The Sword Dancer (BC) (Grade 1)- $750.000 Purse
SAR- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Inner Turf
August 28, 2021

Stallsome has had a successful career running long on the grass, and is likely in the right barn to continue to do so, but coming off a disappointing race in the Bowling Green, there were not many who believed he would win the Sword Dancer. He was only picked a couple times in the “Pick ‘em”, and went off at 15/1, the second longest shot on the board. However, a better start in the Sword Dancer, compared to his run against several of these in the Bowling Green, put him in a position to have a better result. When he is near the front early of late, he is having success, and in the Sword Dancer, he pulls out the win! It’s the second time that Maxmillion has won the race, but you have to go all the way back to 2009 to find the first one, so the trainer will be happy to end that drought. Jockey J K Court is a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 2:24.55, the second fastest edition of the stake of all time. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :48.48)- Number Nine jumps out to the lead early for Smokey Stover, and there is no one that goes up and joins him. Running right behind him, we initially had a group of three stalkers, but after half a mile, one horse pulls away from the other two by a length. That would be our eventual winner, Maxmillion Farm’s Stallsome, and he is now by himself in second, in a good spot to eventually make his move to the front when it was time. Sunlander runs to his inside for Nakamura Stables, and then it’s Trumbull Valley, the Mb Stables entry, who may have backed off just a little in the opening turn. By The Night O Bay (Oval Express Farms) and the veteran Raj Action Packed (Arindel) are next, with Controlled Power (Spankys Barn) a length behind them. Following them by a length are Dead Madness (John Henry) and King Que Niagra (D J C Racing Stables), and it’s several lengths further back to Siri S Isakoff (TwinTowersRacing).

(¾ Mile- 1:12.35)- There is no change up front as the field moves around the clubhouse turn for the first time. Number Nine still leads the way without anyone moving forward to challenge. Stallsome is content to hold his position, but does move closer to the rail for the turn. The main horse to watch here was Raj Action Packed, not because he made a huge move, but it was a subtle advance to split both Trumbull Valley and Sunlander, and make it a three wide battle for third. By The Night O Bay dropped back a bit, and was now running with King Que Niagra and Controlled Power. Dead Madness lost a little bit of a ground, too, and Siri S Isakoff remained at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Completing the backstretch portion, we don’t see any new developments with how the field runs, and moving around the turn to start it was much the same way. Approaching the stretch, Number Nine still held the lead, and this is a horse that has gone wire to wire at this distance before. For the first time, he is dealing with a challenger running right beside him as Stallsome begins to make his move midway into the turn and is now right to his outside, half a length back. Trumbull Valley was good in the turn as well, moving into the third position and also cutting into his deficit on the leader. Raj Action Packed was within a length of that one. Then, after the top four, we had a gap of about two lengths. Controlled Power was emerging as the quickest of that group, but Sunlander and By The Night O Bay were trying to stay close to him. King Que Niagra was lacking response, Dead Madness not looking like an ex-BC champion on this day, and Siri S Isakoff was looking overmatched with his jump up in class.

(Finish- 2:24.55)- In the stretch, this became a two horse battle, but even Number Nine would not be able to hold off Stallsome. It was a great trip and an impressive run for this horse today, and he looked quite graceful in the stretch with his pass of Number Nine, who was still running well. He goes on to win by essentially a length, with Number Nine a length ahead of third place Raj Action Packed, who was a length ahead of fourth place Controlled Power. Trumbull Valley was a late race disappointment, fading out of what seemed to be a purse paying position, and dropping to fifth. Not to worry for Mb Stables, he had Howl Of The Hound going in the next race, and surely he would not disappoint. Right? It was two lengths back to the rest of the field, which would be Sunlander, By The Night O Bay, King Que Niagra, Dead Madness, and Siri S Isakoff.

About The Winner- Stallsome, trained by Maxmillion Farm and ridden to victory by J K Court, is a six year old gelding by the late Handsome Stallion, and is out of the late Feels So Good. He was bred by Our Athletes in California as a second quarter two year old, and acquired by Maxmillion Farm, via La Canada Racehorses, in private sales in April 2018 for just $10.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 23 starts, his fifth stake win, and fourth graded win. It’s the biggest race win of his career, and his career earnings improve to $1,101.860.

Track: Firm
Time: :48²  1:12¹  2:00   2:24²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 10 – 1 Paid 59.60
$1 Trifecta: 10 – 1 – 2 Paid 181.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES