Aqueduct: Swag Daddy enters Sweet Envoy

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Swag Daddy, with Junior Alvarado riding, wins the Restrainor for New York-breds.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Swag Daddy, who scratched out of last Saturday's Withers because of what trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. called a "foot issue," is entered back to run in Saturday's $75,000 Sweet Envoy Stakes, a race restricted to 3-year-old New York-breds.

Swag Daddy has already won two straight New York-bred stakes and could be using this as a prep to the Gotham on March 4. Dutrow is also considering running Jimmy Winkfield Stakes winner King and Crusader in the Gotham.

Others entered in the Sweet Envoy include Coalition, Melvindale, Sportswriter, Brass Note, Summer Breezing, Pretension and Thor's Mjolnor.

Flat Bold bounces back quickly

Flat Bold, who finished fifth in last Saturday's Grade 3 Toboggan, wheeled back on short rest to win a money allowance race Monday at Parx.

Rodriguez said that he convinced owner Michael Dubb to run in the Toboggan, hoping he could pick up a second or third-place check.

Rodriguez said Flat Bold had a bit of a tough trip in the Toboggan but came out of the race well enough to run back.

In the Parx race, Rodriguez said Flat Bold benefited from a half-mile that was a full second faster than the Toboggan.

"They went 22, 45, and he was able to be comfortable back there," Rodriguez said. "As soon as he got him to the outside, he took off."

Rodriguez said while Flat Bold is nominated to the General George at Laurel on Feb. 20, he will most likely make his next start in the Bensalem Stakes at Parx on March 13.
Of course, there is ample time to make both spots.

NYRA reports nine breakdowns

After three horses suffered fatal injuries on consecutive racing days last week, the New York Racing Association reports there have been nine catastrophic breakdowns thus far during the inner track meet.

That figures does not include the cardiovascular collapse suffered by Raw Moon while galloping out past the wire in the ninth race on Jan. 15.

NYRA officials said the nine fatalities is one more than during the same period of racing in the 2010-11 winter meet and three more than the corresponding period for the 2009-10 inner track meet.

Figures show that there were 32 fatalities during the races at the three NYRA tracks - Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga -- in 2011, the same number as in 2010. There were 22 fatalities suffered during training hours in 2011, compared with 33 in 2010.