Swiftsure

While trainer Mike Stidham isn't fully closing the door on a run in the GI Kentucky Derby for his pupil Proxy (Tapit), Saturday the colt will divert from the big-stage preps in an attempt for a confidence builder as he figures a prohibitive favorite in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland. A second-out graduate Nov. 26 at Fair Grounds, the Godolphin homebred repeated in an allowance there Dec. 19 before passing the class test with a good second in the GIII Lecomte S. Runner-up in the GII Risen Star...

7th-Oaklawn, $84,000, Alw, 1-23, (NW1X), 3yo, 6f, 1:10.29, ft, 3 1/2 lengths. SWIFTSURE (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Island Saint {GSP, $133,860}, by Speightstown) wired the field to take his debut by 3 1/4 lengths in his career bow at the Fair Grounds Nov. 27 and was hammered down to even-money to repeat here. Hustled out of the gate, the dark bay was overtaken by longshot Lock Up (Maclean's Music) and kept a watchful eye from second through a swift first quarter in :21.51. Closing the gap on the backstretch, Swiftsure took...

8th-Fair Grounds, $47,000, Msw, 11-27, 2yo, 6f, 1:10.15, ft, 3 1/4 lengths. SWIFTSURE (c, 2, Uncle Mo--Island Saint {GSP, $133,860}, by Speightstown) had lit up the Fair Grounds main track in his two most recent morning trials--a bullet five furlongs from the gate in :59 4/5 (1/24) Nov. 13 and five-eighths in 1:00 flat (2/45) a week later--and was no secret at 11-10 to get his career off on a high note. Very alertly into stride, the dark bay colt set a pressured pace down inside from the much more...