The Swale Stakes
$150.000 For Three Year Olds
7 Furlongs – Dirt
Gulfstream Park – January 31, 2026
The Holy Bull Stakes with Kentucky Derby points on the line is the race carded immediately following The Swale. However, despite the lack of official qualifying points, The Swale can’t be dismissed as having no impact on the Derby picture however. As recently as two years ago The Swale winner Jacks Courage went on to win the Arkansas Derby and just miss winning the Derby finishing third losing by less than a length as well as going on to win The Travers later that summer. So, with that in mind and five of the twelve entrants being nominated to the TC The Swale has to be looked at as a possible springboard for three-year-olds hoping to make an impact on the classics in a few months’ times.
1. Ginger Chub (The Sidley Stud/Jo Torres) Made three starts late in his two-year-old year and broke his maiden in his third start after finishing second in his first two starts. Speedy sort gets the rail. He opened up a four-length lead in his maiden breaker, holding on for the win going a mile so the cutback to seven furlongs would seem to suit him. A homebred from a one crop stallion looking to prove himself gets class tested today bypassing conditions and jumping right into stakes company.
2. Illusionary Artist (Nakamura Stables/V. Espinoza) Another front running entry with three races and one win to his credit. After winning by three lengths in early December, he jumped into stakes company moving from dirt to turf in the Logan Stakes later that same month. He led until the final stages fading to fifth going a mile, He would also seem to benefit by cutting back to seven furlongs and the move back to dirt might also be to his benefit.
3. American Mischief (Mb Stables/J.L. Ortiz) It has been a banner week for Mb Stables collecting are truck load of HRP awards like he is Michael Jackson at a 1980s Grammy Awards, but he finds himself in the unfamiliar position of coming into this race NOT being the leading owner at the moment. He seeks to begin to change that with a win in The Swale which the barn has won three times before. American Mischief is a homebred maiden making his third lifetime start. He just missed bagging a win in a fast closing third in late December at this very track. The seven furlongs may not be ideal if he employs that same late running style, but he is TC nominated and his trainer brings him into a stakes race, so he is obviously highly thought of.
4. Dime Social (Asgar/MJ Sanchez) Speaking of banner weeks, Asgar comes off of a near miss second in last week’s lucrative Pegasus World Cup with Not Real Drama. That placing puts him in twelfth place for owners this year with only 14 starts and having yet to bag their first win. The barn looks to gain that first win with their own homebred in Dime Social, a colt who has one win in five starts and two stakes placings on his resume. He is coming off a three-and-a-half-month break. His last start was a fairly good turf effort in the Indian Summer, but he moves back to dirt for his three-year-old debut, and he is working really well for this start. This will be the longest race of his career, but his running line suggests it will only help his cause to go longer.
5. Magenta (Alydar Stables/I. Castillo) Currently the leading owner based on All Take’s win in the Pegasus seeks to continue the barn’s winning ways. Magenta is out of the brilliant mare Purple Charger, and he broke his maiden in his second start just a few weeks ago in the CT bull ring. He is aggressively brought back very quickly for this stakes attempt but he has posted two scorching works at this track, so he appears to be ready to run a big one.
6. Grievous (Royalty Stables/F. Geroux) Was picked up in the Smokey Stover fire sale for $1.000 a year ago. Has made three starts and broke his maiden in the most recent race in mid-December just down the road at Tampa Bay. He is cutting back to seven furlongs for his three-year-old debut and meets stakes company for the first time. He is another one working quickly in the morning who is getting a class test.
7. Storm Sequence (Team 7 Illusions/S.X. Bridgmohan) After finishing fifth in his debut he has won two straight including winning The Brown at Churchill Downs in late November. He is the biggest earner in the field having won $189.600 thus far. As a stakes winner he will carry a couple of pounds more than the vast majority of the field, but he has to be considered the main threat.
8. Port Moody (Riggins Racing/D.E. Centeno) Four wins in six starts is not shabby by any means. Those four wins all came consecutively following his maiden start and one of those wins was when he took his first stakes win in the Dixon Jr Memorial. He finished his juvenile season finishing sixth in the Golden State Juvenile. That last race was on Halloween, and he has not been seen since. His last work was not impressive but that was on the grass. His dirt work before that was much better and you have to assume he is ready to go. Like Storm Sequence he is rewarded with an additional two pounds by virtue of being a stakes winner.
9. Cumberland Blue (Jerry Garcia Racing/L. Salles) Only has two starts on his resume, but both starts were good and he broke his maiden in his second start on this track, so we know he likes the surface. His trainer has seen enough to encourage him to nominate him to the TC and start off 2026 in his first stakes attempt. He took a step forward in his last work and he reverts to his original adds of Lasix and Bute.
10. Cheap Plastic (D J C Racing Stables/P. Husbands) Was claimed out of his maiden win for $35.000 and makes his first start for his new barn. He won his last race by daylight and has shown enough for his trainer to nominate him to the TC and jump right into stakes company. The works are fast and this will provide him with a good test of quality following four straight claiming events.
11. Simple Man (Aer Stables/I. Ortiz Jr.) He was a December auction pickup for $27.290 following his maiden win in June. His new trainer brought him back for his barn unveiling in an allowance where he ran off and hid winning by four lengths. That is two wins in three starts and his most recent work was one to make you think the auction price could turn out to be a very big bargain. TC nominated and like Cheap Plastic inside of him the new barn jumps him right into a stakes race. Like several horses in this race, he is getting a class test today.
12. Mighty Maple (Crocker Ggs/B. Curtis) Has improved in each of his three starts and won his last race by two lengths in a Fair Grounds MSW. He went wire-to-wire in that win and may be able to use that speed to clear the field from the outside but there is other speed here and he will be tested to hold that speed going an additional furlong this time if he employs that tactic.
Storm Sequence looks strong here and will be my pick, but it really is a wide-open race with very limited form on most of the field and a lot of them showing potential. Simple Man with strong works off of an impressive win will be my second choice and Cumberland Blue has been very carefully handled and brought along to this spot and seems ready. Place him third with Port Moody right behind
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded