Thomas. By good young sire Volatile, the colt showed both speed and heart in his first appearance at Saratoga and has trained swiftly since that score with two sharp half-mile drills leading up to his stakes bow. Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard both of the Pletcher trainees in their respective debut offerings, sticks with Tip Top Thomas, so I will as well.

Expert Pick

An exacta with #10 Chancer McPatrick on top of #2 Tip Top Thomas and #8 Colonel Bob in the 2024 Champagne Stakes is the Best Bet of the Week.