by Jeff Apel

Champion Ginger Punch split foes after waiting for running room on the turn and earned her third consecutive graded stakes win with a 1 1/4-length victory in the $250,000 Go for Wand Handicap (G1) on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

The win earned Ginger Punch, the 2007 champion older female who also won last year’s edition of the Go for Wand, an automatic starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (G1) on October 24 at Santa Anita Park as part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series.

Moon Catcher set the pace near the inside rail and maintained a one-length lead against Copper State through a half-mile in :49.01. Ginger Punch raced in third through six furlongs in 1:14.04 and was boxed in on the turn while positioned behind Moon Catcher and Copper State and to the inside of Over Under.

Moving up between Moon Catcher and Copper State, Ginger Punch quickly gained command under jockey Rafael Bejarano and opened a head lead in early stretch. Drawing clear approaching the finish, Ginger Punch won the 1 1/8-mile race in 1:53.43 on a fast track.

“She is a champion,” trainer Bobby Frankel said. “I was a little worried about finding a place to run. They all ganged up on her. They were looking for her. When she dropped back inside, the hole finally opened back up.”

Bejarano was impressed by the determination that Ginger Punch showed while rallying to victory as the 1-to-5 favorite in the field of six fillies and mares.

“I was in perfect position. But when I came to the three-eighths pole, I saw that [Over Under] was completely dead before coming to the turn,” Bejarano said. “So, I tried to look for a spot on the outside. Then, I tried to hold her a little bit and come through on the inside.

“My filly showed me a big kick because she was a little mad, you know?”

Stakes winner Copper State finished second, 1 3/4-lengths in front of Grade 3 winner Indescribable.

A career earner of $2,705,603, Ginger Punch entered off a win in the Ogden Phipps Handicap (G1) on June 14 at Belmont Park for owner-breeder Stronach Stables. The Awesome Again mare opened her five-year-old season by winning the Sunshine Millions Distaff Stakes on January 26 at Gulfstream Park and won the Louisville Stakes (G2) on May 2 at Churchill Downs prior to capturing the Ogden Phipps.

Ginger Punch posted her 11th win in 19 career starts. Bred in Florida, Ginger Punch is out of Grade 2 winner Nappelon, by Bold Revenue.

For an Equibase chart, click here.

Jeff Apel is a Thoroughbred Times assistant daily news editor