Woody Stephens Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun (Grade 1)

THE New York Racing Association awarded blankets of flowers for its Grade 1 winners during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and trainer Chad Brown came away with so many he needed two sawhorses outside his barn to hold the haul. Brown won four Grade 1s on the weekend, including three on Belmont day, and five graded stakes overall.

Honours

Jack Christopher led the way with a performance so good in the Woody Stephens Stakes that it doesn’t make it a stretch to say he’ll be considered for divisional honours by the end of 2022.

Owned by Coolmore, Peter Brant, Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister, Jack Christopher improved to four-for-four with a 10-length win over Pappacap in the seven-furlong Woody Stephens.

The son of Munnings won the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby day in what was his only other start of 2022 after seeing his two-year-old season cut short by injury just before the Breeders’ Cup.

Brilliance

“This horse is an exceptional talent,” Brown said. “This is my 15th year of training and I’ve never had a dirt horse with this much pure brilliance. He reminds me a lot of Ghostzapper when I worked for Bobby Frankel. He’s a brilliant horse that can probably run any distance. Everybody wants to have horses like this – horse of a lifetime – including me.”