Gufo surges, then holds off Japan in Sword Dancer

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Gufo wore down tough rivals in the stretch and then held off the sustained surge of an invader from Europe to post a hard-fought neck victory in the Grade 1, 1 1/2-mile Sword Dancer on the grass at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.

Gufo, the youngest horse in the field at 4 years old, took his second straight stakes race at 1 1/2 miles by winning the $750,000 Sword Dancer by a receding neck over Japan, a multiple Group 1 winner in Europe who was making his first start in the U.S. Cross Border, a peripatetic stakes winner with a remarkable Saratoga record, finished third.

Gufo, the slight favorite, steadily made his way to the front of the pack by biding his time early and allowing rider Joel Rosario to pick a clean path to the clear at the top of the stretch. The two early leaders, Channel Maker and Tribhuvan, succumbed with a furlong to run and Gufo looked to be home-free. But Luis Saez was rousing Japan on his outside, and the pair got to Gufo’s neck as the wire approached.

It wasn’t enough. Gufo ($7.10) hit the wire first and galloped out strongly. Final time was 2:28.30 on a course rated firm despite some mild showers during Saturday’s card, and Gufo was given a 104 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I am delighted with this horse and the way he ran today,” said his trainer, Christophe Clement. “He is a top-class horse. He's always been a top-class horse. A mile-and-a-quarter, a mile-and-a-half, it really doesn't matter for him. I am delighted to win this race. The race set up perfect. There was plenty of pace.”

For Gufo, the next target is the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Oct. 9 at Belmont Park, another 1 1/2-mile turf race, Clement said.

The Sword Dancer awards its winner with an all-fees paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf, which is scheduled for Nov. 6 at Del Mar in Southern California. But Clement, ever cautious, hedged.

“This is fabulous, but let's go one race at a time,” Clement said.

Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Japan was coming into the Sword Dancer off a victory in the Group 3 Green Room Meld Stakes in Ireland on July 15, and his sharp form in the Sword Dancer could lead his connections to consider a run for the Turf. Even without a start in the U.S., he was sent off as the co-second choice.

“He ran very well today,” said Ryan Moore, Japan’s regular rider. “I was pleased with it.”

As a 3-year-old, Japan had won both the Grand Prix de Paris and the Juddmonte International Stakes, but he was winless in 2020 and his two wins in 2021 were both Group 3 stakes.

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Cross Border, the third-place finisher, brought a 6-for-7 record at Saratoga into the Sword Dancer, including his last start, a solid victory in the Grade 2 Bowling Green on July 31. But he was 3 1/2 lengths behind Japan at the wire and only just caught Rockemperor in the last strides.

Channel Maker, last year’s turf champion, set the pace in the Sword Dancer after briefly grappling with Tribhuvan, who seemed on paper to have a slight edge in raw speed. Manny Franco, Channel Maker’s rider, was determined to get the lead, and Channel Maker set the pace at 23.38, 48.59, 1.14.42, and 1:39.16, with Tribhuvan edging closer as the race wore on.

At the head of the stretch, jockey Flavien Prat pushed Tribhuvan to Channel Maker’s flank, but the closers were too much. Tribhuvan was passed by four horses and Channel Maker by five, while Moretti, who was making his first start on turf, faded to the back early.

Channel Maker, a 7-year-old trained by Bill Mott, was sent off the fifth choice in the seven-horse field. His last four starts now include the poor Sword Dancer showing, an empty performance in Cross Border’s Bowling Green, and a non-threatening eighth in the Dubai Sheema Classic. He has raced without the anti-bleeding medication Lasix in all four of those starts.