2023 Sword Dancer Stakes Preview

Stars of the older long-distance turf division line up for the Grade 1, $750,000 Sword Dancer at Saratoga on Saturday, August 26. The one-and-one-half-mile race drew a field of seven to compete not only for a rich purse, but also an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

The competitive field drew six US-based horses plus the globetrotting Bolshoi Ballet for Irish star Aidan O’Brien. Other contenders include the newly US-based Stone Age, the consistent Soldier Rising, and 2020 Sword Dancer winner Channel Maker, who comes fresh off a victory in the Bowling Green (G2).

Sword Dancer Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 26
• Track: Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York
• Post Time: 5:31 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ½ miles on the inner turf
• Age/Sex: four-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: TVG.com and Fox
• Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

2023 Sword Dancer Stakes Draw and Odds

These are the seven horses entered in the 2023 Sword Dancer, along with their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and odds.

Sword Dancer Stakes Prep Race Results

Four of the seven runners in the Sword Dancer come out of the traditional local prep for the race, the Bowling Green, on July 30. There was a lot of trouble behind him in that race, but frontrunning Channel Maker was able to get to the front, avoid that trouble, set a cozy pace, and run on to win. Verstappen tracked the pace and finished second. Daunt flattened to fourth after stalking, while Soldier Rising finished seventh after a rough trip.

The only other runner to make his most recent start stateside was Pioneering Spirit, who extended his win streak to four starts after a commanding score in a second-level allowance on the lawn at Saratoga on July 27. Bolshoi Ballet was most recently sixth behind Hukum over soft going in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1) at Ascot, while Stone Age has not been seen in a race since a 12th-place finish in the HH The Amir Trophy in Qatar.

Sword Dancer Stakes Contenders

These are the seven contenders in the 2023 Sword Dancer Stakes:

1. Soldier Rising: He has yet to win a graded stakes, but this five-year-old Frankel son is often close, and ran second in both the Man O’ War (G1) and the Manhattan (G1) at Belmont Park this year. Toss the Bowling Green; he had a nightmare trip, including getting caught too close to horses who clipped heels, and having to check. He is pace-versatile, he has no problem with 1 ½ miles, and his trainer, Christophe Clement shines in the Sword Dancer,
2. Verstappen: He was forward enough to avoid all the trouble last out in the Sword Dancer, and chased on well enough for second. The question is how he handles horses of this quality if they get a clean trip. He needs to run his best race in order to be a contender if that happens. There are points in his favor: he is pace-versatile and already a Grade 2 winner at 1 ½ miles. However, demand a price.
3. Bolshoi Ballet: He hasn’t been to the United Stakes since 2021, when he won the Belmont Derby and then ran in four other stateside races, missing the board in each. He took the better part of a year off, between December 2021 and November 2022, and has yet to emerge a top-class horse. He has run some okay efforts, including a second in the Wolferton at Royal Ascot and a third in the Al Rayyan (G3) going this distance at Newbury in May. Perhaps the “Grade 2 or 3 turf horse in Europe can hang in an American Grade 1” precept puts him in the frame, but don’t take chalk.
4. Daunt: He finished fourth basically by default in the Bowling Green, best of the horses who were not impacted by the spill in the race. He was the longest shot on the board that day, coming in off of a trio of second-place finishes in allowances, and did nothing in the Bowling Green to suggest that he was of quite the top level. Now, he faces an even deeper field. Assuming everyone gets a clean trip, even a share of the superfecta appears a daunting task.
5. Pioneering Spirit: Linda Rice has been red-hot in New York this year, and Pioneering Spirit has been perhaps the hottest horse in her barn. A $40,000 claim back in March, he broke his maiden for that same tag when switched back to grass, and has just kept winning on the lawn. He has blown through a $50,000 starter allowance, a first-level allowance, and a second-level allowance, settling well off the pace and rallying to win each time, whether the pace in front of him was slow or sharp. Each of those races has been a furlong longer than the last, and now the son of American Pharoah steps up another furlong. He has yet to run a race that can win this, and his best race yet was his second-level win at 1 ⅜ miles. But, if he can take one more step forward than that, he has some upset potential, especially if the likes of Daunt or Verstappen actually try to go with Channel Maker this time.
6. Channel Maker: The 2020 winner of the Sword Dancer, he is still in training at age nine and still winning races. He got a dream setup in the Bowling Green, between a soft pace and plenty of trouble to ensnare the foes behind him. The task will be tougher if his foes get clean trips—but also, if Verstappen and Daunt let him go up front once again, Channel Maker does have a chance to get a similarly cozy trip on the front end. If that happens, this hard-trying mainstay is still good enough to steal it.
7. Stone Age: Last year, he was the perfect example of a second-tier European turf horse running some good races in America; now he makes his first start for Chad Brown, who has built a career on turning decent Europeans into more-than-decent American lawnmowers. Stone Age has been laid off since a start in Qatar in February, but has been drilling at the Spa for the last month for a trainer who does well with both layoff horses and new faces in his barn. He is versatile enough to sit close or rally from well off. He is plenty logical in this spot, but is no slam dunk as the likely heavy favorite given the layoff and the “close-but-no-cigar” form in his previous American visits.

Sword Dancer Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Sword Dancer Stakes?

A: The Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Stakes happens on Saturday, August 26 at 5:31 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Sword Dancer Stakes?

A: The Sword Dancer Stakes happens at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is carded as the 11th of 13 on Saturday’s Travers Stakes day card.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Sword Dancer Stakes?

A: Trainers Christophe Clement and Bill Mott lead all trainers with four victories in this race. Clement, who won in both 2021 and 2022 with the now-retired Gufo, will try to extend his record with Soldier Rising. Mott, whose most recent win came in 2020 with Channel Maker, will try to win it again with the seemingly ageless son of English Channel.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Sword Dancer Stakes?

A: Stone Age, now in the Chad Brown barn, was named the 6-5 morning-line favorite for the Sword Dancer. He is winless in two starts since then but has kept top-class international company throughout his career and brought generally good form on his previous forays to the United States. Between that and the public’s tendency to bet Chad Brown, Stone Age should be a defined favorite.

Q: Who is the best Sword Dancer Stakes jockey?

A: Pat Day leads all jockeys with four Sword Dancer wins between 1987 and 2002, though he is now retired. Among jockeys who are named in the 2023 edition of the race, Javier Castellano leads with three wins. He will attempt to tie Day’s record aboard Daunt this year.

Q: Who won the Sword Dancer Stakes in 2022?

A: Gufo won the Sword Dancer in both 2022 and 2021 for trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Joel Rosario. Clement trains Soldier Rising, though Rosario does not ride in the race this year. Though Gufo is retired, there is a previous Sword Dancer winner in this field: Channel Maker won in 2020 for trainer Bill Mott and jockey Manny Franco, and the team returns with the now nine-year-old horse this year.