Sword Dancer S.

In his first return to graded stakes company since 2016, Annals of Time was not about to squander the opportunity to prove he still has what it takes.

The 6-year-old son of Temple City’s impressive turn of foot was on full display for the Saratoga audience as he rallied six wide in the lane to win the $850,000 Sword Dancer Stakes by a neck. 

Trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence, Annals of Time completed the 1 1/2 miles in 2:27.50 under Javier Castellano.

“When he tipped out, I thought we had a good chance because he has a really good, strong closing kick,” Brown said. “But it was a little tight near the finish. I’m glad he got up in time.”

“He’s a good horse. I don’t know if I’ve seen a horse that, no matter if the pace is slow or fast, he always finishes really well,” Castellano said. “I’m very proud of him. Some horses have to have pace in the race but this horse doesn’t need one.

“You can see the pace was very slow, but he still responded and passed all the horses. I took my time. It’s a mile and a half and it’s the first time he’s gone a mile and a half. You don’t want to rush it to be close to the pace. I rode with a lot of patience and it paid off today.”—Meredith Daugherty