Sword Dancer presents bettors with many possibilities
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Handicappers will have their work cut out trying to sort out a talented and extremely well-matched field of 10 set to go postward Saturday at Saratoga in the $750,000 Sword Dancer on the turf.
The lineup for the 1 1/2-mile Sword Dancer includes six Grade 1/Group 1 winners, including defending champion Gufo; Channel Maker, who drew off to a 5 3/4-length victory in this race in 2020; and the world traveler Broome, whose only start in this country resulted in a second-place finish in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Turf. Not to mention the Chad Brown-trained trio of Adhamo, Rockemperor, and Tribhuvan, each a Grade 1 winner.
:: DRF's Saratoga headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more
Trainer Christophe Clement will send out Gufo and Soldier Rising in the Sword Dancer. Gufo withstood a stretch-long duel before prevailing by a neck over Japan to win this race a year ago. He has started six times since, capturing the Grade 2 Pan American at Gulfstream Park in his 2022 debut and subsequently running second in the Man o’ War, third in the Manhattan, and fifth in the United Nations in his last start.
Gufo, who has earned nearly $1.6 million from 18 career starts, will wear blinkers for the first time Saturday since his 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
“He’s had a pretty good year, but this is an important race for us,” Clement said. “His last race, he was left with too much to do, so I’m putting blinkers back on to try to keep him closer.”
Soldier Rising has sandwiched a pair of allowance victories around a second-place finish behind Channel Maker in the Grand Couturier Stakes earlier this summer at Belmont Park.
“Both of those were nice wins, but it’s a major jump to go to a Grade 1,” Clement said.
Broome is obviously a big question mark returning to the United States off a distant fourth-place finish in the Group 1 King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 23 at Ascot. He won the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at 1 1/2 miles in June at Royal Ascot.
Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Broome rallied from a dozen lengths off the lead to edge clear near midstretch before succumbing by a half-length to Yibir in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
“It was a strong pace, and Irad gave him a chance and he flew home,” trainer Aidan O’Brien said when asked why Broome was so far back in the Breeders’ Cup.
Broome opened his season with a fifth in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh in Ireland, then won the Hardwicke.
“He made all the running against a good field and kept on going,” O’Brien said. “We’ve been very happy with everything he’s done this year.”
Brown was optimistic when talking about his three in the Sword Dancer.
Adhamo comes off his best race in four U.S. appearances, rallying from midpack to capture the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park. He posted a lifetime-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We finally got the trip we were looking for in the U.N.,” Brown said. “We always thought a lot of this horse.
“He’s still a young horse and has trained like a horse who can move forward again.”
Tribhuvan set the pace before fading to finish fourth in the United Nations. He was coming off a career-best effort five weeks earlier, a wire-to-wire 3 1/2-length tally over Adhamo and Gufo in the Manhattan.
“Tribhuvan got a great trip in the U.N., an even better pace scenario than the Manhattan, and he couldn’t quite hold on,” Brown said. “And I can’t help to think he reacted a bit to a really strong Manhattan. So if he can bounce back a bit and give us the Manhattan race, even though he’s got to go a mile and one-half, he could be competitive here.”
Rockemperor, 6, earned his first victory of the season last out in the Grade 2 Bowling Green here. He rallied from the back of the five-horse field to defeat Arklow by a half-length in the 1 3/8-mile turf race.
“The old man seems to be rounding back to form,” Brown said. “He keeps coming back, which I’m so proud of, though he’s going to really have to step up here.”
– additional reporting by David Grening