Ready Dancer carries Pletchers hopes in Champagne Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though his 2-year-old crop has not yet shown itself to be as talented as those of years past, trainer Todd Pletcher still has a better-than-average chance to continue his recent stranglehold on the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes. Pletcher will send out Ready Dancer on Saturday at Belmont Park in a seemingly wide-open renewal of the $500,000 Champagne, which awards its winner a fees-paid berth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

Ralis, the winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful, is the probable favorite against six maiden winners, the Sapling Stakes winner Sunny Ridge, and the maiden Portfolio Manager. Pletcher has won three straight editions of the Champagne, four of the last five, and six overall since 2004. Uncle Mo (2010) and Shanghai Bobby (2012) pulled off the Champagne-Breeders’ Cup Juvenile double and won the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male.

After losses in his first two starts, Ready Dancer won a Travers Day maiden race by 2 1/2 lengths with blinkers added. His final time of 1:10.02 was 0.23 seconds faster than Tale of S’avall’s time for winning the other division of the six-furlong maiden race. Tale of S’avall is also in the Champagne. Pletcher said that jockey John Velazquez suggested the blinkers after Ready Dancer finished second to Sticksstatelydude on Aug. 1. “Johnny felt like when he made the lead when he finished second, that he lost focus,” Pletcher said. “He suggested blinkers. We worked him in blinkers; he worked well. He was more professional and ran a better race.”

Magna Light looks like the primary speed of the race from the rail. But trainer Rudy Rodriguez said he’d prefer not be in front. Magna Light had the lead in both the Sanford – from which he was disqualified from first – and the Hopeful. “I want to see if he’s able to relax,” Rodriguez said. “He appears to have a very good mind. The other day, I breezed him behind two horses, and he responded pretty good. But if they let me go in 25, I’m going to take it.”

KEY CONTENDERS

Ready Dancer (Last 3 Beyer Speed Figures: 85-66-53) Showed dramatic improvement with blinkers and could play out as the primary speed if Magna Light takes back.

Ralis (Last 3 Beyer Speed Figures: 93-77-54) Went 1 for 4 in Southern California before dominating the Grade 1 Hopeful by 5 3/4 lengths at Saratoga. “He’s a horse who has got a lot of ability, a great body, and a great mind, but to say we knew he was going to do what we did in the Hopeful, I’d be lying,” trainer Doug O’Neill said.

Sail Ahoy (Beyer Speed Figures: 73-61) After finishing third to Ready Dancer at Saratoga, he showed grit to rally widest of all and win a one-mile maiden race in a four-horse photo here Sept. 12. “I think that horse is really moving forward in a hurry,” said trainer Shug McGaughey, a three-time winner of the Champagne. “We’ll just have to see if he’s good enough.”

Tale of S’Avall (Beyer Speed Figures: 81) A very professional debut winner, he is well drawn in post 7. He had a good workout here Sunday and gets Lasix for the first time. “He showed a little blood the first time I ran him,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. Tagg said he would like to see Tale of S’avall close to the pace early. “I don’t want to take him back too far, but I don’t think I’m going to rush him to the lead either,” Tagg said. “I’d love to see him sitting second, third, or fourth in the 2 path.”