Champali Delivers Knock-Out Punch In WEBN Stakes
By: John Gaver III

(Feb. 1, 2003) - Lloyd Madison Farms LLC and Fred Schwartz IV's Champali, under a push-button ride by jockey Jason Lumpkins, who earlier on the card booted home his 2,000th career winner, won the 19th running of the $50,000 WEBN Stakes (formerly the Presidents Stakes) by 2 ¾-lengths over Chicken Soup Kid on Feb. 1 at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

Sent of as the overwhelming 3-5 favorite in the field seven colts, Champali broke alertly and dueled with longshot Cajun Brogue through an opening quarter mile in :23.36 before Lumpkins was able to gather his colt in, content to track the pace through a taxing half-mile carved out in :45.87. Three furlongs from the wire, the son of Glitterman cruised to the front and never looked back, winning as he pleased under steady urging.

Champali covered eight furlongs over a Turfway strip rated "good" in a slow 1:40.51 but won well within himself, ears pricked. He returned $3.40, $2.40, $2.10. Chicken Soup Kid, who reared at the start, ran a brave race to finish second, three-parts of a length to the good of Honeagle.

Cherokee Prince, Tito's Beau, K K Avey and Cajun Brogue completed the official order of finish. Casino Red, Paula's Pride, Sell To Survive, Preface and False Promises were all scratched.

Champali, trained by Greg Foley and named for three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali (the name is pronounced "Champ Ali"), won his second consecutive stakes at Turfway and third overall with his WEBN score and stamped himself as the best sophomore colt on the grounds in Florence. He is expected to continue his assault on Turfway's 3-year-old stakes schedule in the $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes going a mile and a sixteenth on Mar. 1, the final local prep for the $500,000 Grade II Lane's End Stakes on Mar. 15.

With the $31,300 winner's share of the WEBN Stakes purse, Champali improved his lifetime record to five wins from six starts lifetime while increasing his career earnings to $188,474. The only time the bay colt finished off the board was when he was a troubled fifth in the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, 2 ¾-lengths behind Soto, last Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs.

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