Sword Swallower Stakes
In a week full of graded racing here in New York, one of the highlight races on Saturday will be the Sword Swallower Stakes (G1) which will be open to three-year-olds and up and held over a mile and a half over the turf. With a total prize purse of $750,000 the race is set for a post time of 3:00 PM EST on Saturday. With the skies clear leading up to the race, the track will undoubtedly be firm at post time. This year we’ll have eleven horses going to the starting gate for the race. Let’s take a look through this year’s contenders.
- Moi Frankel (FR) – jastables – P. Appolonia – 8/1
Bred in France and drawing the inside rail for Saturday, the five-year-old bay horse is relatively lightly raced with eighteen career starts. The gelding will be seeking out his first Grade I win with this race on Saturday. His most recent start came in early June in Sweden during the Capitals Major Price (G3) at a mile and a half. The horse was sent out straight to the lead out of the gate but faded down the stretch to cross the wire in fifth, setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. His most recent win came in October of last year during the Valley Gold Cup (G2) at a mile and nine-sixteenths in Australia. Stalking the pace early in third, he wasn’t asked to make his move until he stretch where he easily overtook the front runners to win by five. His most recent attempt at a Grade I victory was in the New Zealand Derby (G1) this past February which resulted in a fourth-place finish.
2. Caldo (AUS) – king4aday – D. Givins – 9/1
The first of two Australian-breds in the race, the bay colt is also one of only two four-year-olds in Saturday’s race. Sired by the late Lonhro, the colt is lightly raced with eleven career starts, the most recent of which was in early June during the Capitals Major Price (G3) at a mile and a half in Sweden. Held off the pace in seventh out of the gate, the colt started to challenge other runners early in the race and moving up in position. He would go on to win the contest with a daylight margin of six and three-quarter lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred sixteen. The colt has made only one other graded start in his career, which resulted in a third-place finish during the CEO Classic (G3) over the same distance in April of this year.
3. Fboy Etiquitte – mtk76 – M. Kelly – 6/1
Racing on both the turf and the dirt throughout his career, the six-year-old is by Curlin and is out of the Grade I dirt-running dam War Etiquette. The dam has produced two other graded winners aside from this horse, one of which was a full sibling who also excelled over the dirt. The most recent start for the bay horse was in May across the country in California during The Sandy Ray Handicap (G2) at a mile and a half on the turf. Sent out of the gate to settle off the pace in eighth, the horse would hold this position until the field reached the stretch where he would dig in to challenge the other contenders and ultimately cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. His most recent win was during a step down in class to allowance racing in November of last year over ten furlongs on a track rated as good in Massachusetts. Off the pace out of the gate here as well, the horse would be in contention earlier in the race and would win by an effortless eight lengths. His most recent graded win was over the turf during The Coronation Pilsner (G1) last year in May.
4. Mystery Excellence (AUS) – amir1662 – F. Duffy – 10/1
Coming into this race off of a win in Illinois in June, the five-year-old bay horse will be making his twenty-first career start on Saturday. The horse’s most recent start was in The Stars And Bars (G3) at a mile and a half. Held off the pace towards the rear of the field early, the horse was tenth out of the gate. He would start challenging other runners in the race early and was in seventh at the midway point of the race. He took command of the pace in the stretch and went on to win by three lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred thirteen. His last attempt at graded stakes company was in February of last year during the Ackland Cup (G1) over two miles in New Zealand where he would finish tenth. The horse will be one of our morning line longshots going into post time.
5. River No Stars (JPN) – pun – B. Fairchild – 8/1
A former claimer, the Japanese-bred five-year-old gelding has made twenty-one career starts to date and has brought home a graded win and lifetime earnings of half a million dollars. The most recent start for the gelding was here in New York during the Man Of War Stakes (G1) at a mile and three-eighths this past July. Out of the gate towards the back in ninth early, the gelding wouldn’t be asked to challenge other runners until the field reached the stretch. It may have been too late a move for the gelding as he only managed to get up to cross the wire in sixth, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. He would win his prior start, which was a listed stakes race in Australia over ten furlongs. He was sixth out of the gate in this start, challenged other horses early and went on to win by a neck. His most recent graded start was in The Harry Potter (G3) in Germany at a mile and a quarter in November of last year.
6. Weird Impersonator (GB) – foxon2 – J. Benisz – 8/1
By top sire Dubawi (IRE), the five-year-old horse has career earnings nearing four million dollars and has far surpassed his allowance-winning dam who has produced two other graded winners. The most recent start was in early June during The Longstickgoboom Stakes (G2) at a mile and a half in England, Sent out of the gate just off the pace in third, the horse would maintain his stalking position until the field moved into the stretch where he fell back to cross the wire in seventh, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. His most recent win was in June of 2023 during The Irish Derby (G1) over the same distance. The horse was further off the pace in this race, sixth out of the gate. He began to advance at the midway point of the race and would go on to win by an impressive five lengths.
7. Had It Coming – worldclass18 – Ax Williams – 10/1
The other longshot of the field will be going into the middle gate of our race for Saturday. Racing predominately on the dirt, the son of Tapit has made only two starts on the turf prior to this start. The four-year-old has made seventeen career starts. The most recent start for the son of Tapit came overseas during The Prince Of Whales (G1) over a mile and one-quarter. Well off the pace at the start of the race, the colt was twelfth out of the gate going over the yielding turf course. He wouldn’t be asked to challenge others until the stretch where he would display an impressive turn of foot to cross the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. His most recent win was in his prior start which came on the dirt in the Hail To The King Stakes (G1) at a mile and five-eighths. Closer to the pace in this race, the colt again wouldn’t move until late but would go on to win the race by two lengths. The only other turf start for the colt came in an allowance race in his two-year-old season in which he would finish third.
8. Fade Into A Dream (GB) – beerkeg19 – R. Hansen – 8/1
The only horse in the field to not have already won a graded start, the five-year-old bay gelding is by Kingman and will be making his twenty-second career start with this race on Saturday. His most recent start was overseas in Italy during The Milan Grand Prix (G1) at a mile and a half in early June. Chasing the front runners just off the pace in third out of the gate, the gelding would fade in the stretch to cross the wire in eighth, setting a speed figure of one hundred five. His most recent win was in December of 2023 during a listed stakes race at eleven furlongs in Vermont. The gelding took the field from gate to wire in the race, winning by two and a quarter lengths.
9. Zuna Kvasir (JPN) – musse2 – J. Drozd – 6/1
Set to make his eighteenth career start this weekend, the Japanese-bred five-year-old horse has brought home over a million in career earnings. His most recent start was here in New York during the NY Island Cap (G1) at a mile and a quarter. He was well off the pace at the break, trailing most of the field in twelfth. He wasn’t urged to challenge other contenders until the field reached the stretch. While the horse had a good turn of foot, he would come up short down the stretch to cross the wire in sixth, setting a speed figure of seven and a half. His most recent win was in late April when he took a step down in class to an allowance race over ten furlongs. Trailing the field early in seventh out of the gate, he would begin to move forward midway through the race before going on to win by three lengths. The horse had his most recent graded win in October of last year during The McKinnon (G1) over the same distance in Australia.
10. Just Street Talk – ddstables32 – F. Gossett – 5/1
Making his twenty-fifth career start this weekend, the six-year-old brown horse is sired by the Triple Crown winner Justify and has earned over one million in career earnings, mostly over the turf. The most recent start for the horse came in late June during The Greatest Show On Turf (G1) in South Africa over a mile and three-eighths. Sent out towards the middle of the field out of the gate, the horse started to advance on the rest of the field midway through the race and ultimately crossed the wire in third while setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. His most recent win was in March across the country in California during The Sandy Ray Handicap (G2) at a mile and a half. Running in a similar fashion to his later race, he would be asked to challenge other contenders earlier and would eventually take the lead in the stretch to win by three and a half lengths.
11. Lit Candle Barbara (IRE) – maryfarms – G. Garbaccio – 7/1
The five-year-old gelding is sired by Workforce and will be making his twenty-second career start in this Saturday’s race. His most recent start was across the pond in The Longstickgoboom Stakes (G2) over a mile and a half. Well off the pace at the start and settling into seventh out of the gate, the gelding would be held in this position until asked to start inching up midway through the race. He would eventually cross the wire in third while setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. His most recent win was in October of last year during The Paris Counsel (G2) over the same distance. Nearly last of the gate in the nine-horse field, the horse would again dig in towards the midway point of the race and this time would go on to win by two and a quarter lengths. The gelding has never won a Group I race, his best finish an eighth in last year’s Euro Classic Finial (G1) at a mile and a half.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Just Street Talk
Place: Lit Candle Barbara (IRE)
Show: Moi Frankel (FR)