Marc Keller’s GRAND COUTURIER (GB) (Grand Lodge) continued his love affair
with the $500,000
Sword
Dancer Invitational S. (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday. Winless in four outings
since last year’s 1 1/2-mile turf test, the defending champion overcame trouble
in the stretch and roared home by a convincing two lengths. The Robert Ribaudo
trainee stopped the teletimer in 2:32 1/5 on the good inner turf, boosting his
bankroll to $860,285 from his 16-6-0-5 career line.
As expected, Presious Passion (Royal Anthem) enjoyed an uncontested early
lead as he loped along through unhurried splits of :25 4/5, :50 2/5, 1:16 and
1:41 3/5. Turning into the stretch for the final time, Grand Couturier tried to
sneak through to the inside of Presious Passion, but the proverbial door was
closed. Grand Couturier was bumped, stumbled and had to steady. Then Alan Garcia
was able to switch him around the pacesetter, and his response was immediate.
Leaving the gate as the third choice at 7-2, the winner gave back $9.30, $4.80
and $3.70.
“I thought I was home-free because I thought I had a lot of horse,” Garcia
said. “When I was right there, (Presious Passion) shut me off so fast and I had
nowhere to go. I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, my horse lost all of his momentum,’
but after that, he kept trying, so I said, ‘Let me keep riding.'”
Better Talk Now (Talkin Man), the 3-1 second choice, rallied from last to
garner runner-up honors by three-quarters of a length. The hard-trying
nine-year-old, who won the 2004 Sword Dancer, paid $4.30 and $3.50.
Interpatation (Langfuhr) outran his odds as the 35-1 longest shot on the board,
crossing the wire a clear third and yielding $5.50 to show. The exacta totaled
$32, while the 2-6-4 trifecta was worth $337. Presious Passion, the 3-2 favorite
Dancing Forever (Rahy) and Equitable (A.P. Indy) rounded out the order of finish
in the scratch-reduced field, which was depleted by the withdrawals of 9-5
morning-line favorite Red Rocks (Ire) (Galileo [Ire]) and Champs Elysees (GB) (Danehill).
Grand Couturier flashed talent as a three-year-old in France, capturing the
Derby du Midi, placing third in the Prix Noailles (Fr-G2) and finishing fourth
to Rail Link in the Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-G1). Third in the 2006 Sword Dancer
in his American debut, the bay upset eventual Eclipse Award winner English
Channel in last year’s Sword Dancer. Grand Couturier’s resume also includes
placings in the 2007 Man o’ War S. (G1) and Fort Marcy H. (G3), as well as the
Academy Award S. in his 2008 bow. He was coming off a sixth to Red Rocks and
Horse of the Year Curlin (Smart Strike) in the July 12 Man o’ War.
Bred in Great Britain by Tom Wilson, Grand Couturier sold for only $6,594 at
the 2004 Tattersalls October sale. The five-year-old is out of Lady Elgar (Ire)
(Sadler’s Wells), who is also the dam of English stakes victress Yaqeen (GB)
(Green Desert) and the unraced juvenile colt Alainmaar (Johar). Grand
Couturier’s third dam, 1976 Test S. (G3) winner and Spinster S. (G1) runner-up
Ivory Wand (Sir Ivor), is the dam of Italian and German champion Gold and Ivory
(Key to the Mint). This is the family of 1999 champion two-year-old male Anees
(Unbridled), Irish highweight Rossini (Miswaki) and multiple Grade 3 hero
Elusive Quality (Gone West).
Although Grand Couturier has earned an automatic berth to the October 25
Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), he is not certain to accept the offer.
“We’re not sure about the Breeders’ Cup,” Ribaudo cautioned. “California is a
little different than Monmouth. We haven’t looked that far ahead. We are
certainly eligible and ready.”