Hollywood is roughly 3,000 miles away from Saratoga Race Course.
Which explains what happened Aug. 9 when the $750,000 Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T) was contested at the Spa under that name for the last time.
Before the race, it was announced that the stakes will be renamed in 2026 in honor of beloved trainer Christophe Clement, who passed away May 25 at the age of 59 and owned the record with five wins in the Sword Dancer.
The change was announced a few minutes before Saturday's running of the Sword Dancer, in which the 6-5 favorite was LSU Stable's Far Bridge. The same Far Bridge who won last year's Sword Dancer for Clement and was the last graded stakes winner he saddled before his death.
And, yes, Far Bridge is trained by Miguel Clement, who now runs his late father's stable.
In Hollywood, Far Bridge would have been an easy winner.
But in the highly competitive world of Thoroughbred racing at the Spa, it was not to be.
After moving early in the 1 1/2-mile turf test, Far Bridge came up empty in the stretch and finished sixth in the field of eight behind Godolphin's victorious El Cordobes in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In event that awards a free spot in the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.
"It would have been nice to win the last Sword Dancer," Miguel Clement said. "My father won this a lot more times than the rest of us."
While Godolphin's 1-3 finish in the Sword Dancer spoiled a storybook ending, Chris Connett, an assistant to winning European-based trainer Charlie Appleby, voiced a deep respect for the late trainer.
"I think Christophe would have been happy that the best horse won," Connett said. "He was a really good man. I was fortunate to have known him since 2005 and he was such an advocate for international horses to come over and run in these races. The Hollywood story would have been a nice homage to him, but I think Christophe would have been happy with an international runner coming here and winning the race. He was always kind to us."
Longshot Vote No set the pace in the three-turn Sword Dancer, but entering the stretch the first time, jockey Joel Rosario moved Far Bridge from fifth into second through a half-mile in a quick :47.40. Rosario then eased up on Far Bridge as Godolphin's Nations Pride moved into second and the favorite settled in third.
"I decided to get my spot," Rosario said. "He decided he wanted to go forward and I just followed that horse on the lead. He was really comfortable. He can do that. He was fine for a bit, but at some point (I ran out of horse). We will regroup."
Midway on the final turn after a mile and a quarter in 2:01.59, Nations Pride motored to the front and extended to a 2 1/2-length lead with a furlong to go. But stablemate El Cordobes and Rebel Red were gaining quickly behind him.
Racing between Nations Pride and Rebel Red in the final yards, El Cordobes and jockey Flavien Prat grabbed a short lead inside the sixteenth pole and maintained it to the wire.
Bred by Bjorn Nielsen out of the Sea The Stars mare Bold Lass, the 4-year-old Frankel gelding covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:25.04.
"I turned for home and split horses and he really gave me a good run," Prat said.
Breeder John Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock Services' Rebel Red, a son of Frankel trained by Cherie DeVaux, grabbed second by three-quarters of a length over Appleby's Nations Pride, a grade 1-winning son of Teofilo.
As for Far Bridge, who had won three of his previous four starts, Clement said, "We'll look at him back at the barn and figure it out."
On a day when the spotlight was on the late trainer with the most Sword Dancer wins, it was the initial triumph in the stakes for Appleby, who heads the European division of Godolphin's world famous stable.
"To come over and win it for the first time with a progressive type of horse who finished very strongly," Connett said, "it all points to big things going forward."
Connett said both El Cordobes and Nations Pride would return home to Europe next week.
The victory in a race that will be known as the Christophe Clement Turf Stakes next summer, was the fourth in 10 starts for El Cordobes, a group 2 winner at Newmarket Race Course in his previous start.
