By J. Keeler Johnson (“Keelerman”) Twitter: @J_Keelerman
If you wanted to breed an American turf horse superstar, where would you start? Perhaps by surmounting the genetics of Kitten’s Joy and the English Channel, two of the top American stallions of the past decade.
Breeders’ Cup winner Stephanie’s Kitten, Oscar Performance, Bobby’s Kitten. International stars Hawkbill, Roaring Lion, Kameko and Gendarme. Big Blue Kitten Champion. 1st place winner Sadler’s Joy, Divissidero, Real Solution, etc. The list of top grass-court runners selected by Kitten’s Joy goes on and on.
Champion channel maker. The famous long-distance grass horse War Like Goddess. Many Heart to Heart 1st place winners. The Arlington Million (G1) winner is fan favorite The Pizza Man. All those featured on this pitch and others are sons and daughters of the English Channel.
Between them, Kitten’s Joy and English Channel have ranked as North America’s top brood in terms of progeny income for nine of the past ten years. Kitten’s Joy topped the annual list from 2013 to 2018, then second in 2019, second in 2020, third in 2021, and second in 2022. The top spot has recently been taken. by English Channel, who topped the list in 2020, 2021, and 2022 after finishing third in 2019.
You may be wondering why I praise the virtues of Kitten’s Joy and the English Channel. There are two reasons. First, it’s been a quiet week on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Two, the bloodline of Kitten’s Joy and English Channel combined to produce far bridgea three-year-old grass runner so interesting that I had to dedicate a blog post about his talent and potential.
Far Bridge is the son of the English Channel in addition to Kitten’s Joy mare Fitpitcher. The English Channel/Kitten’s Joy cross produced Man o’ War S. (G1) Channel Cat winner, who made $1,481,022 over the course of 32 starts. But honestly, I expected Far Bridge to achieve much more.
Coached by Christophe Clement, Far Bridge caught my attention when he made his debut in the 1 1/16 mile special weight class at Gulfstream Park on January 21. The hybrid team at Calumet farm started 7-1 and didn’t take any rush to start, ranked seventh with 2-1 most loved Fort Wilderness made the splits are: 23.00, :46.99 and 1: 10.60 while being pressed by third pick 9-2 Carl Spackler.
Early in the round, Carl Spackler took the lead and looked ready to win. But on the surface, Far Bridge is just getting started. By running his last five-sixteenths of a mile in:28.64 (a great part), Far Bridge knocked out Carl Spackler for a head-to-head win in an excellent time of 1:39.57.
This effort has only become more impressive over time. Carl Spackler overtook third-place finisher Fort Wilderness by six distances and returned a month later to destroy a mile-long special maiden weight on the Gulfstream lawn by 8 3/4 length. . Carl Spackler looks like a budding equity star in his own right, so Far Bridge taking him down is pretty impressive.
After beating a promising horse at debut, Far Bridge was favored with a 1-2 in the second start, optional claimants were given a $75,000 subsidy in racing 1 1 /16 miles at Gulfstream on March 11. And once again, Far Bridge performed like a Grade 1 horse field in the making.
Just like in its debut, Far Bridge is poised to tackle early speeds through solid early splits of: 22.99, :46.45, and 1:10.32. Choosing to save space along the inside seemed like a risky strategy on the far bend, when Cau Xa was stuck in traffic and had to wait for the race room. With five sixteenth miles remaining, Far Bridge is in tenth place, six three-quarters of the way behind the leader.
But when the field returned to home, Far Bridge found space between the opponents and responded with an explosive acceleration. Breaking through the crowd at a completely different pace than its rivals, Far Bridge closed the deficit gap in a flash and took the lead with a gentle urge to score 3 and a half. He ran the last 16 miles at a dizzying pace: 05.67 to finish the race with a time of 1:41.14.
At this point, it’s impossible to say how good Far Bridge could be. He’s clearly a 1 1/16 mile performer, so races like the Transylvania S. (G3) April 7 in Keeneland and the American Turf S. (G2) May 6 at Keeneland. Churchill Downs must be seen as a viable short-term target.
But Far Bridge has a pedigree that spans distances—even more than 1.5 miles—so summer and fall can bring greater glory. 8 July Belmont Derby (G1) more than 1 1/4 miles away? August 5 Saratoga Derby (G1) 1 3/16 mile race? Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) racing 1 1/2 miles with older horses?
I believe Far Bridge is one of the most talented three-year-olds in training. I believe he is a first-rate pitcher in the making. And I’m happy to see what’s in his career.
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J. Keeler Johnson (also known as “Keelerman”) is a writer, cinematographer, voice actor, disabled athlete, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A huge fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager the greatest racehorse ever made in America, but considers Zenyatta his all-time favorite.
