Awesome Banner Dominates Swale
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Lauren King
Awesome Banner is in control of the Swale Stakes
Jacks or Better Farm's homebred Awesome Banner led from the start in the $150,000 Swale Stakes (gr. II) and opened up in the stretch to win by five lengths Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park. Unbeaten in three career starts, he enters the mix for Gulfstream's top 3-year-old races.
The son of Awesome of Course finished seven furlongs in 1:21.81 with Jose Caraballo riding for trainer Stanley Gold. Economic Model unleashed a rally to take second after stalking from fourth early, while Richie the Bull finished evenly for third, just a nose back.
Racing exclusively at Gulfstream, Awesome Banner won his only start as a juvenile—a June 5 maiden race at 4 1/2 furlongs—by 9 3/4 lengths in track-record time. He came back Jan. 2 after seven months away from the races, taking his 2016 debut with a 4 3/4-length score in the six-furlong Hutcheson (gr. III), and kept his momentum going when trying seven furlongs Saturday.
"He's a nice little colt. He still doesn't know much and hasn't figured it out yet, but he can run," Caraballo said. "When he turns for home, that's when he really takes off. He's a pretty good colt. He'll go further—he's rateable, he's not speed-crazy at all. He'll go as easy as you want him to go."
Caraballo hustled Awesome Banner to the front from post three, taking the field through a quarter-mile in 22.68, a half in 45.07, and six furlongs in 1:08.88 while pressed by Noholdingback Bear to his outside.
Second to Awesome Banner in the Hutcheson, Noholdingback Bear began to drop back leaving the backstretch and Awesome Banner started to separate from the field near the quarter pole, pulling away down the lane with Economic Model and Richie the Bull in pursuit.
"I was anxious until he drew off," Gold said. "I was watching the horses on the outside coming up but I knew we were clipping along. I wanted to see him do it the same way he did last time and he had that gear and he had that stamina and he just took off. I'm very satisfied, and as time goes on rather than run big races he's showing consistency. We know kind of what we've got here, let's just see how far up the ladder we can go."
Awesome Banner, the highweight under 122 pounds, paid $3.80, $2.60, and $2.10, Economic Model returned $3.60 and $2.40, and Richie the Bull paid $2.60 to show. Noholdingback Bear was fourth, followed by Ready Dancer and Cardio Cowboy to complete the order of finish.
Florida-bred Awesome Banner, out of the Zamindar mare Miranda Stands, pushed his career earnings to $215,020 and stamped himself a candidate for Gulfstream's upcoming 3-year-old races, the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (gr. II) Feb. 27 and the $1 million Florida Derby (gr. I) April 2.
"I honestly don't know (what's next). I'm not going to think about it. Certainly two turns is going to be on the horizon and if you want to think bigger than the Fountain of Youth, you have to start going along and getting points. We'll see," Gold said. "Mile and a sixteenth will be no problem for him, I'm sure. A mile and a sixteenth is not a mile and a quarter, but you'll know better when you start running a distance of ground and see if you can relax and stay the ground. That's what we'll see."