Main Sequence scores late-running victory in Sword Dancer Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With a quarter of a mile left to run in the 1 1/2-mile Sword Dancer Stakes at Saratoga, Main Sequence was 4 1/2 lengths behind with five horses in front of him. One of those horses was the Grade 1 winner Imagining, who despite setting realistic fractions for the marathon distance, didn’t appear to be tiring.

Jockey Rajiv Maragh, who had rallied Main Sequence to a late-running victory in last month’s Grade 1 United Nations Handicap at Monmouth Park, put his 5-year-old gelding out in the clear for the stretch drive. In what may have seemed longer to his connections than the 22 seconds it took for him to finish, Main Sequence swept past the field, catching Imagining in the final jump to win the Grade 1, $500,000 Sword Dancer by a head.

It took a replay for Graham Motion, the trainer of Main Sequence, to believe what he just saw.

“I really didn’t think he got there,” Motion said. “When I saw the rerun … unbelievable. It was a special race.”

Main Sequence now has won two Grade 1 races in his first two starts in North America after going 4 for 14 in Europe, having not won since a Group 3 stakes at Lingfield in 2012. He did finish second in the Group 1 English Derby.

“This horse was a really good horse in England,” said Motion, who trains the horse for Flaxman Holdings of Maria Niarchos-Gouaze. “He was second in the English Derby. That’s no slouch.”

For the second straight race, Main Sequence had to overcome a poor start to get the win. This time, Main Sequence hit the side of the gate at the start, spotting the field at least three lengths.

“That’s been his trait all along – not a whole lot we can do to change him at this point,” Motion said. “Last time, he wasn’t quite as bad as today. He was a little anxious in the gate today. That didn’t help.”

What did help was a fast pace. Imagining, the frontrunning winner of the Grade 1 Man o’ War at Belmont in May, set fractions Sunday of 23.38 seconds for the quarter, 47.15 for a half-mile and 1:12.60 for six furlongs.

“It really helps a horse like this when they go an honest pace in these races, and so often they don’t,” Motion said. “That helped him, but it’s going to be tough for him when he’s running against these kinds of horses if he’s going to spot them those kinds of lengths.”

What also helped Main Sequence was that Imagining switched to his left lead inside the sixteenth pole and stayed on it to the wire.

Main Sequence, a 5-year-old gelding by Aldebaran, covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:24.72 and returned $6.10 as the favorite.

Maragh said he was content to let the horse settle after the slow start.

“Once he ran a sixteenth of a mile, he got into his rhythm, his speed, kind of got into a nice stride,” Maragh said. “From there, I wanted to make the horse tell me when it was the right time to go. Coming off the turn, he said, ‘Let’s go,’ so we went.”

Though Imagining went fast early and did change to his left lead in the stretch, Rosario felt the horse had a good trip.

“He was running,” Rosario said. “He was finishing. The other horse just had the momentum to come from behind and beat me.”

Twilight Eclipse, the horse Main Sequence beat in the U.N., finished third and was followed by War Dancer, Amira’s Prince, O’Prade Ole, and Perfect Timber.

Amira’s Prince pulled up lame in his right foreleg and was vanned off as a precaution, according to Dr. Scott Palmer, the equine medical director for the state of New York.

Motion said he would target the Breeders’ Cup Turf for Main Sequence with a likely next start Sept. 27 in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont.