Swore Does the Talking Over Hurdles in Lonesome Glory

Stone Farm and Upland Flats Racing's Swore set the pace and was overtaken in the lane, but battled back gamely along the inside to prevail in the $150,000 Lonesome Glory (NSA-1), a 2 1/2-mile steeplechase handicap for older horses at Aqueduct. Trainer Keri Brion notched her third win from four NSA-1 steeplechase events held at New York Racing Association racetracks, adding to scores in the A.P. Smithwick Memorial Handicap with Historic Heart and the Jonathan Sheppard Handicap with Jimmy P at Saratoga Race Course. Brion also won this trio of races in 2021 in what was then a clean sweep of NYRA's top steeplechase events as Baltimore Bucko won the Smithwick and subsequent Eclipse Award champion The Mean Queen won the Sheppard and Lonesome Glory. NYRA added the NSA-1 Beverly R. Steinman to the calendar in 2024. Swore, a 6-year-old Broken Vow gelding, aced his first hurdle stakes test in style, entering from a 2 1/4-length maiden win Aug. 21 at Colonial Downs. He made just his third start over jumps in the Lonesome Glory, and posted the professional score by a neck under Stephen Mulqueen at the second lowest weight in the field of eight at 144 pounds. "He's been great since Day One—the jumping has always been great," Brion said. "We actually did a wind surgery on him when I got him before he ever ran over jumps and that's why he didn't debut until summer—I've had him since November. The owners have been super-patient and basically whatever I want to do with him, they've been great about." A quartet of contenders were away slowly at the start, leaving Swore as the sharpest of the topflight as he showed the way under Mulqueen with the favored Zarak the Brave keeping close watch from second through the first lap and a half over the firm footing. Bee Well tracked in third with Travesuras just behind him before those two swapped places passing the wire for the second time with Swore still at the helm through the rest of the second lap. Gerard Galligan made an early move aboard Travesuras heading into the backstretch for the final time and attempted to advance between Swore and Zarak the Brave, with Welshman joining the fray to make it a compact group of four at the front. Travesuras then lost ground approaching the final fence and Welshman accelerated three wide to make his bid in the final turn. Zarak the Brave spun his wheels in third as Swore and Welshman sped away from him, the latter putting a half-length in front at the top of the lane under Graham Watters and appearing poised to draw off to victory. A determined Swore refused to let Welshman get away from him, and dug in through the final 100 yards to stick his neck back in front on the inside and win in a final time of 4:38.39. "This was only his third run over jumps, so it is never ideal to be in front, but it is all about momentum with him," Mulqueen said. "He jumped brilliant in front, so I wasn't bothered being there. I thought when I turned in and Graham went by, he looked like he was going quite well, but then he never picked up and went away from me. I got one little flick into my horse and he was game, he went looking for the line. "We were pitching him in deep—I'd have been happy with second," Mulqueen added. "I'd be happy with my run, I wasn't going to beat him up to be a well-beaten second. But when I straightened him up, he went looking for the line and picked up well." Sweet Will rallied to finish third another 1 1/2 lengths back with Hidden Path completing the superfecta. Bee Well, Zarak the Brave, Travesuras and Caramelised, who trailed throughout, completed the order of finish. Evie's Prince was scratched. Brion said she reassured Mulqueen that Swore could handle being on the lead despite his two previous efforts coming with off-the-pace tactics. "I had a feeling there wasn't much pace and I think the horse just stays going. He doesn't have a big turn-of-foot, but he just goes all day long," Brion said. "I said to him, 'Just so you know, if you are up there, I wouldn't be worried.' They went slow early, he was well within himself but he jumped so good. At the last, he needed him, and he came up out of his hands and flew—Welshman came up to him with loads of horse it looked like but he wasn't hanging on too much when he actually let him down where Swore just kept finding more and more. And 144 [pounds], that's the trick with these grade 1s in the summer—take advantage of the weight you have off. They're grade 1s but they're handicaps." Brion added Swore could come under consideration for the 2 5/8-mile Grand National (NSA-1) Oct. 18 at Far Hills. "Jimmy P doesn't like Far Hills, I've tried—he never runs well there, so he won't go there, he might go Gold Cup and onward to the Colonial Cup. But this horse will love Far Hills," Brion said. "Now it's a question do you go to the Novice Stakes or take a shot in the big race level weights against the big boys, we'll see. It's a good problem to have." Bred in Kentucky by Stone Farm, Swore made 12 starts on the flat for trainer Graham Motion, including a maiden win in 2023 at Kentucky Downs, before moving to the Brion barn for this year's campaign over jumps. Swore is out of the unraced Ghostzapper mare Cara Bella, a half-sister to Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Red Bullet who also produced multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Silent Poet and grade 3-placed Amorita. Swore banked $90,000 in victory while returning $10.46 on a $2 win ticket.