Swiss Skydiver to Bypass One Thousand Guineas

While fans of talented filly Swiss Skydiver were tantalized by the thought of a possible trip abroad to contest the English classics, trainer Kenny McPeek said May 17 that his star runner will remain in the United States. 

After Swiss Skydiver scored a 2 1/2-length win in her most recent start—the May 1 Fantasy Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park—owner Peter Callahan and McPeek floated the idea of sending her to England to contest the June 6 One Thousand Guineas (G1) at Newmarket. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing American tracks to either remain closed or drastically rearrange their racing schedules, the British race had seemed a logical choice to keep the Daredevil  filly fit ahead of the Sept. 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs. 

Swiss Skydiver had her first breeze on the turf May 16 at Keeneland, working four furlongs in :51. But Sunday, McPeek announced that the logistics of shipping her to the United Kingdom during the pandemic had proved prohibitive. 

"There was a lot to deal with. For one, we had to get blood tested before shipping," McPeek said. "We were going to have to ship out of either Huntsville, Ala., or Indianapolis, Ind., and the Huntsville flights then all got canceled. We were going to have to fly into Stansted in the U.K., which is easy. But to return, we had to fly out of Amsterdam, which would be a 12-hour van ride. I couldn't send any staff because of the current quarantine. They'd have to self-quarantine for two weeks once they got there. I couldn't go, my jockey couldn't go, but we were trying to work through all that, and that was really the least of our worries. They also cut the purse in half from £500,000 to £250,000. It just wasn't coming together well. 

"The logistics of going over, getting her back, and then getting her prepared for our ultimate goal, which is the Kentucky Oaks—I think going would have compromised her chances for that. If it would have been an easier ship and easier task to get it all done, I would definitely love to do it one day with the right horse." 

Next-start options for Swiss Skydiver have opened up. The "all-clear" to return to racing at Santa Anita Park this past weekend means the filly will now ship to California for the June 6 Santa Anita Oaks (G2). The 1 1/16-mile dirt race offers qualifying points toward the Kentucky Oaks in increments of 100-40-20-10 to the first four finishers. 

"Our goal is to obviously win a grade 1 with her. I do believe you can do that when a horse is good, and she's very good right now," McPeek said. "I'm going to move her to my main division at Churchill Downs this week. She'll train there with the aim of getting ready for the Santa Anita Oaks, and then she'll travel to California toward the end of the month."

Ahead of her win in the Fantasy Stakes, Swiss Skydiver took the March 28 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) at Gulfstream Park and finished third in the Feb. 15 Rachel Alexandra Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. She already has 210 qualifying points and sits atop the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard. 

Depending on Swiss Skydiver's performance in California, McPeek said she could have one more race before lining up in the gate for the Kentucky Oaks. 

"We'll back off of her after this next race," McPeek said. "The (Central Bank) Ashland (G1) and the Kentucky Oaks are the two races we will point toward later in the season, but right now they haven't scheduled the Ashland, so we don't know when that will be. With her running the first week of June, we still have July, August, and September—three months, basically—so there is plenty of time to run her again. 

"Of course, we can dream, but I think if she can win the Santa Anita Oaks, comes back and wins the Ashland, and then the Kentucky Oaks, we could pretty much make her 3-year-old champion. We will have to see how it all goes."  

Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm out of the Johannesburg mare Expo Gold, Swiss Skydiver has a 3-1-1 record from six starts with $437,980 in earnings.