Awesome Banner Aims to Continue Roll in Swale

Hutcheson Stakes (gr. III) winner Awesome Banner will try for a third win in as many starts when he faces other 3-year-olds sprinting in the $150,000 Swale Stakes (gr. II) Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park.

Jacks or Better Farm's Awesome Banner recorded both his previous wins at Gulfstream. The son of Awesome of Course won his only race as a juvenile there—a June 5 maiden race at 4 1/2 furlongs—by 9 3/4 lengths before opening this season with a 4 3/4-length score in the six-furlong Hutcheson on Jan. 2. 

ANGST: Awesome Banner Rolls to Hutcheson Victory

Even after watching him win his first two races by a combined 14 1/2 lengths, trainer Stanley Gold doesn't believe he's seen Awesome Banner's top effort.

"There's an upside—unlimited potential—because he hasn't shown you just how good he is yet," Gold said.

From the start Gold saw potential in Awesome Banner, a Florida-bred out of the Zamindar mare Miranda Stands.

"What's gratifying is when you earmark one before you've even had the tack on them and they turn out to be that kind. I liked him when he came in. He's the one that I picked," Gold said. "Often when I went by his stall, I forgot I was looking at a 2-year-old. I thought I was looking at a 3-year-old, not because he was big and imposing. It was just the way he handled himself, the way he did things."

The Hutcheson victory marked a successful comeback for the young horse. Coming off a seven-month layoff and surgery to remove a knee chip, Awesome Banner fought off two-pronged pressure into the stretch before drawing off to the commanding victory.

"He handled the pressure pretty good. I don't think that is going to be an issue," Gold said. "He had two of them breathing down his back and he wasn't unmanageable. It wasn't like, 'I had to let him go because he was pulling too hard,' or 'I had to get after him.' He went along... and when it was time, he responded. Hopefully, it will be the same thing this time."

Awesome Banner may have to fight off early pressure again in the Swale, which attracted a field of six 3-year-olds. Bear Stables' Noholdingback Bear, who was involved in the early pace pressure before finishing second in the Hutcheson, is scheduled to return in Saturday's seven-furlong stakes.

The Michael De Paulo-trained colt, who broke his maiden at first asking and finished second in the $100,000 Juvenile Dirt Sprint at Keeneland, signaled his sharpness with a bullet five-furlong breeze in :58.94 at Gulfstream Jan. 23.

"He worked a little fast. We went easy the work before, so we wanted him to do a little more this time," De Paulo said.

De Paulo expects the son of Put It Back to offer an improved effort Saturday.

"His last race was good. I thought he'd run a little better. When he came back from Kentucky, he had a shin that was bugging him a little, so he had a little time off. Then he shipped here. Maybe he wasn't as tight as he could have been," De Paulo said. "Hopefully, he'll be a little better this time.

"The one positive, (Awesome Banner is) going to give us six pounds, being a graded stakes winner. Hopefully that will help. Maybe there'll be other speed in the race. Hopefully we can sit off them a little."

Everest Stables' Cardio Cowboy looks capable of applying early pressure coming off his sharp debut victory at Parx Racing Dec. 12, when he pressed the early pace before he drew off to a 4 3/4-length triumph. Parx-based jockey Frankie Pennington has the mount aboard the Eddie Colletti Jr.-trained son of Petionville.

Richie the Bull will bring stakes credentials into the Swale. He captured his third victory in four starts in the Futurity for Illinois-breds at Hawthorne Race Course Dec. 12. The Joan Scott-trained son of Benny the Bull is slated to be ridden by Javier Castellano.

Let's Go Stable's Ready Dancer, who finished fourth in the Futurity (gr. II) at Belmont Park prior to a subpar turf debut last time out, and Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Economic Model, who captured his debut at Saratoga Race Course in August in his only start, round out the field.