Cordiality leads full field for Swingtime Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Cordiality dominated the California-bred stakes for fillies and mares on turf through the spring and summer, winning the Fran’s Valentine Stakes at Santa Anita in May and the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar in August.

Since those wins were in statebred company, Cordiality is eligible for Sunday’s $70,000 Swingtime Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf. The race is restricted to non-winners of a stakes worth $60,000 at a mile or longer this year, with statebred races excluded.

The Swingtime Stakes was chosen for Cordiality instead of the Grade 2 John Mabee Stakes at Del Mar on Sept. 1. Cordiality was entered in the Mabee Stakes but was withdrawn on race day.

“It was a little bit quick back, and the race looked formidable on paper,” trainer Mark Glatt recalled on Friday. “She’s a mare that has always run well with spacing between races. We erred on the conservative side.”

In June, Cordiality was third in the Grade 3 Wilshire Stakes at Santa Anita in her graded-stakes debut.

This year, Cordiality has won 3 of 6 starts and earned $203,430, the highest earnings of the 13 fillies and mares entered in the Swingtime. The race will have 11 starters since the turf rails are set 10 feet out from the permanent position.

Cordiality is owned by Glatt, Lee Drummond, and John Xitco. A 5-year-old mare, Cordiality has won 9 of 23 starts and earned $413,595. She was claimed for $32,000 by her current owners at Sacramento in the summer of 2016 and has since earned $342,935.

In the Swingtime Stakes, Cordiality will be ridden by Tyler Baze, who is likely to have his mount in a stalking position behind Fahan Mura, who was third in the Mabee, and Okinawa, who was second in the Daisycutter Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 3.

Fahan Mura won the restricted Osunitas Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on July 20 and could easily lead throughout the Swingtime. Fahan Mura is likely to face some pressure from Way to Versailles, a 4-year-old filly who joined trainer Peter Miller’s stable during the summer.

Way to Versailles won the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs on turf at Woodbine on July 29. Owned by Gary Barber, Way to Versailles was scheduled to start at Del Mar in the summer but was briefly sidelined by a sore foot, Miller said.

Way to Versailles has won from the front and as a stalker.

“She’s got tactical speed,” Miller said. “I imagine we’ll sit third or fourth. I think the question is the mile, but she’s run well going long and run well going seven-eighths.”