Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) and United Nations S. (G1) winner BETTER TALK NOW (Talkin
Now) heads a field of nine entered for Saturday’s $500,000 Sword Dancer
Invitational H. (G1) at Saratoga, but the H. Graham Motion-trained runner is now
more likely to start in Saturday’s Arlington Million (G1) due to wet conditions
in Chicago. His defection would leave a wide-open field of eight in the 1
1/2-mile inner turf event.
Grade 1 winner METEOR STORM (GB) (Bigstone [Ire]) is one of the three
entrants who will carry 120 pounds at the Spa. Trained by Wally Dollase, the
six-year-old horse finished second in both the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic
(G1) and San Luis Rey H. (G2) earlier this season. Grade 1 victor REQUEST FOR
PAROLE (Judge T C) and multiple Grade 2 hero DREADNAUGHT (Lac Ouimet) have each
also been given a 120-pound impost.
Other top contenders include VANGELIS (Highest Honor [Fr]), who has placed in
the Charles Whittingham Memorial H. (G1), Jim Murray Memorial H. (G3) and Arlington
H. (G3) already this season, and Manhattan H. (G1) runner-up RELAXED GESTURE
(Ire) (Indian Ridge).
From the rail out, the runners, with jockeys and weights, are Meteor Storm,
Javier Castellano; Vangelis, Ramon Dominguez, 118; ROCHESTER (Green Dancer),
Richard Migliore, 116; Relaxed Gesture, Jose Santos, 116; SILVERFOOT (With
Approval), Robby Albarado, 116; Request for Parole, Eibar Coa; KING’S DRAMA
(Ire) (King’s Theatre [Ire]), Jorge Chavez, 116; Better Talk Now, Chantal
Sutherland, 123; and Dreadnaught, Jean-Luc Samyn.
The $200,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) will be held one race earlier than
Sword Dancer and has attracted seven sprinters, including Tom Fool H. (G2)
winner SMOKUME (Smoke Glacken) and Aristides Breeders’ Cup H. (G3) conqueror
KELLY’S LANDING (Patton). The former has reeled off two consecutive wins for
trainer Allen Jerkens and provided his jockey Sutherland, a two-time Sovereign
Award winner in Canada who moved her tack to New York in April, with her first
American graded stakes success when capturing the Tom Fool in his most recent
appearance. Kelly’s Landing established a new Churchill Downs track record when
completing six furlongs in 1:07 2/5 in the Aristides last out.
POMEROY (Boundary), winner of last year’s King Bishop S. (G1) at Saratoga,
and the Group 1-placed BOTANICAL (Seeking the Gold), an easy 4 3/4-length winner
of his U.S. bow last out for Godolphin, are a couple of other top contenders.
The complete field for the six-furlong Vanderbilt, in post order, is PEEPING
TOM (Eagle Eyed), Norberto Arroyo Jr., 115; Botanical, Dominguez, 117; VOODOO (Petionville),
Castellano, 112; Pomeroy, Coa, 117; Smokume, 118; I’M THE TIGER (Siphon [Brz]),
Albarado, 114; and Kelly’s Landing, Mike Smith, 117.