Adam Wachtel

Trainer Brad Cox confirmed that FMQ Stables' Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), a brave third in the G1 Saudi Cup after setting bruising fractions up front, has shipped to Dubai and has settled in at Meydan Raceourse. The $45,000 Keeneland January short-yearling turned $240,000 OBS April breezer holds an entry for the G1 Dubai World Cup, where he would face a rematch with the two horses that finished ahead of him last weekend--Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) and Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}). But Cox aid that the tentatively target is the Mar....

Fan-favorite Channel Maker (English Channel), the 2020 Eclipse Award-winning turf male who made a record six appearances at the Breeders' Cup, has taken up residence at Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky. The 9-year-old was donated to the farm by Adam Wachtel and his fellow owners. Bred in Ontario by Ivan Dalos's Tall Oaks Farm, Channel Maker was a stakes winner at two for trainer Danny Vella and took the 2017 Breeders' S. He was a Grade I winner each year from 2018 to 2020, scoring his first such victory in...

This is the story of Baby Yoda (Prospective): Bought shortly after he broke his maiden for $10,000 at Pimlico, he ran a 114 Beyer figure in a Saratoga allowance race, tying him for the fastest number on the year, and will now be sent into a graded prep for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. It sounds impossible. But it's not. "It's crazy," said Baby Yoda's co-owner Adam Wachtel. "It's hard to rationalize or accept. It's highly unusual to see something like this. He ran for $10,000 nine weeks ago and...

Six new members have been elected to The Jockey Club, it was announced Wednesday: Gayle Benson, Dr. Jeffrey Berk, Drew Fleming, Kevin Lavin, Anthony Manganaro and Adam Wachtel. Gayle Benson established GMB Racing Stables in 2014 with her husband, Tom Benson. Horses campaigned by GMB Racing include Grade I winner Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike) and graded stakes winners Tom's Ready (More Than Ready), Mo Tom (Uncle Mo) and Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior). She owns Benson Farm in Paris, KY, which is active in Thoroughbred breeding and sales, having more than...

Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable's reigning champion juvenile filly Vequist (Nyquist) breezed a half-mile in :47.77 on Saratoga's main track Friday under Jose Lezcano in preparation for a potential seasonal debut at the end of the Saratoga meet. According to trainer Butch Reid, Jr., the filly will target Parx's GI Cotillion S. Sept. 25. Winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile fillies at Keeneland last fall, last summer's GI Spinaway S. winner finished ninth in her season return in the GII Davona Dale S. in February. "She did...

The 2020 racing season was fraught with many challenges, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic, and halted racing in New York for about three months, continuing to wreak havoc with on-track attendance at many of the nation's racing venues throughout the remainder of the year. And while for many it was a time of turmoil and struggle, it proved to be a banner season for Wachtel Stable, campaigning not one but two Eclipse champions in 2020--Vequist (Nyquist, Champion Juvenile Filly) and Channel Maker (English Channel, Champion Turf Male). "Unfortunately, I...