The Sword Dancer (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Inner Turf
August 27, 2016

Tucson really looked good heading into the race, and we did make him our pick to win the race on Saturday.  He was rested, but perhaps most importantly, very experienced at racing twelve furlongs.  In a race that saw the entire field be within about three lengths of each other at the top of the stretch, it is likely that the experience he has had really paid off.  He ran a smart race, didn’t challenge the frontrunners early, and kept in a clear lane the entire trip.  Come stretch time, he was ready to step up and pull out the victory.   The win was his 16th, coming in 51 career starts, for the seven year old gelding who has never had as good of a year as he is having right now.  Aer Stables is the proud winning trainer, and it’s the first time that he has won the stake, and the same holds true for winning jockey J Alvarado.  The time of the win was 2:25.27, ranking it among the quicker editions of the race.  Congratulations!  Here’s a down of the race!

Opening Half (:48.21)- Three of them jumped out to the early lead, with Steel Kelp (Serenity Stables) being the one to officially get credit for leading the way after four furlongs.  Also starting well right with him were Five Daddy Darling (Night Rider Stables), and the surprising Spotted Cat from Blushing Meadows.   Fear The Feathers (Up and Up Racing) had a nice stalking trip right behind the top three, trailing by less then two lengths.  Within a length of him, were March Madness (La Rosa Stables) and the post time favorite, Jovan River (Mb Stables)

After that group of six, we start to get into those who were not all that concerned with what was going on at the front of the field, led by Engine Failure (Mb Stables).  Tucson, our eventual winner from Aer Stables was eighth early, and five lengths back.  He seemed content to just ride along in this position in these early furlongs as jockey J Alvarado was sizing up the field in front of him.  The rest of the field: Eastern Townships (Sanny Village), Tin Lizzie (Stald Gullis), Sinissippi Eagle (Eastern Equine), then a couple more lengths to Rip Rip Woodchip (Our Athletes), were all content to run in the back early.

Six Furlongs (1:12.61)- Not much changeover in the running order at this point.  Still the top three running three wide, and they did open up a couple lengths on the rest of the field as Fear The Feathers backed off of the challenge a little bit.  Tucson begins to line up his move in a wide position to get by the three way battle for fourth.   No noteworthy advances from the closers quite yet.

1 1/4 Mile (2:00.57)- Things begin to get very interesting at the top of the turn.  Spotted Cat, at the front seems to find another gear and starts to pull away from Steel Kelp as Five Daddy Darling starts to back out of contention.   Spotted Cat leads the field by a length at top of the stretch, and the pack is starting to jam up now.   Fear The Feathers continues to run in a consistent stride, but he gets caught by the challenge of Tucson.  On exit of the turn is where Tucson seemed to explode with run, and with two furlongs to go, had cut the lead to two lengths.

Jovan River was running well at this point, but once Tucson got by him, he seemed to lose some interest and would lose a couple more positions. There were two from behind, Tin Lizzie and Sinissippi Eagle who were full of run while rounding the turn, but Tin Lizzie would get caught up in traffic just enough to see her bid become stymied.  Sinissippi Eagle had to go eight or nine wide in the turn, but was full of run, and with a better trip could have had a much better finish.  Rip Rip Woodchip also seemed to be looking for running room in the stretch.  Engine Failure, Eastern Townships, and March Madness were able to stay with the pack as well, but would all need to find a little more to make a bid for the win.

Finish (2:25.27)- Tucson has the best stretch run of them all, making up the distance to Spotted Cat that he needed to, and scores the biggest win of his 51-race career!  It wasn’t easy, as Spotted Cat absolutely did not give in and dug down deep to try and hang on and Sinissippi Eagle nearly caught them both at the wire.  If only that one did not have to be so wide in the stretch, because otherwise he ran a great race.  These three could not be separated by a more then a quarter of a length.

A steady and consistent run all around the race track saw Fear The Feathers pick up a hard earned fourth place finish, and is one that the trainer should be proud of.   After him, you can pretty much call the next four pretty much inseparable.  Getting credit for fifth was Steel Kelp, just barely over Engine Failure, who was nicely resurgent in the final furlong.   It was Engine Failure in a head bob over Rip Rip Woodchip, who narrowly tops Tin Lizzie.   The top eight in this field were separated by just a length and a half.  After twelve furlongs of racing, it’s quite amazing that they were so close together.  The other four? Well, you can pretty much say they were four wide at the wire between them to, 1 ½ lengths behind the top eight.  Officially, it finishes up as March Madness over Jovan River, Eastern Townships, and Five Daddy Darling.

About The Winner: Tucson was making his 51st career start, and earns the 16th win of his career. Aer Stables claimed him for $35.000 in July of 2015, and it wasn’t until then that this gelding began to show the kind of talent we are seeing from him now.  He is a seven year old gelding by Mass Appeal and out of Biff Hootch.  He was bred in Arizona by Rouge River Stables, and passed through a couple barns before arriving at Aer Stables.  Congratulations to the connections!

Track: Firm
Time: :48²  1:12³  2:00²  2:25¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 13 Paid 73.90
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 13 – 4 Paid 699.90

Scratched: Admirals Aces(L)

Winner picked by NS

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES