Sunday, August 17, 2014
Main Sequence takes G1 Sword Dancer Invitational with powerful stretch drive
By John Scheinman
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Main Sequence's one weakness as a racehorse appears to be his inability to break well out of the gate, and it manifested again Sunday when he spotted the field several lengths at the start of the Grade 1, $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga Race Course.
Yet just as he did in his prior start, the Grade 1 United Nations last month at Monmouth Park, Main Sequence rallied powerfully on the far turn and ran down the leaders in the stretch to win. In a perfectly timed, high-wire move by jockey Rajiv Maragh, Main Sequence caught determined favorite Imagining in the final strides to take the 1 ½-mile turf fixture by a head.
Trained by Graham Motion for Flaxman Holdings, the 5-year-old gelded son of Aldebaran came home in a swift 2:24.72 and paid $6.10 for a $2 win bet as the 2-1 favorite in a field of seven.
"[Watching the stretch run I was] just hoping he gets there," Motion said. "I didn't think he got there, actually. I really didn't think he got there, so when I saw the rerun, I was thought it was unbelievable."
The victory places Main Sequence firmly among the leaders of the marathon turf runners in the country heading into the Breeders' Cup this fall.
Trained by David Lanigan in England before joining Motion's outfit this year, Main Sequence was 0-for-5 at the 1 ½-mile distance but had run solidly in Europe, finishing second in the Group 1 Epsom Derby and fourth, beaten just 1 ¼ lengths, in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris as a 3-year-old.
Main Sequence took the United Nations on July 6 in his first start for Motion and the trainer said the horse blossomed in the interim training at Saratoga.
When the gate opened, Main Sequence spotted the field several lengths with his tardy start and Maragh allowed him to settle as Imagining, winner of the Grade 1 Man o' War, dueled with O'Prado Ole through a sharp opening quarter-mile in 23.38 seconds and a half-mile in 47.15.
Imagining took over and raced a length in front, as world-record holder Twilight Eclipse, the runner-up in the United Nations, took up a stalking trip in second off his right flank.
Into the far turn, Twilight Eclipse ratcheted up the pressure as O'Prado Ole faded on the inside. Maragh advanced rapidly on the outside with Main Sequence, and as the field hit the stretch, Imaging and Twilight Eclipse were locked in a duel at the quarter pole.
Imagining finally repelled Twilight Eclipse only to be caught near the wire by the winner.
Twilight Eclipse finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Imagining, followed by War Dancer, Amira's Prince, O'Prado Ole and Perfect Timber.
"Coming off the turn, he was like, 'Let's go,' so we went," Maragh said. "He was full of run. I know we were catching two good horses, and they weren't going to go down too easily. But he was full of run, and it seemed like we might have just gotten there right on time."
Joel Rosario, who rode Imagining, said he hadn't planned to be on the lead during the race, but he made no excuses.
"I had a good trip," Rosario said. "I probably thought he was going to be following somebody, but I ended up being on the lead. He tried hard. He just got beat by a horse who is really going good right now."
Main Sequence has now won six times in 16 starts and the $300,000 winner's share of the purse pushed his lifetime earnings to $1,288,386. Motion said his next start likely would come in the Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on September 27 on TVG Super Saturday at Belmont Park.
"He seems like a happy horse," said Motion, who seemed pretty happy himself. "I knew he was a really good horse, but you don't expect to win these kinds of races off the bat like this."
-30-
