Jack Christopher Newest G1 Winner For Munnings
Munnings recorded his second Grade 1 winner of the year on Saturday when 2-year-old son Jack Christopher (2c Munnings x Rushin No Blushin, by Half Ours) was an easy winner of the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes.
Racing a mile on the dirt, Jack Christopher raced a few lengths behind Grade I winner Gunite early on before taking up a closer spot as they raced down the backstretch. The pair had open lengths on the field going into the turn and Jack Christopher was determined do the same to his rival around the turn.
Jose Ortiz gave a confident look back as they turned into the stretch and it was quickly clear why.
Jack Christopher had over five lengths on the field with an eighth of a mile to go and though one runner tried to close on him, his victory was never in doubt. Jack Christopher won by a deceivingly small 2 ¾ lengths with Practical Joke son Wit in third.
“He was a horse that identified himself as early on as his first work,” said trainer Chad Brown I was on the phone with the connections saying, ‘This is potentially a really good horse. I can’t believe what I just saw.’ He’s just been brilliant in every work. There was some buzz around him before he ran, and he lived up to it.”
A prestigious race for 2-year-olds, Champagne winners include Ashford stallions Tiz The Law, Practical Joke, Uncle Mo, and the late Scat Daddy.
Purchased by BSW/Crow, Jack Christopher runs for Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud, and Peter Brant. The victory took undefeated Jack Christopher’s margin of victory to 11 ½ lengths for his two victories.
Bred by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, the colt is out of Rushin No Blushin, a half-sister to dual-Grade I winner Street Boss and a three-quarter sister to multiple Grade II-placed Habiboo. That mare has produced Grade III winners Bellera and Life Imitates Art. The family also includes champion Fruhlingssturm among others.
Rushin No Blushin had a Mo Town filly last year and returned to Munnings.
Munnings two Grade I winners in 2021 tie him in fourth among all North American stallions, including his own sire. Munnings is the sire of 16 stakes winners and 35 stakes performers overall.
His stakes winner count is behind only Into Mischief, who has over 120 more runners than Munnings so far this year. His 35 stakes performers is behind only Into Mischief and Curlin.