Saratoga

Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Stakes (Grade 1)

GODOLPHIN’s good weekend began in America, but it was not their most fancied runner who went first past the post in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes, as Nations Pride had no answer to his faster-finishing stable companion El Cordobes and ended up third in the mile and a half contest.

El Cordobes was the fresher horse having won at Newmarket’s July meeting, while the favourite had been off since April in Meydan.

The race favourite Far Bridge, who won last year’s Sword Dancer for Christophe Clement, and was the last graded stakes winner saddled before his death, put in a rare bad run, finishing sixth of eight.

Longshot Vote No set the pace, but entering the stretch the first time, Joel Rosario moved Far Bridge from fifth into second through a half-mile in a quick 47.40 seconds.

Then, midway on the final turn, William Buick sent Nations Pride to the front and extended to a two-length lead with a furlong to go. But stablemate El Cordobes and Rebel Red were finding plenty and racing between Nations Pride and Rebel Red in the final yards, El Cordobes and Flavien Prat grabbed a lead inside the last half furlong and the Frankel four-year-old went on to a half-length success.

The one-eyed Rebel Red, another son of Frankel, trained by Cherie DeVaux, grabbed second by three-quarters of a length over Nations Pride with over five lengths back to the rest of the field.

The winner was bred by Bjorn Nielsen out of the Sea The Stars mare Bold Lass.

“I turned for home and split horses and he really gave me a good run,” Prat said.

Far Bridge, who had won three of his previous four starts, was disappointing and Miguel Clement said: “We’ll look at him back at the barn and figure it out.”

The race will be renamed in 2026 in honour of Christophe Clement, who passed away in May at the age of 59 and owns the record with five wins in the Sword Dancer.

Unbeaten in Oaks

The Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational worth $500,000 for turf three-year-old fillies had no overseas runners and it saw the Irish-bred Zarak filly Laurelin maintain her unbeaten record in winning her fifth race.

Trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, the three-year-old came with a late run to overtake Evershed and favourite Opulent Restraint and win by a length and three-quarters over the mile and furlong and a half. She had sold for €160,000 at Goffs Orby Book 1 from Mount Coote Stud in September 2023.

There was another Irish-bred winner on the Friday in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa Stakes for three-year-olds and older as Dylan Davis and trainer Miguel Clement combined with Lope De Vega filly Ozara for a length and a half success.

Graham Motion’s good weekend extended to Del Mar on Saturday where he also won the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap with the British-bred mare Heredia, in the colours of Wathnan Racing. The Dark Angel six-year-old and Juan Henandez had two and a quarter lengths to spare over Public Assembly.

Colonial Downs

Arlington Million Stakes (Grade 1)

THE Arlington Million Stakes may have lost a bit of its attraction since the closing of its Chicago home track and the only European interest on the card was the British-trained Cairo. He was never really involved in the disappointing seven-runner field, finishing fifth.

The six-year-old War Front horse Fort Washington, outkicked Grand Sonata, the favourite Integration and Mystik Dan, in the final furlong, to win by a half-length and three-quarters of length in the Grade 1 at Colonial Downs. He earned $607,600 for winning the $1 million race.

Both the winner and third were trained by Shug McGaughey. The 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan ran quite well on his turf debut, but came up empty in the final furlong to be fourth, beaten three and a half lengths by Fort Washington.

Fort Washington was out wide in the straight under Junior Alvarado and came by his rivals on the outside.

“I wanted to make sure I saved enough ground so that I had a big punch at the end,” Alvarado said. “When I swung out in the clearing, he finished up very strong.”

The winner is owned by Magic Cap Stables and was bred by Joseph Allen and White Birch Farm.

Curtis on the mark

Also on the card, the Secretariat Stakes is now a Grade 2 and the $500,000 mile contest for three-year-olds went to Giocoso, trained by Keith Desormeaux.

Appreciating a drop in class after running fifth in the May 3rd Grade 1 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs, Giocoso, by Not This Time, produced a sustained run over the final quarter-mile to beat favourite Simulate and notch his first stakes victory.

Colonial Downs’ leading rider Ben Curtis found the ideal trip from an inside draw. “I got a beautiful sit, and in on the rail,” Curtis said in a post-race interview. “He relaxed beautiful down the back and when the seam came, I had so much horse. I was always going to take it, and we know he stays.”

Curtis was in the runner-up position in the other feature race, the Grade 2 Beverly D. Stakes when Spanish Eyes, trained by Brendan Walsh, was a length and a half behind the winner Charlene’s Dream, who won for Javier Castellano and trainer Ed Moger Jr.