Jack Channon is bidding to emulate his father’s 2012 Irish 1000 Guineas success with Sukanya on Sunday. Mick Channon won the race with Samitar in 2012, beating the Aidan O’Brien trained and subsequent Jersey Stakes winner Ishvana.
Jack Channon won the Group 3 Fred Darling with Sukanya last month, comfortably beating the short-priced Touleen. The runner-up performed well in the 1000 Guineas next time, and the 11th was third in the Musidora.
With his father beating Aidan O’Brien in 2012, son Jack is hoping he can do the same. True Love and Precise are likely to line up, and Jack Channon told the Racing Post: “She’ll be taking on one of Aidan’s fillies, maybe both. They’re going to be hard to beat, but she goes there with a single-figure-price chance. We think the way she races gives her every chance of staying a mile, and she’s got the pedigree. It’s really exciting for the whole team.”
Jack Channon has already hit the frame in Classic company, with Caernarfon’s efforts in the 2023 1000 Guineas and Oaks.
“We know she’s good. But the question is whether she’s good enough to be one of the best in the division. She’s been training very well. She did a lovely bit of work on Friday and we’re all systems go for next Sunday. We’re just hoping they don’t get too much rain and that the hot weather comes in like it’s supposed to. She wouldn’t want it really soft.”
“We’ve got some very nice horses to go to war with” – Jack Channon
The Channon team have started the season strongly, and the man at the helm is confident Sukanya will run well. “Her form has worked out very well. Touleen, who she beat last time at Newbury, ran a very good race in the Guineas despite being on the wrong side of the track. And her two-year-old form is stacking up, too. We think she’s very smart.”
The yard won a historic Lincoln and Spring Mile last month with Urban Lion and Mezcala. “We’ve had a brilliant start and we’ve been banging in plenty of winners,” said Channon. “We knocked on the door yesterday with three seconds and a third, and the horses are continuing in good form. Which is what you want coming into a big week for us like this.
“We’ve got some very nice horses to go to war with and it’s exciting to see what they can do.”