Big Saturday Ahead for Griffin Johnson’s Rising 2-Year-Olds
KEENELAND & AQUEDUCT,NY – Trainer Griffin Johnson sends two promising colts,Ewing and Curtain Call,into Grade 1 stakes races this Saturday,marking a pivotal weekend for his burgeoning stable as teh 2-year-old season heads toward the Breeders’ Cup and,ultimately,the Kentucky Derby. Both horses will face significant challenges in their respective races, the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and the Champagne Stakes.
Ewing enters the $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland off a victory in the Saratoga Special Stakes, winning by a length. This will be his first attempt at 1 1/16 miles (8 furlongs) and around two turns,testing his stamina. Though, his pedigree offers encouragement, as his sire, Knicks Go, won the 1 ¼-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2021. Ewing’s primary competition is expected to come from Ted Noffey, who dominated the Grade 1 spendthrift Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga. The Breeders’ Futurity is scheduled for 5:16 p.m. ET and will be televised on CNBC and FanDuel TV, with streaming available on Peacock.
Meanwhile, Curtain call will compete in the $500,000 Champagne stakes at Aqueduct.The Florida-bred colt finished second in his debut at Churchill Downs in June, behind Obliteration, who later finished second to Ewing in the Saratoga Special. He followed that with an notable six-furlong victory at Saratoga, winning by 8 lengths. Curtain Call then ran third in the seven-furlong grade 1 Hopeful Stakes, won by Ted Noffey. The Champagne, a one-mile race run around one turn due to the Aqueduct track configuration, is scheduled for 3:20 p.m. ET and will be televised on FS1.
Curtain Call’s bloodlines also suggest potential for longer distances; he is a son of Belmont Stakes winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Tiz the Law and is related to champion filly banshee Breeze through his dam.
The results of Saturday’s races will provide valuable insight into Johnson’s horses’ potential as they progress toward the Breeders’ Cup in four weeks and the 2025 Kentucky Derby.
