Horses Wild: Free 2011 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Racing Picks, Betting Tips, Post positions, Entries, Results & Payouts

English Channel Skips Sword Dancer Stakes Field

As Todd Pletcher‘s English Channel heads out of Saratoga for a trip to Chicago for the Arlington Million (gr. IT), eight older turf horses have been entered for Saturday’s Sword Dancer Invitational (gr. IT).

The 12-furlong race will be the 9th to run and is one of two graded stakes on the Saratoga program, with the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Breeders’ Cup Handicap (gr. II) at six furlongs being run about an hour earlier.

Under the allowance conditions of the $500,000 race, Relaxed Gesture will go as the 120-pound highweight. Last year, Moyglare Stud’s homebred horse was second, three-quarters of length behind Kings Drama at the wire.

In last year’s Sword Dancer, Relaxed Gesture was ridden by Jose Santos. This year, he will be piloted by Kent Desormeaux with Santos being named to ride Ramazutti.

A wild card in the race is Dan Borislow’s Wild Desert who is coming in off a second-place finish to Invasor in the Suburban Handicap (gr. I) July 1. Last year’s winner of the Queen’s Plate has not run on turf since a fifth-place finish in the Bourbon County Stakes at Keeneland as a 2-year-old in October of 2004.

Sword Dancer Invitational (gr. IT), $500,000, 1 ½ miles, turf, Saratoga Race Course, Race Entries, Post position, Jockey & Odds:

PP – Horse – Jockey- Odds
1 – Silver Whistle – Mike Smith 10-1
2 – Relaxed Gesture – Kent Desormeaux 8-5
3 – Silverfoot – Fernando Jara 8-1
4 – Go Deputy – Eibar Coa 4-1
5 – Ramazutti – Jose Santos 10-1
6 – Wild Desert – Rafael Bejarano 6-1
7 – Grand Couturier – Richard Migliore 9-2
8 – Crown Point – Javier Castellano 15-1