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Swill wins an allowance at Ellis Park June 27, 2021 (Coady Photography)
David Joseph/Maryland Jockey Club
BALTIMORE, Md.— A lot of time and a little change of scenery have done wonders for Kueber Racing and Ten Strike Racing’s Swill, who continues his comeback from a near two-year layoff with a return to stakes company in Sunday’s $75,000 Challedon at historic Pimlico Race Course.
The 37th running of the six-furlong Challedon for 3-year-olds and up which have never won an open sweepstakes (Race 5, 2:37 p.m.) is the first of three stakes on a 10-race program, followed by the $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting five furlongs (Race 8, 4:16 p.m.) and $100,000 Polynesian for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles (Race 9, 4:49 p.m.)
First race post time is 12:25 p.m.
A gelded 5-year-old bay son of Munnings, Swill fetched $265,000 as a yearling in July 2019 and was sent to two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox to start his race career, graduating in his third start before finishing fourth in the 2020 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) to cap his juvenile campaign.
Swill began his sophomore season running fourth as the favorite in the Jerome at Aqueduct, then went close to six months until returning with a seven-length allowance win at Ellis Park. He was sent off again as the favorite in the 2021 Robert Hilton Memorial at Charles Town but ran fourth following a troubled trip and was back on the sidelines.
“Swill’s a good horse,” Maryland’s leading trainer and former Cox assistant, Brittany Russell, said. “Brad had him early on in his career and they had very high hopes for him. He’s a good-training horse. When you watch him work in the morning, he could be any kind. He’s just good.”
When it was time for Swill to return, he was sent to Russell and had his first timed work April 1 at Delaware Park before joining the trainer’s main string at Laurel in late May. He finished second after setting a pace of 22.73 and 46.03 seconds in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance June 17 at Laurel, beaten 2 ½ lengths. The winner, Holy Synchronicity, came back two starts later to be third in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash.
It was the first start for Swill since the Hilton – a span of 660 days. He found himself in a similar spot going six furlongs July 20 at Colonial Downs and pressed the pace before drawing off to win by 3 ½ lengths, his first win since June 2021.
“He ran huge at Colonial, and we were expecting him to run huge at Colonial,” Russell said. “The first time I ran him off the bench, I knew it was going to be a tough ask. I think he ran well but that’s a long time to be coming off the bench. Did I think I had him tight enough? Not necessarily, so now with these runs under his belt I feel like he’s doing better. He’s training better and I think this is a great spot.”
Swill drew comparisons of Be Better, a Repole Stable homebred that began his career with Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and has found new life since joining Russell over the winter, putting together three straight wins including the July 29 Deputed Testamony at Laurel. Be Better returns Sunday in the Polynesian.
“I would say he’s sort of similar to Be Better. They always liked him,” Russell said. “I think it was just a matter of him needing time and hopefully he found his way back into a place where he can keep winning.”
Swill is second choice on the morning line at 9-5 and will break from Post 4 of five under Jevian Toledo in the Challedon, which also includes Grade 1-placed Borracho, a winner of 10 of 41 career starts; multiple stakes-placed Al Loves Josie, riding a two-race win streak; 8-5 program favorite Pirate Rick, who ran in five straight Grade 3 stakes over the winter and spring; and 30-1 longshot Onlygodcanjudgeme.
“He drew great. I love his post,” Russell said. “I’m excited to run him.”
The Challedon honors the Maryland-bred son of Challenger II that won 20 of 44 starts and $334,660 in purses from 1938 to 1942, was recognized as Horse of the Year in 1939 and 1940 and inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1977. Winner of the 1939 Preakness and 1939-40 Pimlico Special, Challedon also sired 13 stakes winners before his death in 1958.
