Any Grade 1 stakes win is usually an emotional moment for the connections.

For Elliott Walden, the CEO, president, and racing manager of WinStar Farm, Timberlake’s victory in the $500,000 Champagne Stakes at the Belmont at the Big A meet was especially rewarding when Siena Farm, WinStar’s partner in the 2-year-old son of Into Mischief, was mentioned.

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In August, Siena founder and co-owner Anthony Manganaro passed away at the age of 79 and his son, Todd, is now running the operation.

“Anthony was a great friend, mentor, and especially a great partner,” Walden said. “The first text I got after the race was from his son, Todd. We recently bought some yearlings with them and it’s going to be fun to go forward with them and continue Anthony’s legacy.”

That legacy will now be extended into the Breeders’ Cup as a wise decision by trainer Brad Cox to run Timberlake in the Oct. 7 Champagne earned the 2-year-old a fees-paid “Win and You’re In” spot in the Nov. 3 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at Santa Anita Park.

The two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer had also entered the Hopeful Stakes runner-up in Saturday’s Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at a two-turn, mile-and-a-sixteenth distance at Keeneland but opted for the Champagne at a one-turn mile.

“I wanted to give him one more run around one turn and take the blinkers off. It worked out. He ran big. The blinkers off helped a lot. He settled in well and didn’t pull. The blinkers had a lot to do with that,” Cox said. “He learned a lot in the Hopeful and we learned a lot about him and it paid off today.”

Timberlake winning Champagne Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Though Timberlake led in the stretch of the seven-furlong Hopeful but was caught by 54-1 shot Nutella Fella, he handled the mile distance of the Champagne with aplomb, grabbing the lead approaching the eighth pole and drawing away to win by 4 1/4 lengths on a sloppy, sealed surface.

“He’s accomplished a lot in his four starts,” Walden said after WinStar’s initial Champagne victory. “I think the two turns at the Breeders’ Cup will be good for him. He’s a big, strong horse. He’s got a beautiful, two-turn pedigree. I think he’ll be OK at the [mile-and-a-sixteenth] distance.”

Timberlake, a winner of two of four starts, was bred by St. Elias Stables in Kentucky and was bought for $350,000 from the Gainesway consignment at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale.

Klaravich Stables’ General Partner set the pace in the Champagne, leading by a half-length after a half-mile in :45.44 in the wet going. Jockey Florent Geroux had moved Timberlake ($11.80) up to third in the field of eight 2-year-olds at that point, then swung about seven paths wide to launch a bid for the lead. The Cox runner grabbed the lead before the eighth pole and then pulled away in the final sixteenth to cross the wire in 1:35.90.

“He’s not the quickest horse out of the gate, but he always puts himself in a good position. We knew what we had,” Geroux said. “Last time he was the favorite in the Hopeful and had a little bit of trouble and was very rank. Today, we took the blinkers off and he was way more relaxed and (I’m) hoping he is going to improve again.”

General Partner, a son of Speightstown, was second by 8 1/4 lengths over Dancing Groom, giving trainer Chad Brown pause to consider the Juvenile as an option for the runner-up who was making his third career start.

“I thought he ran great. The winner was very impressive. They set some fast fractions but I did like the trip. It was good judgment [by jockey Manny Franco] to go on with it. There was no excuse,” Brown said. “Even though he got passed late, he was going pretty fast and I wouldn’t say he can’t get two turns, especially if he got a more comfortable setup where he isn’t blazing along. I don’t think he’s distance limited because he got beat at a mile.”

Krikorian, Mott, Alvarado Team for Back-to-Back Grade 1s

Just F Y I winning Frizette Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)

On a miserable day weather-wise at the Belmont at the Big A meeting there wasn’t a cloud in the sky in the eyes of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, owner George Krikorian, and jockey Junior Alvarado, who teamed to win back-to-back Grade 1s and “Win and You’re In” events as part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series with War Like Goddess in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes and Just F Y I in the Frizette Stakes.

Krikorian also bred the 3 3/4-length Frizette winner, who earned a fees-paid berth to the Nov. 3 $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park. The 2-year-old daughter of Justify was making just her second career start after winning on debut a six-furlong maiden special weight race Aug. 26 at Saratoga Race Course by a head under Alvarado. 

Making the jump to one mile in the $400,000 Frizette, Just F Y I raced off of the pace in the six-horse field before swooping to the lead in the stretch on the sloppy and sealed racing surface. She completed the distance in 1:37.59, and returned $11.60 for a $2 win wager.

Central Avenue was second and was followed by Life Talk  in third.

For Kirkorian, War Like Goddess and Just F Y I’s victories represented something new for the owner.

“This is very exciting, I’ve never had a single day where I’ve had two Grade 1 winners before,” Kirkorian said. “That’s pretty special, for sure. And Just F Y I is a horse I bred, so that makes it extra special.”

Kirkoian said he felt confident that Just F Y I would handle the stretch out in distance in the Frizette because her second dam, Starrer, a daughter of Dynaformer who he campaigned and bought for $35,000 as a Fasig-Tipton yearling, was a dual grade 1 winner over a mile.

“Going a longer distance, we were hopeful that distance was going to be helpful to her, which it turned out to be,” Kirkorian said. “With the bad weather and everything, you never know how the horses are going to do. She handled it all well and she handles everything well.”

Mott, who won his second Frizette after saddling the 1998 winner, Confessional, admitted the sloppy surface was a question mark for the bay Kentucky-bred.

“You don’t know until you run them,” he said. “We thought she was a nice filly and, in this day and age, I guess if you break your maiden impressively you’re looking at going to a stakes race because there aren’t many allowance races.”

The trainer acknowledged that winning back-to-back Grade 1s on the card for Kirkorian was meaningful to him.

“It’s very special. [Mr. Krikorian] has been a very good client and he sends me some horses that he thinks are going to be okay,” Mott said. “I have a small group of horses for him, but they are all quite nice.”—Karen M. Johnson