Sword Dancer Stakes Picks — Betting Preview and Predictions (Aug 9)

The high-quality horse racing action at Saratoga continues this weekend, as the G1 Sword Dancer features a number of runners that will likely be involved at the Breeders’ Cup in November. You can find the odds and picks for the race here.

Odds

Sword Dancer Stakes Recent Winners

Sword Dancer Stakes: Event Information

Race Preview

An excellent summer of horse racing action at Saratoga continues this Saturday, as the G1 Sword Dancer Stakes will be staged. This weekend’s race is typically a prep for runners that will later target success in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in November. A total distance of 1 ½ miles will be covered by the field, with a purse of $750,000 up for grabs.

Far Bridge will be a red-hot favorite to win the race for a second straight year. He was an excellent winner of the race last year after finishing a length clear of Measured Time. In fact, his only notable defeat last year came in the Breeders’ Cup Turf when finishing only ninth. The five-year-old bounced back to his very best last time out, beating El Rezeen by a dominant three-length margin in the G2 Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga.

Rebel Red could be a runner that outperforms his price this weekend for the respected Cherie DeVaux. The five-year-old was an excellent winner over a mile and three at Churchill Downs in June, before enduring no luck in running when only seventh in the G2 United Nations Stakes. Has winning form at Saratoga to his name, and gets weight from many of his rivals this weekend.

Charlie Appleby sends two notable runners to the U.S. this weekend, including last year’s Arlington Million Stakes winner Nations Pride. The six-year-old will need to bounce back after some disappointing recent runs, including when only ninth in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Turf.  

Sword Dancer Stakes Picks

Appleby may have the winner this weekend, but it could come in the form of his bigger priced selection.

El Cordobes has looked an improver this season for the Godolphin team, and his recent win over a mile and four when beating Wimbledon Hawkeye in the G2 Prince of Wales’s Stakes is very strong form.

He has already mixed it with some of the best in Europe this season, and his best runs have come over this trip, finishing in the first three on all three efforts.