Swift Temper Digs in for Ruffian Handicap Win
by Patricia Woo | Sep 14 2009
The $300,000 Gr. 1 Ruffian Handicap kicked off the fall racing season at
Belmont Park in Elmont, NY, on Saturday, Sept. 12. It is a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares 3 years old and up and is run over Belmont Park's main dirt track. As a
Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" event, the Ruffian Handicap will guarantee the winner an automatic berth to the
Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic at
Santa Anita in November. Six contested the Ruffian Handicap, including Swift Temper, Seventh Street and Skylighter.
Aiming for her first Grade 1 win was Swift Temper, a 5-year-old Giant's Causeway mare owned by Mark Stanley. She has had an excellent 2009 campaign so far, having captured the $200,000 Sixty Sails Handicap in April at Hawthorne Park as well as the rich $1M Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park in July, a "Win and You're In" event which already guarantees Swift Temper a berth into the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic. In her last outing, the Gr. 1 Personal Ensign, she was soundly beaten by her Delaware Handicap runner-up rival Icon Project - a loss that trainer Dale Romans can chalk up to her dislike of the Saratoga race track, as Swift Temper rebounded in a big way with a come-from-behind win in the Ruffian Handicap.
With Alan Garcia aboard, Swift Temper broke well and ran just off the pace behind rivals Be Fair and Seventh Street (under Rajiv Maragh). She raced on the outside just off the turn and at the top of the stretch, pulled into the lead and dug in for a 1 ¾-length victory in a time of 1:40.59. Swift Temper's layoff of just 13 days between her Personal Ensign loss and the Ruffian Handicap was not a factor at all, which pleased Romans. "...She came out of her last race better than any race I've had her for," he commented after the win. " As for the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic in November for his now Grade 1-winning charge? "We'll talk about the Breeders’ Cup and see... she's as good as anybody." Swift Temper now has a race record of 8-3-3-1 and earnings of $1,079,497.
Runner-up Seventh Street was sent off as the race favorite following her $300,000 Gr. 1 Go For Wand Handicap victory on Aug. 2. The 4-year-old trained by Saeed bin Suroor for Godolphin Stable also collected the $500,000 Gr. 1 Apple Blossom Handicap in April. With a game finish on a muddy track, she, too, will be a name to watch as the Breeders' Cup draws closer. Seventh Street has a 6-3-3-0 record and career earnings of $658,800.
Rounding out the order of finish: Luna Vega, Skylighter, Be Fair and Exotic Lady.
Don't miss out on fall racing at Belmont Park! Bet on
horse racing at the Bodog Racebook!
