Off for nearly two years, Connie Swingle tops D'Amato exacta in Daisycutter

DEL MAR, Calif. – Unraced in nearly 22 months, Connie Swingle performed like a mare in the midst of an active campaign in Saturday’s $123,100 Daisycutter Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar.

Connie Swingle ($11.20) stalked pacesetter Itzel to early stretch before taking a convincing lead with less than a furlong remaining.

Ridden by Kyle Frey, Connie Swingle won by 1 3/4 lengths over 9-5 favorite Elm Drive, giving trainer Phil D’Amato a winning exacta in the race for fillies and mares.

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“I think the five-eighths helped her,” D’Amato said. “Kyle gave her a super ride. He had a good position.”

Connie Swingle was timed 56.42 seconds and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 99. Elm Drive, who closed from fifth on the backstretch, finished 1 1/4 lengths in front of 2-1 Stay and Scam.

Jockey Edwin Maldonado, who rode seventh-place finisher Runninwiththeboyz, lodged an objection against Stay and Scam, who was ridden by Mario Gutierrez. Maldonado alleged that Stay and Scam drifted in and left Runninwiththeboyz in tight quarters with a half-mile remaining. The stewards did not change the order of finish.

Itzel (10-1) faded to finish fourth, followed by Ever Smart, Antifona, Runningwiththeboyz, and Antique Silver.

Connie Swingle, a 5-year-old Grazen mare, races for owner and breeder Nick Alexander. The Daisycutter was Connie Swingle’s first start since a second in the Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on Oct. 29, 2022.

Connie Swingle has won 7 of 11 starts and earned $509,564. She won the Generous Portion Stakes for 2-year-old California-bred fillies at Del Mar in 2021, and the Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the hillside turf course in early October 2022.

D’Amato said that a series of minor ailments kept Connie Swingle off the track in recent years.

“She's an old class horse and a stakes winner,” D’Amato said. "Nick is great with giving horses all the time they need. It was little things that caused her to need time off.”

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