Sword Dancer Win Special for Motion
Main Sequence's victory in the Grade 1, $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course was special for the horse's trainer, H. Graham Motion, for a few reasons.
Motion was still gushing Monday morning about the way his trainee won, with a devastating turn of foot. The son of Aldebaran was left at the back of the pack after a poor start, but uncoiled a perfectly timed rally to nip Imagining on the wire, despite the pace staying intact.
"Credit to [jockey] Rajiv [Maragh]," said Motion. "The way he rode him made all the difference yesterday. To ride a cool race when you get left like that is not easy to do. He rode a great race, he really did, and he has a lot of confidence in the horse."
The Sword Dancer also holds special meaning for Motion because when he won it in 2004 with Breeders' Cup Turf winner Better Talk Now, he viewed it as his most important win. Now, he considers it the launching pad for his career.
Since then, Motion has claimed even bigger prizes - most prominently the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup with Animal Kingdom - and as fate would have it, Animal Kingdom is the reason Main Sequence is in Motion's barn.
"When I was with Animal Kingdom in England last year, I was in a yard with [Main Sequence's former trainer] David [Lanigan], so I saw this horse train every day," said Motion. "It was David's idea to bring him over here. David was the one that had the foresight to suggest bringing him over here because he thought he would really do well in American racing."
Since both Lanigan and Motion train for Flaxman Holdings, which owns and bred Main Sequence, the transfer went off without a hitch.
"[David] thought he needed a change of scenery," said Motion. "To me, what's made a big difference with this horse is getting an honest pace in these races. You get a much more honest pace here than you do [in Europe]."
Whether it be the pace, the ground or the competition, Main Sequence has proven himself to be among America's elite turf marathoners and will be pointed to the Breeders' Cup Turf with a possible start at Belmont Park in between, according to Motion.
"No question we're thinking Breeders' Cup," said the trainer. "Once you win a 'Win and You're In' race it's on your radar, but we wanted to see him do it again and prove that he was that good. I think he did.
"I'd imagine we'd run him at Belmont [in the Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational on September 27], either that or not at all. I wouldn't be opposed to running in the Breeders' Cup off of works, but I'll probably run him at Belmont. We'll see how it goes."