2025 Sword Dancer Stakes Preview at Saratoga Race Course

Key Takeaways:

• Far Bridge returns as the 2024 winner of the Sword Dancer Stakes and looms as the likely favorite, with a tactical pace edge and strong form this season.
• Nations Pride brings top-level experience but has distance and layoff questions to answer.
• El Cordobes and Utah Beach are intriguing longshot plays with stamina and recent success at the distance.
• A lack of early speed could favor horses with tactical positioning or front-running ability.

Nine horses line up for their share of a $750,000 purse—and an automatic bid to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar—on Saturday, August 9 in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes. The race covers 1 ½ miles on the grass, the same distance as the Breeders’ Cup Turf. 2024 winner Far Bridge goes for the repeat, but it won’t be an easy task against foes like multiple Grade 1-winning globetrotter Nations Pride and up-and-coming El Cordobes.

The last horse to win the Sword Dancer Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Turf in the same year was Graham Motion trainee Main Sequence, who swept the pair in 2015. He was the first to do so since Better Talk Now—who did so exactly 20 years before, and was also trained by Motion. The other two horses who have won both in the same year were Fraise (1992) and Theatrical (1987).

Sword Dancer Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 24
• Track: Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York
• Post Time: 5:44 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ½ miles on the inner turf
• Age/Sex: four-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing and Fox
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Sword Dancer Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Sword Dancer Stakes, including trainers, jockeys, post positions, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Sword Dancer Stakes Prep Race Results

The nine runners come out of six different races, with all but two of the horses in the field coming out of graded-stakes or group-level affairs.

The race with the most last-out runners is the United Nations (G2) at Monmouth on July 19. Though winner Redistricting does not turn up for the Sword Dancer, three others from the race do. Grand Sonata rallied from midfield for the place, 1 ½ lengths behind the winner. Vote No closed into the modest pace for fourth, only beaten 2 ½ lengths for all of it. Rebel Red, who was bumped early and hung wide, flattened late to seventh.

Two others come out of the local prep race, the Bowling Green (G2) on July 12. Far Bridge won that race in stalk-and-pounce fashion as the odds-on favorite by three lengths over El Rezeen, who was making up ground late. They face each other again in the Sword Dancer Stakes.

Another pair of runners comes out of group-level races overseas for globetrotting trainer Charlie Appleby. Up-and-coming El Cordobes rolled home to win the Princess of Wales’s (G2) at Newmarket on July 10 by two lengths. Nations Pride has had several successful trips to North America, but will have to bounce back from a tenth-place run in the Dubai Turf (G1) on April 5.

The only one coming in out of an ungraded stakes is Utah Beach. A two-time graded winner this year at 1 ½ miles, he was seventh in the 1 ⅜-mile Chorleywood at Churchill on June 14 after checking in the lane and failing to sustain a bid.

Padiddle, the only runner coming in from a non-stakes race, rounds out the field. He was last seen chasing on for fourth, beaten 4 ¼ lengths, in a first-level allowance going 1 ⅜ miles at Saratoga Race Course on July 19.

Sword Dancer Stakes Contenders

In order of post position, here are profiles of the nine contenders in the 2025 Sword Dancer:

1. El Cordobes: A four-year-old son of Frankel, El Cordobes is a later bloomer who has only raced twice at the group level. However, he had his breakthrough last out at Newmarket, tracking the pace and rallying to win. The question is what he beat—he won in a field of just four that day, and favored Palladium was a complete no-show, and gelded less than two weeks later. Even with the class questions, he has found his best at a mile and a half, and he has the tactical versatility to work a trip, making him an interesting contender as long as things don’t get too thorny for him on the rail in the early stages. It’s also worth noting that he loses regular rider William Buick to stablemate Nations Pride, but Buick has been riding Nations Pride for longer, and he gets a more-than-adept replacement in Flavien Prat.
2. Rebel Red: This season has been feast or famine for this Cherie DeVaux trainee. He beat Utah Beach in the Chorleywood two back—but came up flat last out in the United Nations (G2) after a wide trip, and fell three back in the Louisville (G3) after clipping heels. A wide trip is less likely to be an issue from this inner gate, though. And, even though he usually comes from well off the pace, he ran a good third in the Red Smith last year from right up on the pace, a dimension that could prove useful without much early zip in the field.
3. Vote No: He broke through at the stakes level two back in the Cape Henlopen at 1 ½ miles, but didn’t get much to chase last out in the slightly shorter United Nations last out. The good news for Vote No is that he stretches back out to 1 ½ miles for this race. The bad news is, he does his best work when he gets as much pace to run at as possible, and it looks unlikely that he is going to get the right setup.
4. Padiddle: This lightly raced five-year-old does his best work when he gets to run a long distance on the turf. However, he has a lot to find from a class perspective. His only win has come in a maiden special weight at Gulfstream back in March. And, though he has nabbed some underneath shares in graded races since, he has never looked a threat to win. He is another who is disadvantaged by the lack of early pace in this race, and he would be a surprise.
5. Nations Pride: The more experienced of the Appleby pair, he has been on the shelf for four months since a disappointing tenth in the Dubai Turf. Shipping is old hat for this six-year-old: he is a four-time graded-stakes winner in North America, including the Saratoga Derby (G1) in 2022. The 1 ½-mile distance is not his usual bag—he more often thrives at the 1 3/16-mile or 1 ¼-mile range—though he does have one win in three starts over the distance. He can come off a break in winning form, and has been able to win whether the pace in front of him is honest or downright dawdling. In short, he fits on his better form, but make sure you’re getting enough of a price to bet he will be, as three of last four starts have been duds.
6. Far Bridge: Trainer Miguel Clement has shined bright this summer at the Spa. Far Bridge has been a part of that: he finished third a neck behind stablemate (and next-out Fourstardave (G1) winner) Deterministic in the Manhattan (G1) two back at 1 ⅛ miles, stretched out for the Bowling Green, and won that with authority. Now he gets another furlong; his only loss at 1 ½ miles came in the Breeders’ Cup Turf last year. He also gets a pace advantage. The race is full of closers, but he shines on or near the lead. In fact, he led at every call when winning the 2024 Sword Dancer, and may well do the same thing this year. The price won’t be much, but he is the best horse, and he has a pace advantage.
7. El Rezeen: An up-and-comer for Todd Pletcher, he ran a good second behind Far Bridge in the Bowling Green last out. He should get firmer ground than he got for the prep, but the pace scenario looks pretty similar, having to chase a sluggish pace. To be fair, he has some earlier races that suggest he can be closer to the pace, and broke his maiden at 1 ½ miles at the Spa after stalking slow fractions. The question is whether he can tap into that against altogether better horses, but he is lightly enough raced that he can still move forward.
8. Grand Sonata: This Todd Pletcher trainee is cross-entered in the Arlington Million and the Sword Dancer. He hasn’t been much of a winner of late, with only one win in almost two years. That win did come at 1 ½ miles at Kentucky Downs last year, but he has been off the board in his other four starts at the trip. He usually wants to go shorter than this, and he lines up against a lot of horses who really do like going this far. The one piece in his favor is that he has tactical speed in a race with a likely slow pace, meaning if horses really can’t close, perhaps he hangs on for a minor award.
9. Utah Beach: He ran a troubled Chorleywood, but in the two starts before that, he won graded races at 1 ½ miles. Most interestingly, he was able to rally from toward the rear to win both of those races despite not getting a lot of pace in front of him. The question is class—he hasn’t tried Grade 1 foes before the Sword Dancer, and hasn’t had to chase down horses of Far Bridge’s quality. But, he has the stamina, and his best races put him in the running.

Sword Dancer Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Sword Dancer Stakes?

A: The Sword Dancer Stakes happens Saturday, August 9 at 5:44 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It is the 10th of 12 races on the card.

Q: Where is the Sword Dancer Stakes?

A: The Sword Dancer Stakes happens at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

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

A: The late Christophe Clement leads all trainers with five wins in the Sword Dancer Stakes, including with Far Bridge in 2024. Though Far Bridge returns for a repeat attempt, he is now trained by Miguel Clement, Christophe’s son. The only trainer with a horse entered in 2025 who has won the Sword Dancer before is Todd Pletcher. He won in 2006 with Go Deputy and can win again with either El Rezeen or Grand Sonata.

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

A: Far Bridge, the winner of the Sword Dancer Stakes in 2024, was named the 9-5 morning-line favorite for his repeat bid. He should hold as the favorite: he is a neck short of perfect in four starts this year and comes into the race off of a dominant score in the Bowling Green, the local prep last month.

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. If he’s able to go for a masterful ride, Joel Rosario can tie the record if he takes Far Bridge to the winner’s circle in 2025.

Q: Who won the Sword Dancer Stakes in 2024?

A: Far Bridge won the 2024 Sword Dancer for trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Joel Rosario. Far Bridge returns for a repeat bid, still ridden by Rosario but now trained by Miguel Clement.

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