Napoleon Solo Makes Champagne Rivals Say U.N.C.L.E.

Though owner Al Gold was not at Aqueduct Racetrack Oct. 4 to watch his 2-year-old Napoleon Solo win the Champagne Stakes (G1), he still got a taste of the bubbly. Gold, who races as Gold Square, also had Howard Wolowitz running in the Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland Saturday and he opted to be in Kentucky with some friends. So he watched and rooted for Napoleon Solo on television, and boy, did he root. "I was cheering so loudly for Napoleon Solo that everyone around me clapped for me after the race," Gold said. "So, I had to buy them champagne." Gold and trainer Chad Summers had every reason to be generous after the colt Gold named after the television spy from the old "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." TV series ran eight fellow 2-year-olds off their feet in posting an impressive front-running, 6 1/2-length victory while 2-5 favorite It's Our Time faded to fourth in the $500,000 Champagne, a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series event for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Oct. 31 at Del Mar. "That was awesome," said Gold, who has a penchant for naming horses after television characters or anything else that catches his fancy. "It was a great performance." While the Juvenile is a seemingly natural progression, with the son of Liam's Map covering the one-turn mile in a fast 1:34.57 in just his second start, Summers was hesitant to commit to a trip west for the World Championships. "I'm concerned with how fast they went today, I've got to be honest with you," Summers said. "Obviously it's dynamic and you have a chance to compete for the 2-year-old championship and a stallion deal. You have to take that into consideration, but we have to consider the horse as well. It's a third straight year of going to California. Getting on the plane. I wouldn't say that it is set in stone that we are going to the Breeders' Cup. We'll see how everything progresses and more importantly how he comes out of the race. He'll tell us and we'll go from there." Summers said it wasn't the plan for Napoleon Solo to grab the early lead but that's how it worked out. Jockey Joel Rosario had the Gold Square runner in front by a length in :22.53 and :44.24 through a half-mile with favored It's Our Time chasing in second. On the turn, Napoleon Solo extended the lead to 2 1/2 lengths after a blistering 6 furlongs in 1:07.88 as It's Our Time faded to fourth. With no one mounting a serious rally from the back, Napoleon Solo ($15.94) extended to a 5-length lead in midstretch and cruised home from there as the 6-1 second choice. "You see the :44 and you get a little nervous. Your heart starts racing a bit," Summers said. "I've watched Joel ride for a long time and I knew he had horse underneath him. I was just hoping the wire would come up before someone got to him." Napoleon Solo was bred by John Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock out of the Scat Daddy mare Atomic Blonde. He was bought for $40,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and his initial start and win came in an Aug. 8 Saratoga Race Course maiden race restricted to horses with a sale or hammer price of $60,000 or less at their most recent sale. Talkin rallied from seventh to take second by three-quarters of a length over Universe, a Global Campaign colt trained by Ken McPeek and owned by Four G Racing, Gregg Day, and Steven Crain. A son of Good Magic trained by Danny Gargan, Talkin is owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Pine Racing Stables, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, and R. A. Hill Stable. Gargan indicated he's more likely to point Talkin to the Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct in December than the Juvenile. It's Our Time, who won his debut by 17 3/4 lengths, was fourth, 8 1/4 lengths behind. "We did the dirty work chasing and it was better than a fourth-place finish," trainer Tom Amoss said. "These are kids. It's his second start. It's not going to be a linear line to the top for any of them. We'll rebound from this. We're very much in the picture for the 3-year-old season and that's the goal." The Champagne is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby, and awarded qualifying points toward the 2026 Kentucky Derby (G1) on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis to the top five finishers.