The following articles are filed under the category Swaps Stakes

Baffert Gets Record-Tying Fourth Swaps Win With Misremembered

Racing News
Posted 07.18.09 at 7:30

Misremembered and jockey Victor Espinoza win the Grade II, $300,000 Swaps Stakes. ©BENOIT PHOTO

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (July 18, 2009) — Bob Baffert, still reeling just a week after the sudden retirement of Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, unveiled another 3-year-old star Saturday as Misremembered gave the soon-to-be Hall of Fame trainer a record-tying fourth victory in the $300,000 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park.

This one was special for a couple of reasons. Not only did it help fill the sudden void in the Baffert stable, it gave Baffert his first stakes victory as breeder.

“It’s sort of been tough, I’ve been depressed since Pioneerof the Nile got hurt, so this sort of takes a lot of the sting out of it,” said Baffert, who will be inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame next month in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

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36th Running of the $300,000 Swaps Stakes Grade II 1 1/8 Miles

Jockey and Trainer Quotes
Posted 07.18.09 at 6:50

Jockey Quotes

VICTOR ESPINOZA, MISREMEMBERED, Winner: “I’ve ridden him several times and we really get along good. He was ready today. I wanted to get out of there fast. I was planning to go to the front. He’s a free-running horse and I wanted to take it to the other horse early. If they went too fast I would have had to slow down a little bit. But I figured if we were going slower than :23 and :45 we’d be okay. After three-quarters they were going to have to come running because with those fractions I knew he was going to be hard to beat.”

RAFAEL BEJARANO, GRAZEN, Second: “He’s just not the same horse as when he makes the lead. He didn’t want to run by that other horse. He was nice and relaxed but he didn’t have the same focus. I thought he was still going to show me something in the stretch because I had a lot of horse, but he looked like he was kind of afraid to go by.”

JOE TALAMO, SCOREWITHCATER, Third: “He ran terrific. I had a great position. They didn’t go as fast as I thought they would. That’s why he was so close up. He was doing it pretty easy. I followed Victor (Espinoza) the whole way. Victor got away from us in the lane, but he got away with some easy early fractions.”

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Cal-Bred Grazen Takes On Eastern Invaders In Swaps Stakes

Racing News
Posted 07.15.09 at 5:04

Grazen and jockey Rafael Bejarano on their way to victory in the Affirmed Handicap (G3) in June. ©BENOIT PHOTO

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (July 15, 2009) – California-bred Grazen, winner of three straight starts at the Spring/Summer Meet, will try to top a field which includes invaders from New York and Kentucky in Saturday’s $300,000 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park.

Grazen, owned and bred by Nick Alexander, scored his first victory in the NTRA Stakes in his second career start here in April. The front-running son of Benchmark then won an allowance race before capturing the Grade III Affirmed Handicap while making his most recent start on June 20.

The Mike Mitchell-trained colt will face seven rivals in the 37th running of the Swaps, including Kentucky-based Advice and New York-based Conservative, the one-two finishers, respectively, in the Grade II Lexington at Keeneland in April.

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