2025 Champagne Stakes Preview

Key takeaways:

• The Champagne is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, offering 10-5-3-2-1 Derby points to the top five horses.
• Past winners include stars like Tiz the Law, Jackie’s Warrior, and Practical Joke, making it a pivotal fall prep.
• Talkin drew perfectly outside, has the pedigree to stretch out, and showed grit in a sharp Saratoga debut.
• It’s Our Time crushed his debut by 17¾ lengths, stalked professionally, and looks ready to handle the mile.
• Stradale is the lone maiden but brings lethal speed, resilience, and a red-hot Manny Franco aboard for Asmussen.

Saturday, October 4, at Aqueduct Racetrack, the East Coast’s top two-year-olds have a chance for Grade 1 glory, as well as a ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and a share of Kentucky Derby qualifying points, in the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes. Run at a one-mile distance on the dirt track, the race is the next step forward from the seven-furlong Hopeful at Saratoga Race Course, and, along with the Frizette Stakes run earlier in the day, is a showcase of up-and-coming stars in the sport.

The Champagne is usually an early-fall feature at Belmont Park, but with the construction there going on for another year, it will be run once more at the Big A. The spoils are just as rich, though. The winner of the race earns a ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile through the Win and You’re In program, and the top five horses earn 10-5-3-2-1 points toward the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs next spring.

The 2025 edition of the Champagne drew a field of nine led by It’s Our Time, a dizzying 17 ¾-length winner in his debut at Saratoga on August 16. Rail-drawn Curtain Call tries to do two better than he did in the Hopeful (G1) closing weekend at Saratoga, when he was third behind runaway winner Ted Noffey. Just Asap and Aye Aye also have stakes experience, while the rest step up for the first time.

Though no horse has swept the Champagne and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile since Shanghai Bobby in 2012, some excellent horses have won it in the last ten years. They include prominent sire Practical Joke (2016), durable sprinter Firenze Fire (2017), Belmont and Travers winner Tiz the Law (2019), and the brilliant Jackie’s Warrior (2020). Going earlier in its history, two Triple Crown winners have also won the Champagne: Seattle Slew and Count Fleet. Secretariat also crossed the wire first, but was disqualified for interference.

Champagne Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, October 4
• Track: Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York
• Post Time: 3:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 mile on the dirt
• Age/Sex: Two-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV, Fox Sports 2
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Champagne Stakes Draw and Odds

These horses were entered in the Champagne Stakes. The chart includes post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Champagne Prep Race Results

The nine contenders in the Champagne come out of seven different races.

Three horses come into the race with stakes experience. Two come out of the Hopeful (G1), the top-level meet closer going seven furlongs at Saratoga Race Course. Curtain Call fared the better of the two, chasing on for third—no match for runaway winner Ted Noffey, and nipped by a head for place. Aye Eye also comes out of the Hopeful; he came away slowly and passed a pair along the way to finish fifth. Just Asap also comes out of stakes company; he set the early pace in the one-mile Sapling at Monmouth on August 30, battled when engaged, and finished second by a neck.

The other six come out of maiden special weights, with five coming from open company and one stepping up from state-bred foes. The most impressive victory was by It’s Our Time, who stalked the pace before taking over to win a 6 ½-furlong sprint on August 16 at Saratoga by 17 ¾ lengths. Napoleon Solo comes out of a six-furlong sprint at Saratoga on August 8, a race he won in stalk-and-pounce fashion by 5 ¼ lengths. Three others come out of seven-furlong races at the Spa. Talkin got up to win by a neck over pacesetter Stradale on August 30; both horses in that exacta will contest the Champagne. Universe comes out of a slower race later the same day, during which he tracked the pace and drew off by 4 ½ lengths in the lane despite a troubled start.

Stickupwithoutagun is the only one coming out of a state-bred race. He tracked the pace and kicked away to beat New York-breds in a six-furlong sprint on August 29, a significant improvement over his debut on the grass.

Champagne Stakes Contenders

These are the nine entrants for the 2025 Champagne Stakes, in order of their post positions.

1. Curtain Call: With three starts, this Mark Casse trainee is the most experienced horse in the field. The stretch out to a flat mile should be well within the pedigree of this Tiz the Law son. However, he hasn’t been the best gate horse, a particular concern now that he’s back in graded-stakes company and breaking from the rail. And, his best race by far was his attempt over a sloppy track—he loses that comparative advantage this time, as the forecast looks sunny and clear.
2. Stradale: The only maiden in the field, he showed more speed last out when stretching from six furlongs to seven, and just failed to hold against Talkin, who he faces again this time. Whether he wants the extra furlong is a question—he is by Yaupon, but his female family shows a lot of distance versatility. It’s also a question of how comfortably he’ll get things on the front end, especially with the speedy Just Asap lurking a few gates outside him. The jockey change to Manuel Franco is a plus, though, as Franco is a New York fixture who has gotten a red-hot start to the Aqueduct meet.
3. Universe: Universe steps into Grade 1 company out of a debut maiden win at Saratoga on August 30. His race wasn’t as fast as the one featuring Talkin and Stradale on the same day, but he has an excuse: he hit the gate and still managed to get a tactical spot, rally in the lane, and clear off by 4 ½ lengths. Chris Elliott, his jockey that day, returns to the irons for trainer Kenny McPeek, who has gotten a hot start to the fall meet at Aqueduct.
4. Aye Eye: If Aye Eye is going to step up and hold his own against this quality of company, he is going to have to start coming away better. He broke his maiden on debut on August 8 at the Spa despite spotting the field almost 20 lengths. However, the Hopeful last out was a different story: he broke slowly then, too, but was only able to pass a couple of tired foes and finished fifth of seven. His pedigree suggests the extra distance will suit him, but especially without a pace collapse likely, he will need to break much better to be a threat at the graded-stakes level.
5. Just Asap: Early speed is a good thing to have, especially when there’s not a ton of it, and Just Asap is the other horse who may make things interesting for Stradale up front. He came close last out in a two-turn mile stakes at Monmouth, setting the early pace, dueling, and missing by only a neck. However, on debut at Ellis, he led at every call and won impressively in a seven-furlong race. The switch back to an extended one-turn configuration is a positive for this son of Maxfield, and being drawn outside of the other speed in the race (Stradale), he could be interesting if he can show a stalking gear.
6. It’s Our Time: Only modestly bet in his debut August 16 at Saratoga, this Tom Amoss trainee did everything right: he stalked the pace and drew off to win by 17 ¾ lengths, geared down while still running the fastest race of anyone in the field according to multiple speed figure scales. He stretches out to a mile for this, but his win at 6 ½ furlongs shows ability over an extended one-turn configuration, and both sides of his pedigree suggest the mile should be fine—his female family is fairly sprint-oriented, but sire Not This Time and damsire Summer Front pour in some stamina. The concern is the price, especially for a barn that tends to underperform in graded races, but the talent is there.
7. Stickupwithoutagun: The second-stringer from the Kenny McPeek barn, he was a no-show on debut at two turns on turf, but the switch to dirt for his second start went far better. He has shown the ability to pass horses, and his pedigree suggests the stretch to a mile should be within his abilities. However, even with those threads of upside, he needs to improve a lot to compete, assuming the best of his foes can reproduce their previous form, and he appears to be a better fit for some New York-bred races later this fall.
8. Napoleon Solo: He shined in his six-furlong debut on August 8 for trainer Chad Summers, tracking the early pace, making an early move, and running on to win by 5 ¼ lengths. The step up to a mile should be within his abilities, being by Liam’s Map out of a Scat Daddy mare who won a turf stakes at 7 ½ furlongs and won two other races at 1 1/16 miles. He has tactical speed and should get a fairly clean trip near the outside, and he comes into the Champagne off a series of sharp works much like the ones leading into his debut.
9. Talkin: He debuted in a seven-furlong race at Saratoga on August 30, tracking an honest pace, rallying in the lane, and overhauling Stradale to win by a neck. Kendrick Carmouche gets the return call, and he has gotten his autumn at Aqueduct off to a hot start. This Danny Gargan trainee is bred for distance—stepping up a furlong from that last start should work well, and he’ll probably want even more ground when all is said and done. And, Gargan’s barn does well with horses like this: stretch-outs, graded-stakes starts, and last-out maiden winners. In short, there is a lot of upside from a clean outside gate.

Champagne Stakes: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the 2025 Champagne Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack:

1. Talkin (5-1)

All eyes may be on It’s Our Time, but that makes the Champagne an exciting betting opportunity on other horses. Talkin looks like the one to put in the strongest focus. Drawn in the clean outside gate in a one-turn mile, he has plenty of time to get a good spot before the field hits the turn. He tracked the pace and battled gamely to get up by a neck on debut, showing tenacity, a quality it’s hard to teach. That kind of trip should work nicely again, in a race where there are several who can show speed, though a total collapse is unlikely.

The extra distance should move this Danny Gargan trainee forward as well: he’s a Good Magic half to Royal Obsession, who hit the board in the 1 ⅛-mile Gazelle (G2) and went on to produce Clicquot, winner of both the Cotillion (G1) and the Indiana Oaks (G3) this year. All in all, he has a lot of upside for Gargan and jockey Kendrick Carmouche, both of whom are getting a strong start at Aqueduct this fall and can carry that momentum forward at an overlaid price.

2. It’s Our Time (1-1)

It’s Our Time will be the favorite in the Champagne Stakes after his impressive debut maiden win at Saratoga on August 16. However, he has proven a little more than your average blowout maiden winner. First off, he didn’t lead at every call—he was bumped early and stalked the pace before taking over. That suggests that he has natural speed, but also both the ability to overcome difficulty and the ability to pass horses, instead of just spitting the bit if he doesn’t make the top.

In a race where a couple of horses have shown some early speed but the pace appears to be unlikely to collapse, a stalking style looks like it could very well be a winning trip. And, even though he drew a nice middle gate, chaos can always happen with lightly-raced horses, so the fact that he didn’t have everything his own way at the break builds more confidence than usual for a likely favorite who has started just once.

3. Stradale (8-1)

Stradale may be the only maiden in the field, but speed is a good thing to have in these one-turn miles at Aqueduct, and he should be able to show sharp speed from the outset. He set the early pace last out in a seven-furlong maiden race, and though he was tagged late by the late-running Talkin, it was still a step forward from his debut, and it was still a fast enough effort to make him a threat in this graded-stakes race.

He also has shown the ability to overcome difficulty. Neither of his starts so far have gone very smoothly. If there’s early chaos, he has shown in both of his outings that he can keep his mind on business and keep running. And, if the start isn’t messy? Stradale and red-hot jockey Manny Franco could be the ones who go to the front and try to take this field all the way around.

Champagne Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Champagne Stakes?

A: The Champagne Stakes happens on Saturday, October 4, at Aqueduct. Post time is scheduled for 3:20 p.m. EDT, and the race is the seventh on the 12-race Saturday card.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Champagne Stakes?

A: Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with six victories in the Champagne between 2004 and 2014 with Proud Accolade, Scat Daddy, Uncle Mo, Shanghai Bobby, Havana, and Daredevil. Pletcher does not start a horse in 2025. Among trainers with a runner in the 2025 Champagne, the only one who has won before is Steve Asmussen, who sends out Stradale. He won with Jackie’s Warrior in 2020.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Champagne Stakes?

A: It’s Our Time is the even-money favorite on the morning line and should hold as the chalk through post time. Though the Tom Amoss trainee has only run once, that one start was a 17 ¾-length maiden win at Saratoga that came back fast, the kind of effort that stokes bettors’ confidence.

Q: Who is the best Champagne Stakes jockey?

A: Braulio Baeza leads all jockeys with five wins between 1964 and 1975. However, he is long-retired. Among jockeys who are riding in the 2025 edition of the Champagne, Joel Rosario leads with two wins, most recently with Jackie’s Warrior in 2020. He can win a third time with Napoleon Solo.

Q: Who won the Champagne Stakes in 2024?

A: Chancer McPatrick won the 2024 Champagne Stakes for trainer Chad Brown and jockey Flavien Prat. Neither returns to the race in 2025.

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