Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes 2011: A narrow victory for Winchester
It rarely happens that an underrated runner produces unbelievable results. The same was done by the Christophe Clement trained bay horse, Winchester, in the Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes (Grade 1) (3YO+) (Turf) at Saratoga racecourse on August 13, 2011.
In the 7-runner high-profile American event, Boisterous, the trainee of Claude McGaughey III, ran with the 12-5 favourite tag while Winchester was an underdog in the betting market.
The results of the race were quite astonishing as Boisterous fell as down as 5th on the card while Winchester was at the top.
The contest over 1 mile and 4 furlongs commenced at 10:50 (GMT). From the very beginning, Boisterous was trailing. It was greatly depressing for the punters who had stakes their money on the bay and brown horse’s victory.
For some time, the Ian Black trained bay gelding, Rahy’s Attorney, led the line-up but the Canadian sprinter was beautifully outplayed by Winchester who ran under C. Velasquez.
There continued neck-to-neck battle among Winchester, Rahy’s Attorney and Al Khali; but the former spiked up his pace all at sudden and finished first by the narrow margin of ¾ lengths.
Rahy’s Attorney grabbed the runner-up rank while Al Khali finished third. The fourth position went to Teaks North. With Boisterous finishing 5th, Bim Bam and Drosselmeyer gained 6th and 7th positions respectively.
Unfortunately, Winchester could not be able to perpetuate his form and, consequently, finished 5th in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic International Stakes (Grade 1) (3YO+) (Turf) at Belmont park on October 1.
The brilliant son of Theatrical out of Rum Charger gained some momentum and grabbed 3rd top spot in the W L Mcknight Handicap (Grade 2) (Turf) at Calder on November 26. He was the 13-10 favourite for that race.
With 2012 version of Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes just around the corner, there lay great excitement among the sport loving circles. However, the market is yet unable to come up with the hot-favourite runner. The followers of the glorious event are eagerly
waiting for the day when they will watch some worthy runners fighting for the ace title that always holds great importance in the portfolio of every horse.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.Com’s editorial policy.
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