Godolphin's Kentucky homebred Caramel Swirl was third past the wire but landed in the winner's circle regardless following a double disqualification in Sunday's $250,000 Gallant Bloom (G1), a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares at Belmont at the Big A.
Trained by Bill Mott and piloted by Junior Alvarado, Caramel Swirl, the 4-5 mutuel favorite, was last-of-six in the early going but advanced with an inside rush in the stretch run and attempted to angle to the outside of the drifting out pacesetter Headland, who had led through fractions of :22.65, :45.93, and 1:10.09 over the fast main track.
Sterling Silver, with Javier Castellano up, was rallying from an outside position and cut across the path of the retreating pace presser Beguine, under Dylan Davis, as well as the closing Caramel Swirl, who took up sharply. Sterling Silver emerged from the skirmish to take command and cross the wire first in a final time of 1:16.18, besting the Jose Lezcano-piloted Headland by four lengths. It was a further half-length back to Caramel Swirl, who was one length in front of Beguine. Undervalued Asset and Remain Anonymous rounded out the order of finish.
Following the race, a stewards' inquiry was launched along with claims of foul by Alvarado against Castellano [Sterling Silver] and Lezcano [Headland] and a further claim of foul by Davis against both Alvarado and Castellano. Both of Alvarado's claims were allowed, while both claims by Davis were denied which resulted in a double disqualification that saw Caramel Swirl elevated to first and Sterling Silver and Headland demoted to second and third, respectively. [The official decision can be found here.]
Alvarado, who teamed up with Mott and Godolphin to win the Vosburgh (G2) earlier on the card with Cody's Wish, said he felt the stewards made the right call.
“I had a horse outside of me coming from the seven path [Sterling Silver] and I didn't mind because I knew they would try to squeeze me a little there, it's a big race and you have to defend your race,” Alvarado said. “But they both [Sterling Silver and Headland] got right in front of me. I clipped heels with the horse to the inside [Headland], then when I got out of there, I was [shut off] by the horse outside of me [Sterling Silver]. That takes it to a different level. Now, I'm in a terrible spot where I almost went down. I'm just glad everybody got back safe, and I think it was the right decision.”
Castellano said his horse should not have been demoted.
“I had much the best horse. I didn't bother the one horse [Caramel Swirl],” Castellano said. “The six horse [Headland], he bothered the one horse. He came in – Jose Lezcano – all the way he put in jeopardy the number one. I keep the horse straight. A little before, a couple yards before, Dylan Davis [aboard Beguine] stand up before I get to the point to pass a horse. He anticipated before it happened. I didn't bother him, the horse I [allegedly] bothered finished fourth.”
The victory marked the third graded score for Caramel Swirl, who took the 2021 Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland and the Vagrancy (G3) in May at Belmont Park. She entered Saturday's test from a distant fourth-place finish in the Ballerina Handicap (G1) on August 26 at Saratoga Race Course that saw multiple Grade 1 winners Echo Zulu, Goodnight Olive and fellow Godolphin color bearer Matareya sweep the top three positions.
“She's trained really well. She trained well going for the Ballerina, ran a good race [there],” Mott said. “Three Grade 1 winners finished in front of her. Obviously the two best horses in the country, and then the other Godolphin filly beat us by a nose, but she's a Grade 1 winner. Our filly's not [a Grade 1 winner], she's a notch under, but she's a good filly.”
Michael Banahan, Godolphin's director of bloodstock, said Caramel Swirl could come under consideration for a potential start in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) on November 4 at Santa Anita.
“She's run against those fillies before, so we'll get her back and see how she is and go from there,” Banahan said. “The plan is for Matareya to go there as well. Two is better than one, so we'll see what we can do.”
Caramel Swirl is out of the Smart Strike mare Caramel Snap, who is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winning multimillionaire Frosted. Caramel Swirl banked $137,500 in victory while improving her record to 16-6-4-3. She returned $3.90 for a $2 win bet.
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