El Cordobes earns 104 BSF in G1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer score

• El Cordobes earns 104 BSF in G1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer score
• Laurelin stays perfect in G2 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational
• Sandman breezes over turf, looks to Kentucky Downs next
• Fort Washington opens doors with G1 Arlington Million score
• Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna works at Saratoga
• Scottish Lassie back to work at Saratoga with eye to G1 Cotillion
• Queen Azteca stretches her legs ahead of G1 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales

Godolphin’s El Cordobes secured his first top-flight victory thanks to a sharp ride from Flavien Prat to post a half-length score over a game Rebel Red in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trainer Charlie Appleby was represented by both the accomplished multiple group/graded stakes-winner Nations Pride [23-11-3-3, $3.7 million] and the up-and-coming El Cordobes [10-4-2-2, $605,688] in the 12-furlong test for 4-year-olds and up.

William Buick, the regular rider for both horses, took the call on Nations Pride and sat close to an early pace set by 26-1 longshot Vote No, who was pressured with an early move past the wire for the first time by defending race winner Far Bridge, the mutuel favorite under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario.

El Cordobes, who exited the inside post and saved ground, fell back from fourth to sixth as Vote No reached the mile call in 1:37.89 with Nations Pride launching his bid for the lead. Rebel Red advanced through the final turn to take aim at the leaders as Prat stayed patient aboard El Cordobes. Nations Pride was in front from the top of the lane as Rebel Red rallied strongly and Prat worked to angle El Cordobes off the rail and around a tiring Vote No and Far Bridge – once clear, El Cordobes quickened impressively and found a seam between rivals to secure the victory over the one-eyed Rebel Red in a final time of 2:25.04.

“He ran a massive race and Flavien gave him a peach of a ride,” said Appleby’s traveling assistant Chris Connett. “It set up perfectly in a slightly messy way. We were really happy with the position of Nations Pride and El Cordobes out of the gate and first time down the straight, but it got kind of messy and [El Cordobes] ended up getting shuffled back a little further than you'd want, but when you have someone like Flavien on - he didn't panic.

“Looking at the fractions, they went solid enough times around there and he was able to wheel out and pick them off down the straight,” Connett added. “That's the one thing we really knew is he would hit the line hard. It was fantastic.”

Connett was full of praise for both El Cordobes, last-out winner of the Group 2 Princess of Wales’s at Newmarket, and the reigning Eclipse Award-winner Prat for finding running room late in the lane.

“He's not a small boy but he can be nimble when he needs to be and with someone like Flavien on, 99 percent of the time, if he's got the horse under him, he'll find a way to get to the front,” Connett said.

It was a further three-quarter lengths back to third-place Nations Pride [102 Beyer], who was making his first start since an off-the-board effort in the Group 1 Dubai Turf on April 5 at Meydan Racecourse.

“Speaking to Will and to Charlie, a mile and a half is still very much in his wheelhouse. Possibly, coming off a long layoff and sat close to a quick-ish pace, it might have just told in the last 100 yards or so. He was strong up until that point,” Connett said.

Both horses are slated to ship back to Newmarket on Thursday.

“Both horses are doing really well this morning,” Connett said. “They ate up last night and are out picking grass this morning. They seem happy with their exploits.”

The Sword Dancer offered a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in November at Del Mar – a race Godolphin and Appleby have teamed up to win three of the last four years with Yibir [2021] and Rebel’s Romance [2022, 2024] – the latter of which defended his title in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin this morning.

El Cordobes will go down as the final winner of the Sword Dancer which the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Saturday would be renamed to honor the life and legacy of Christophe Clement, the late trainer who won the prestigious turf route a record five times in his distinguished career. Beginning in 2026, the race will be known as the Christophe Clement Turf.

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Laurelin stays perfect in G2 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational

Newstead Stables’ Laurelin improved to 5-for-5 with a rallying 1 3/4-length score in Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational, a 1 3/16-mile Mellon turf route for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Graham Motion, the Zarak chestnut traveled four lengths off the pace in 3rd-of-6 through the half-mile under Kendrick Carmouche before launching a wide bid en route to a comfortable victory over Evershed in a final time of 1:52.60 on the firm turf.

“She looked great this morning and she’s already back home at Fair Hill,” said Ian Wilson, assistant trainer to Motion. “She’s been pretty remarkable. Kendrick Carmouche keeps giving her good ride after good ride, and they seem to get along well. I think they both make each other look good. That’s pretty cool.”

Motion said post-race that Laurelin could step up to top-flight company next in the Grade 1, $800,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on October 11 at Keeneland.

“She clearly deserves a shot at that level,” Wilson said. “She deserves a shot and hopefully it goes well. We love Keeneland, so it will be fun to bring her down there.”

The Irish-bred Laurelin launched her career with a trio of wins over the Aqueduct Racetrack turf topped by scores in the Tepin in November and the Listed Memories of Silver to spark her current campaign in April. She entered from a 1 1/4-length score in the one-mile Penn Oaks over yielding turf in June and took her career bankroll to $571,250.

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Sandman breezes over turf, looks to Kentucky Downs next

D.J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables’ Grade 1-winner Sandman breezed over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma training turf on Sunday in his first foray over the grass, covering a half-mile solo in 49 and 3/5 seconds, according to NYRA clockers.

Piloted through the work by Jose Ortiz, who rode the colt to his victory in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in March at Oaklawn Park, Sandman skipped along the turf without being asked and came through the lane strongly before an extended gallop-out.

Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said he was more than pleased with the effort, which was Sandman’s first breeze since finishing a disappointing last-of-5 in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on July 26 won by dual Classic-winner Sovereignty.

“I was very happy with him, and more importantly, he was very happy. He was like a kid in a candy store,” Casse said, with a smile. “Jose and I had talked about it before. He said especially in the Jim Dandy, when you ask him to go, he kind of scrambles. He doesn’t have the turn-of-foot, and that’s why he relies on others to do his dirty work. If they don’t do it, he’s not going to run good. That’s why he didn’t run well in the Jim Dandy – the pace was too slow, and he couldn’t catch them. Plus, really good horses.

“Turf horses, when you ask them to go, they can accelerate, and I had told Jose – I hadn’t planned on Jose breezing him today, but I said, ‘I just want you to let him drop his head and see if he wants to do something just the last eighth of a mile,’” Casse continued. “He said to me, ‘I never even had to ask him. I just sat there.’ Then it was more about trying to pull him up. We weren’t looking for speed.”

Ortiz agreed that Sandman was enjoying himself on the grass.

“He worked good and Mark was looking for an easy half, so that’s what we tried to do,” Ortiz said. “He feels good.”

With a successful first breeze over the turf now on his resume, Sandman, who finished third in the Grade 1 Preakness and a closing seventh in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, is likely headed to Kentucky Downs for the Grade 3, $3.5 million [$1.5 million KTDF] Nashville Derby on August 30 traveling 1 5/16 miles.

“I think we can make it official – we’re going to go to the Nashville Derby,” Casse concluded. “The only way we weren’t doing that is if I wasn’t happy today. I’ve never seen Jose so excited. A mile and five sixteenths for three-and-a-half million – that’s where we’re going. I would have been shocked and disappointed if he didn’t get over [the turf] because every indication he’s ever given me was he would like grass.”

The son of Tapit was a $1.2 million purchase at last year’s OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Music, who won one race over the Arlington Park synthetic in 2014. He is a half-brother to graded stakes-winner She Can’t Sing, who was Grade 3-placed and a three-time stakes-winner on grass.

During the same set of turf workers, Casse also sent out My Sweetheart [49 3/5] and Strategic Risk [47 2/5] for solo half-mile breezes in prep for upcoming 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint stakes. The former is targeting the Listed Bolton Landing on August 17 here while the latter is on point for the Listed Skidmore on August 16.

Debby Oxley’s My Sweetheart was last seen finishing second in the July 4 Listed Schuylerville on dirt and graduated impressively on debut sprinting five furlongs over the Churchill Downs turf in May.

John Oxley’s Strategic Risk will try turf for the first time on the heels of a distant fourth in the Grade 3 Sanford on July 5. He also impressed on debut in June at Gulfstream, taking a five-furlong dirt sprint for Florida-breds by 8 1/4 lengths.

***

Fort Washington opens doors with G1 Arlington Million score

With his win in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Arlington Million at Colonial Downs, Fort Washington has plenty of options for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and owner Magic Cap Stables.

The 6-year-old War Front dark bay had won multiple Grade 3s, but never a top-level event having only made one prior attempt. On Saturday, Fort Washington traveled in last-of-7 early under Junior Alvarado and tipped out wide to rally to a half-length victory over Grand Sonata, completing the 1 1/4 miles on firm turf in 1:59.58. Stablemate Integration was a 1 1/4-length third.

“He seems to have come out of it fine. He got back here [to Saratoga] early this morning, both of them did,” said McGaughey. “I thought he ran a great race. I had been watching the races all day and it looked like it was speed-favoring and he was back, but Junior rode a great race. He saved ground and when it was time to tip him out, he was able to run the horse on the lead down.

“I thought Integration, maybe the turf was a little firm for him. I’ll give him a little bit of a break and bring him back in the fall at Aqueduct or something,” McGaughey added.

McGaughey said Fort Washington, who improved to 3-for-5 on the year, has a variety of potential next races, including the Grade 1, $1.25 million Coolmore Turf Mile on October 4 at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Red Smith at Aqueduct Racetrack, which Integration won last year and is annually held in November.

“Keeneland should be an option, but you know they have the Red Smith at Aqueduct, so we’ll have options,” said McGaughey. “For now, we got done what we wanted to get done, we don’t have to be in a hurry.”

Of trying to get to the Breeders’ Cup in November at Del Mar, McGaughey said, “That’s a little ambitious, but we’ll kind of see. I mean, it is a nice thought, but it might be a little ambitious.”

McGaughey confirmed Integration also exited in good order, but will get a break after a hard-knocking annual campaign that has featured four placings in five Grade 1 starts.

“Same thing, he came back here, but I think he needs a bit of a break. I haven’t talked to [jockey] Johnny Velazquez yet, but he thought the turf was just a little firm for him,” McGaughey said.

***

Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna works at Saratoga

Reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna continued her preparations for the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 23 as NYRA clockers caught her breezing five-eighths in 1:02 flat to the inside of Midnight Concerto on Sunday over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma dirt training track.

The pair of Ken McPeek trainees stepped onto the track after the 7:00 renovation break, with Luis Rivera, Jr. atop Thorpedo Anna and Danny Ramsey on Midnight Concerto. The two came through the lane with Thorpedo Anna holding a short advantage on the inside before Midnight Concerto put her neck in front passing the wire and provided her stablemate with a challenge, which is what McPeek said he was looking for in the work. 

“It didn’t unfold like we had hoped – the workmate was supposed to be closer to them, but she got the competition to the wire, which is what we wanted,” McPeek said. “She’s done real good here. On the truck up here earlier in the season, she came up on a really hot day and she got a little overheated on the truck, so we gave her a little extra time before we put her in the tack.”

Thorpedo Anna looks to add to an impressive 14-11-2-0 record that includes a sophomore campaign that featured Grade 1 wins last year in the DK Horse Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks, along with top-flight scores in the Kentucky Oaks and Cotillion ahead of a win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Her stellar campaign, which also saw her finish a head second to Fierceness in the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers here, was enough to award her the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Filly.

This year, the 4-year-old Fast Anna filly won the Grade 2 Azeri and Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park en route to an uncharacteristic seventh in the Grade 1 La Troienne, but she rebounded with aplomb last out to take the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on June 28 at Churchill Downs.

McPeek said Thorpedo Anna remains a star at his Saratoga barn, where she greets visitors and fans almost daily.

“She loves being up here. She likes the walk out [to the track] and back up. She’s always bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We tend to spoil them, and we let people spoil them,” McPeek said. “She’s got tons of people that adore her and I get calls from people every day who want to see her, ‘can we touch her, pet her, see her?’ Yeah, sure.”

A winner of over $5 million in purse money, Thorpedo Anna is campaigned by Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, breeder Judy Hicks, and Sherri McPeek’s Magdalena Farm.

McPeek provided an update on Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner Mystik Dan, who finished fourth in Saturday’s Grade 1 Arlington Million at Colonial Downs where he made his first start on grass. There, he stalked the pace in second under regular pilot Brian Hernandez, Jr. and was in a four-way scramble for the lead at the top of the lane, but flattened out and settled for fourth 3 1/2 lengths back of the victorious Fort Washington.

“I think he ran respectable if you like being fourth, but of course, we wanted to run a little bit better than that,” McPeek said. “He’s been a really good horse and I think he’s overachieved all his life. I think it was worth a try and you don’t know unless you really put them out there and try them. It looked like at the head of the lane he was going to win, and he had some good horses get past him.”

McPeek said he is unsure what the immediate plans are for the son of Goldencents as he maps out a path to the Breeders’ Cup in November at Del Mar.

“We learned something, and I don’t think there was any shame in the effort. The hard part now is we’ve got to figure out where he fits. We’ve got to figure out where to get him into the Breeders’ Cup – is he for the Classic, the Dirt Mile, the Mile? It gives us some options. He came out of the race in good order. I might send him back to Churchill. I’ll look at the schedule and see if I can make a decision on his next start before I move him [from Colonial].”

James Ball, Magdalena Racing and Kenneth Rhodes’ Take Charge Milady breezed yesterday at Saratoga with an eye to the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales on Saturday at the Spa, but McPeek said the daughter of Take Charge Indy will not be entered as he was not satisfied with the way she emerged from the work.

“I think I’m going to give her a break,” McPeek said. “Yesterday’s work was OK, but there were some post-workout issues. She didn’t eat up good and I’m not going to run her. She’s gone all winter, spring and summer, [so] we’re going to pull the plug on her and point her to a winter campaign.”

Take Charge Milady was second to La Cara in the Grade 1 Ashland in April at Keeneland ahead of an off-the-board finish in the Kentucky Oaks, but she rebounded two starts back with a win over Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Immersive in the Monomoy Girl in June at Churchill. She was last seen finishing a distant last-of-4 in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 19 here.

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Scottish Lassie back to work at Saratoga with eye to G1 Cotillion

Sportsmen Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Photos Finish, Corms Racing Stable and trainer Jorge Abreu’s dual Grade 1-winner Scottish Lassie returned to the work tab on Sunday over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma dirt training track for the first time since her 15 1/2-length trouncing of the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 19 here.

The daughter of McKinzie breezed a solo half-mile in 50.99 seconds under Hall of Fame jockey Joel Rosario, who was aboard for the CCA Oaks.

“She did great. I told Rosario I wanted her to go in 50 and she went in 50 and four,” Abreu said. “I didn’t want any more than that in her first breeze back. It was very smooth and she looked good doing it.”

Abreu said Scottish Lassie, who graduated in style in the Grade 1 Frizette in October at Belmont at the Big A, is heading to Parx Racing in September for the Grade 1 Cotillion next.

“The timing,” Abreu said of his reason for skipping the Grade 1 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales on Saturday here. “She came out of her race in really good shape and hasn’t missed a meal and has been happy and content. I’ll keep her here to train. Timing is everything for her right now.”

Scottish Lassie boasts a 6-2-0-3 record with $677,560 in total purse earnings. She was an $85,000 purchase at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Abreu will have a strong hand in upcoming New York-bred stakes at the Spa as Kay Cup and Moonage Daydream gear up for the $200,000 Fleet Indian on August 21 and $150,000 Yaddo on August 22, respectively.

NY Final Furlong Racing Stable, Electric City Racing and Sportsmen Stable’s Kay Cup was last seen winning the state-bred Bouwerie by three lengths on June 4 here. The daughter of Instagrand was a 4 1/4-length winner at second asking in April at Aqueduct Racetrack off a nearly eight-month layoff dating to a debut third here last August. She breezed a half-mile in 49.33 on Saturday over the Oklahoma dirt in rein to Irad Ortiz, Jr., who has been aboard for each of her three starts.

“She had a really good breeze yesterday with Irad and she came out of it in really good shape,” Abreu said.

Chris Larsen’s Moonage Daydream is gearing up for a comeback after an almost 10-month layoff dating to her third consecutive state-bred stakes win in the Ticonderoga in October at Belmont at the Big A. The Candy Ride bay seeks a title defense in the Yaddo after winning last year’s edition by 1 1/4 lengths before a head victory in the John Hettinger in September at Belmont at the Big A.

Flavien Prat, who has been aboard the mare for four of her six wins, breezed her a half-mile in 49.30 over the Oklahoma on Saturday.

“She’s doing great and Prat was very pleased with her yesterday,” Abreu said. “She’ll have one more breeze and then we’ll go to the Yaddo with her. We gave her the winter off and now she’s back. I think she looks even stronger this time around. She’s not a very good work horse on the dirt, but Prat told me she worked very well. She’s ready.”

***

Queen Azteca stretches her legs ahead of G1 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales

Queen Azteca, winner of the Group 3 UAE Oaks in February at Meydan Racecourse, arrived in Saratoga on Friday and cleared quarantine to gallop over the Oklahoma training track on Sunday morning. The Sharp Azteca bay, a Niels Petersen trainee purchased privately by Team Valor International, will make her North American debut in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales.

The sizable bay was accompanied to the training track by her exercise rider Carlos Toro Montecinos and a pony, calmly taking in her surroundings before jogging a half-mile and galloping once around the dirt oval.

“She settled in very good. She's a very good traveler. This was her first time out on track, and she loved it. She's as big as the pony, and the pony is big,” said Montecinos, with a laugh. “She has a nice temperament too. She's never seen a pony at home.”

Queen Azteca, who was based in Norway with Petersen, made her two most recent outings at Jagersro in Sweden, winning at 11 furlongs in June and finishing a 1 3/4-length second in 12-furlong Jockeyklubben Svenskt Derby on July 13.

The Kentucky-bred Queen Azteca saved all the ground from fourth position in the 1 3/16-mile UAE Oaks and advanced willingly into the lane as pacesetter Arigatou Gozaimasu opened up a seemingly unbridgeable advantage. Carlos Lopez kept to task aboard Queen Azteca and made up four lengths in the very late stages to win by an improbable three-quarter lengths.

Montecinos said Queen Azteca will relish the 10-furlong distance of the Alabama.

“That's what she needs - long distance,” Montecinos said. “She flies really good at the end - she has a really good finish.”

Queen Azteca will stay in the U.S. following the Alabama and will be trained by Rodolphe Brisset.

Initially purchased for $22,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Queen Azteca, out of the Palace Malice mare Princesa Helena, hails from a Hall of Fame family with her fourth dam being Personal Ensign.