Motion: Main Sequence should run well in Sword Dancer
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When trainer Graham Motion decided to run Main Sequence in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park last month, it was more out of a feeling of necessity than expectation.
Main Sequence had gotten very sick when he first arrived in the United States from Europe over the winter, and the last thing Motion wanted to do was subject the horse to a long van ride from his base at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland to Chicago for the Arlington Handicap, which was his plan. So, he sent him to nearby Monmouth instead.
Main Sequence surprised Motion when he unleashed a strong late run under Rajiv Maragh to run down Twilight Eclipse and win the U.N. by a neck.
“I didn’t expect him to win,” Motion said. “In fact, Rajiv came back and said, ‘If he didn’t win, you wouldn’t be disappointed with the way he ran,’ especially on a track that is very difficult to make up ground.”
Expectations will be different Sunday, when Main Sequence meets Twilight Eclipse and the Grade 1 winner Imagining in the Grade 1, $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga.
“I think he’s done well since he ran, and he looks better now than when he ran,” Motion said. “I’m pretty confident he’ll run well.”
Motion’s biggest concern is that Main Sequence picks up five pounds from the U.N. and is spotting two to seven pounds to all of his rivals except Imagining, who, like Main Sequence, carries 123.
Twilight Eclipse, a runner-up in three Grade 1 races, including last year’s Sword Dancer, gets a seven-pound shift in the weights from Main Sequence. Twilight Eclipse had an inside trip in the U.N., and trainer Tom Albertrani thought that had jockey Jose Lezcano been able to get clear earlier than he did, “he would have been more effective.”
On Sunday, Twilight Eclipse breaks from the outside post in the seven-horse field under Lezcano.
Twilight Eclipse likely will be forwardly placed, as will Imagining, who won the Grade 1 Man o’ War in front-running fashion at Belmont on May 11. Imagining comes off a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Manhattan, a race in which trainer Shug McGaughey said he tried to prop entering the first turn.
O’Prado Ole, Perfect Timber, Amira’s Prince, and War Dancer complete the field.
The Sword Dancer is part of the “Jockey Club Tour on Fox” and will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 in a 90-minute telecast beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern.
Key Contenders
Main Sequence (Last Beyer: 100)
◗ Overcame a slow start in his North American debut with a strong five-wide move to win the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth off a nine-month layoff.
◗ Kaigun and Ghurair, the fifth- and sixth-place finishers from the U.N., each came back to win his next start. Kaigun won the Grade 2 Play the King at Woodbine, while Ghurair won a third-level allowance race at Saratoga.
◗ Side Glance, third in the U.N., was scheduled to run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Arlington Million.
◗ Motion, after winning with 7 of his first 24 starters at the meet, entered Friday’s card on an 0-for-17 skid.
Twilight Eclipse (Last 3 Beyers: 100-86-99)
◗ A multiple graded stakes-winning gelding, he is still in search of his first Grade 1 victory.
◗ Beaten a neck by Main Sequence in the United Nations and was second to Big Blue Kitten in the Sword Dancer last year.
◗ Prefers firm ground. Showers fell Friday morning, and there is a 40 percent chance of afternoon showers Sunday.
“It’s not like he’s run bad on a good track, although he would prefer it to be on the firmer side,” Albertrani said. “We’ll just have to take whatever the weather brings us. As far as training-wise, he couldn’t be in better condition.”
Imagining (Last 3 Beyers: 93-98-94)
◗ Won the Grade 1 Man o’ War in front-running fashion but came back to finish sixth, beaten 4 3/4 lengths by Real Solution, in the Grade 1 Manhattan, a race that produced next-out winner Seek Again.
◗ Has a win and a second in two races at Saratoga.