Tirupati looks primed to bounce back in Swingtime

Since she left California in the spring, the 5-year-old mare Tirupati has been second or third in allowance races at Ellis Park, Saratoga, and Kentucky Downs.

The losing streak may not deter bettors from supporting Tirupati in Monday’s $80,000 Swingtime Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Santa Anita.

The conditions of the Swingtime Stakes, combined with Tirupati’s recent performances, leave high expectations Tirupati can win for the fifth time in her 20th start. The recent losses have not discouraged trainer Jonathan Thomas.

“She had a troubled trip at Ellis and probably should have won that day,” he said. “She was second best at Saratoga and ran well.

“She ran respectably at Kentucky Downs. I don’t think she was a fan of the terrain.”

Owned by Augustin Stable, Tirupati will have a notable new jockey in the Swingtime. Jamie Spencer, the former champion jockey in Britain and Ireland, has the mount. The 46-year-old Spencer, who has won 10 Grade 1 races in North America in his career, has moved to California for the fall and winter and was scheduled to have his first mounts at Santa Anita on Saturday.

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Spencer is likely to have Tirupati on or near the lead, a style that led to a win in the Wilshire and was nearly successful at Saratoga in August.

“I think she runs best in a forward position,” Thomas said. “She doesn’t have to be on the lead. That’s a proper way to approach it. It looks like there is some speed.”

Tirupati has won twice at Santa Anita, including her most recent victory in the Grade 3 Wilshire Stakes in March 2025.

The Swingtime Stakes drew a field of eight and is restricted to nonwinners of a stakes worth $60,000 or more to the winner at a mile or longer, other than statebred races, this year.

Tirupati is likely to be following Bit’s Tiger Magic, the winner of an allowance race at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar in the summer. Bit’s Tiger Magic is not a certain runner. She also is entered in Sunday’s California Distaff.

Pura Vida Princesa, winner of an allowance race at a mile at Del Mar in August, also can lead. She set the pace in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf Sept. 7 at Del Mar but faded to finish last of 10.

The Swingtime Stakes will be the 2026 debut of Slick, who was 10th of 11 in the Grade 1 American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita last December. She was sidelined by illness earlier this year, trainer Phil D’Amato said.

“I think she will run well fresh,” D’Amato said. “She was ready at the end of Del Mar and there was no race for her.”

Slick has won twice as a stalker and has worked quickly in recent weeks, often finishing well, D’Amato said.

“Her gallop-outs suggest a mile should not be an issue off the bench,” D’Amato said.

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