N.Y. roundup: Caramel Swirl wins Gallant Bloom after double DQ

Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Caramel Swirl was third past the wire but landed in the winner’s circle after a double disqualification in Sunday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Gallant Bloom, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Hall of Famer 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 splits of 22.65 seconds, 45.93 and 1:10.09 over the fast main track.

Sterling Silver, with Hall of Famer 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.

After the race, a stewards’ inquiry was launched along with claims of foul by Alvarado against Castellano on Sterling Silver and Lezcano on Headland and a further claim of foul by Davis against both Alvarado and Castellano. Both of Alvarado’s claims were allowed and 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 is available 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 1 horse (Caramel Swirl),” Castellano said. “The 6 horse (Headland), he bothered the 1 horse. He came in, Jose Lezcano, all the way he put in jeopardy the number 1. 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 Aug. 26 at Saratoga 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 on Nov. 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.

Zandon breaks through for Woodward win

After enduring a frustrating start to his 4-year-old campaign with three runner-up finishes in as many starts, Zandon made a shining return to the winner’s circle when he gunned down Film Star in the final furlong to capture the 70th running of the $400,000 Woodward (G2) for 3-year-olds and upward going 1 1/8 miles.

Winless in eight starts since capturing last year’s Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland, Zandon was last seen finishing 6 1/4 lengths in arrears of White Abarrio in the Whitney (G1) on Aug. 5 at Saratoga. That race’s third-place finisher Cody’s Wish captured the Vosburgh (G2) earlier Sunday. The dark bay Upstart colt owned by Jeff Drown also posted second-place efforts in the Met Mile (G1) on June 10 at Belmont Park, beaten 3 1/4 lengths by Cody’s Wish after making his 2023 debut in Belmont’s Westchester (G3) on May 5, finishing 5 1/4 lengths behind Repo Rocks.

“He’s been a horse that’s been knocking on the door, and he’s had a little bit of bad luck running into really, really top horses in some of these races. I felt a little bad for him, because he’s run such fast numbers in defeat that would have been good enough to win a lot of these races any other year when you really look at it,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He’s always run into really top class horses along the way. Like I’ve said before, one thing I’ll always point out is even in a lot of runner-up finishes, look at the horses that were behind him. I mean he’s beat a pile of good horses in those valiant runner-up races. This horse is a really consistent horse and has been a pleasure to train.”

Leaving from post 3 under Flavien Prat, Zandon was in tight entering the first turn, just to the outside of a rank Law Professor, as his 43-1 stablemate Pipeline set the tempo through an opening quarter-mile in 23.43 seconds and a half-mile in 46.66 over the fast main track. Film Star sat just off the flank of the pacesetter in second with Zandon four lengths back in sixth.

Around the far turn through three-quarters in 1:10.52, Zandon began to advance position and made a sweeping five-wide move with Film Star to catch as Pipeline dropped out of contention. Under Prat’s right-handed encouragement, Zandon moved past Film Star and powered home a 4 1/4-length winner at a final time of 1:48.48. Film Star held second a neck ahead of an advancing Law Professor, who finished second in last year’s Woodward.

Completing the order of finish were Charge It, O’Connor, Tyson, Costa Terra and Pipeline. Algiers and Un Ojo were scratched.

Zandon soon will take up stallion duty at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky., but likely will race one more time in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita, according to Brown, who added that a Woodward win was important for the horse’s reception at stud.

“He’ll probably have his last career start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” Brown said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a much, much tougher race than today, but at least we’re going in off of a decisive victory and a horse that’s had a very consistent year. That’s all you can ask for, and anything can happen in a horse race."