Swipe heads to Sweden for stallion duty

Swipe, runner-up to champion Nyquist in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, has been purchased for stallion duty by Ivan Sjoberg’s Ravdansen Stud of Sweden.

The 3-year-old son of Birdstone is expected to arrive in Sweden in early 2017, after undergoing quarantine. The colt was originally entered to sell as a stallion prospect at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, but was scratched from the sale and privately purchased by Ravdansen. The farm is located in Arla, a roughly 70-minute drive west of Stockholm.

The Scandanavian region is dominated by harness racing, but there are three major venues for Thoroughbred racing in Sweden: Taby Racecourse north of Stockholm, Jagersro in the southwest city of Malmo, and Goteborg Galopp in Gothenburg, south of the Norway border.

According to the Swedish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, approximately 400 Thoroughbreds are born in the country each year.

Swipe finished second in the Tremont Stakes at Belmont in his second career start, and subsequently broke his maiden winning the Summer Juvenile Championship Stakes at Los Alamitos, his only career victory. He went on to finish second to Nyquist in four consecutive graded stakes – the Grade 2 Best Pal, Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, Grade 1 FrontRunner, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, beaten only a half-length in the latter.

Swipe had surgery to remove a bone chip from an ankle following the Juvenile. He returned from the layoff to make four starts in 2016, with his only placing a third in an allowance at Belmont. Continued physical troubles, including a neck problem, forced his retirement.

Swipe was trained by Keith Desormeaux for the partnership of Big Chief Racing, Fizzy Racing, and Billy Shelton.