Swampy Sturm provides an upset in the Victoria Crown
Take note of the name, because it may not be the last time you see it in print. Swampy Sturm a strapping, well-grown son of Dynaformer provided one of the shocks of the season by defeating a decent field for the Victoria Crown-G3. He started at the rather generous odds of 40/1 and in my preview I stated that he was ‘not one to take lightly.’
The colt had one start as a 3yo where he finished 6th of 12 in a maiden over 7 furlongs. Connections then decided to give him a year off, and judging from his physique I can see why. The horse needed that time to grow into his frame and he is now much more the finished article.
Since returning to the track from his sabbatical, he has compiled an impressive record of 4 wins from 5 starts, his only loss coming in a dirt race. It’s too early to say how far he can go but when looking at the records of those that finished behind him, you sense that a Grade 1 victory is only a matter of time.
Running a heart-breaking second for the 7th time in a graded race was Neale Daniher. This must be the unluckiest horse in training. He looked all over the winner as he took up the running close home but was passed in the shadow of the post by the winner. If he is kept to minor graded company, then I am confident he will put the graded hoodoo to rest in the future. The big disappointment of the race was the favorite, Preferred Power. This run was well below the form he produced in winning the Judgemont International-G1 and finishing second in the Man Of War-G1 last time. He may possibly still be feeling the effects of what was a hard race in the Man Of War. I’m sure he’ll be better next time.
As a post-script to the race, the breeding purists would have a field day with the winner’s pedigree. By a son of Roberto, out of a mare by Roberto, he is inbred 2×2 to the 1972 English Derby winner. Sometimes it pays to keep it in the family!