Flintshire Proves Much the Best in Sword Dancer

Juddmonte’s globe-trotting Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}), second in last term’s GI Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita and G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and victorious in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase, put on a show for the Saratoga faithful, running away with Saturday’s GI Sword Dancer S. It was 2 1/2 lengths back to Red Rifle (Giant’s Causeway) in second. Twilight Eclipse (Purim) was third. The Sword Dancer is a ‘Win and You’re In’ event for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland this fall.

“He’s a remarkable horse,” Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager of Juddmonte Farms, said of Flintshire, the crowd’s even-money choice. “He’s just so unbelievably consistent. He’s traveled the world. He’s won in Hong Kong, he’s [run second in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic] in Dubai, and now he’s won here. He’s always been a very sound type of horse and the way he races–and the sort of value of the races that are available to him around the world– makes him a really attractive proposition for us.” Grimthorpe continued, “He loves fast ground, a mile and a half, so from that point of view he’s ideal. It’s hugely important to get a win like this before the Arc. We’ve got his father, we’ve got his mother, we’ve got his grandmother, we’ve got his sister. The people who work on the farms, the people who race him, this is huge for us.”

Sitting pretty in a ground-saving fifth, Flintshire kept close tabs on longshot Guardini (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}), as that foe ticked off early fractions of :24 and :48.74. Slipping through an opening to take command on the backstretch, the dark bay sailed clear under a hand ride in the lane to win for fun.

“He was a little bit slow,” jockey Vincent Cheminaud said. “Andre [Fabre], the trainer, said to keep to his position and to remain calm and that he has a good turn a foot. The horse was in good position and quickened well for him to go through the gap.”

Winner of both the G3 Prix du Lys Longines and G1 Grand Prix de Paris during his sophomore season, Flintshire was runner-up to Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) in her second straight Arc de Triomphe win last term. Shipped to Santa Anita for his Stateside debut, he completed the exacta behind dual Eclipse winner Main Sequence (Aldebaran) in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Nov. 1 before annexing the Hong Kong Vase Dec. 14. Kicking off this term with a pair of runner-up efforts, including the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan Mar. 28, the dark bay was third in the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom June 6 and finished second to the mighty Treve yet again in the G1 Prix de Saint-Cloud last time out June 28.

Saturday, Saratoga
SWORD DANCER S.-GI, $1,000,000, SAR, 8-29, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:23.77, fm.
1–FLINTSHIRE (GB), 122, h, 5, by Dansili (GB)
1st Dam: Dance Routine (GB) (MGSW & G1SP-Fr., $217,781), by Sadler’s Wells
2nd Dam: Apogee (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
3rd Dam: Bourbon Girl, by Ile de Bourbon
O/B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Andre Fabre; J-Vincent Cheminaud. $535,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr & HK, MG1SP-Eng, G1SP-UAE, 17-5-8-1, $5,839,880. *Full to Dance Moves (GB), SW & GSP-Fr., $240,969. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Red Rifle, 122, g, 5, Giant’s Causeway–May Night, by Gulch. ($250,000 Ylg ’11 KEESEP). O-Twin Creeks Racing Stables LLC; B-Twin Creeks Farm, Tom & Nancy Clark (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $185,000. [bullet ad=”bridlewood-farm-training-graduate”][bullet ad=”taylor-made-tm-for-you”] 3–Twilight Eclipse, 124, g, 6, Purim–My Twilight Dancer, by Twilight Agenda. ($1,000 Ylg ’10 KEEJAN). O-West Point Thoroughbreds; B-Epona Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Thomas Albertrani. $100,000. [bullet ad=”selectsales-shell”] Margins: 2HF, 3 1/4, 9. Odds: 1.00, 5.00, 7.00.
Also Ran: War Dancer, Fixador (Brz), Imagining, Messi (Ger), Guardini (Fr).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.