Winchester rallied to beat Rahy's Attorney by three-quarters of a length Saturday in the $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga Race Course.
The 6-year-old Winchester, ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, ran 1-1/2 miles over the inner turf course in 2:26.74, then survived an interference claim lodged by third-place finisher Al Khali's rider, Alan Garcia.
''My horse had a very good trip,'' Velasquez said. ''He was ready for this race. He always runs a big race, and today he ran another one. I rode with confidence, but I had a lot of horse.''
Winchester earned $300,000 to increase his career total to more than $1.7 million. The winner paid $7.20, $4.20 and $2.90, Rahy's Attorney returned $5.50 and $4, and El Khali paid $5.60 to show.
The Sword Dancer was Winchester's first start in New York since his victory in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont Park in October. He had made three starts in the interim, finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs in November, 11th in the Group 1 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin in December, and second in his lone previous start of 2011, the Grade 3 Stars and Stripes on July 23, which had been taken off the turf and transferred to Arlington Park's artificial main track.
''I knew that (the Stars and Stripes) would set him up perfectly for this race,'' trainer Christophe Clement said. ''He was unlucky. The race was switched from the turf to the Polytrack. He ran well anyway, and the race set him up, as you can see, perfectly for today.''
