(Far Bridge wins the G1 Sword Dancer on Saturday at Saratoga / Photo by Janet Napolitiano

From the NYRA Media Team / Keith McCalmont:

LSU Stables’ Far Bridge took a win from every pole position under the masterful ride of Hall of Famer Joel Rosario to capture the $750,000 Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer to begin the DraftKings Travers Day Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.

The 12-furlong Inner Turf test for older horses gave the Christophe Clement-trained English Channel stallion a “Win and You’re In” berth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar in November.

Four-year-old Far Bridge used a front-running approach for the first time in his 12th career start as Rosario returned to the irons with the talented bay for the first time since finishing second in the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge at Belmont Park last June.

Rosario said he was comfortable in the lead ahead of the well-supported Godolphin duo Measured Time and Silver Knott.

“It looked like one of the two Godolphin horses was going to take the lead. I got off to a good start and just took advantage of that, let him be happy there and he did all the work. It worked,” said Rosario. “He ran very well, very relaxed. He set his own pace and when I asked him to go he was there for me. He ran a great race. It’s a very nice win. It was very nice for Christophe and everyone else on the team to win. We are very happy.”

Far Bridge broke alertly from post 2 of 5 and showed the way on the firm surface with split times of 24.86 seconds, 50.92 and 1:17.21 ahead of the Charlie Appleby-trained pair Silver Knott in second and the ground-saving Measured Time in third.

Flavien Prat called on Silver Knott to take the lead on the final turn as William Buick pushed Measured Time off the inside to begin his attempt to close to within a head after 10 furlongs in 2:06.39, but Rosario still had enough horse and made up even more further down the stretch.

Measured Time, the last winner of the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan, ran wide in the homestretch but was quickly rallied and set his sights on Far Bridge while Silver Knott, who had entered the race with three consecutive Grade 2 wins, stayed on.

But neither could threaten the match and Far Bridge took the win, crossing the line a length ahead of Measured Time in a final time of 2:29.51. Silver Knott was 3 1/4 lengths back in third place, with Pioneering Spirit and Grand Sonata completing the result. The Clement-trained Solider Rising was withdrawn.

The win gave Clement a record-breaking fifth Sword Dancer win following previous successes with Gufo (2021-22) with Rosario on board, Winchester (2011) and Honor Glide (1999).

Clement said Far Bridge can be a difficult horse to ride but seemed likely to succeed when dictating conditions on the hedge.

“At the end of the day, he’s always worked well when he’s on the inside; he never does anything wrong,” Clement said. “Every time he comes off the inside, he’s a little bit confused. On paper, we thought he didn’t have much pace. The idea was to break out in front of or just behind Godolphin. He took the lead and nobody bothered him. He rode a great race.”

Buick said the measured time was affected by Far Bridge’s moderate pace.

“The winner saw the race in the front,” Buick said. “My horse probably did a little too much. He’s maybe only a mile and a half horse, my horse.”

Bred and initially raced by Calumet Farm, Far Bridge began his career with Clement with two wins at Gulfstream Park early last year before being purchased privately and placed in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. He made five starts for Pletcher, including a win in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational last July, before returning to the Clement stable for his current season.

“I’m thrilled, it’s a great story,” said Clement. “This is a horse I trained early on, he left us and came back and I’m thrilled he’s back in the stable. I love this race. I got lucky in this race with Gufo. It’s great. Let’s enjoy it and go from there.”

Far Bridge won his seasonal debut in March at Gulfstream Park but has remained winless in three starts since then, including a third-place finish to Measured Time at Resorts World Casino Manhattan.

Kentucky-born Far Bridge earned $412,500 and improved his record to 12-5-3-2, earning $18.40 on a $2 winning wager. With his victory, he maintained his perfect winning record of 3-1-0-2 on the turf at Spa, all in Grade 1 events.

Live racing continues Sunday at Saratoga with the annual New York Showcase Day, featuring six races totaling $1.25 million. The first start of the 11-race program of exclusively New York-bred horses is at 1:10 p.m. Eastern Time.

Saratoga Live presents live coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the FOX Sports networks. For the broadcast schedule and channel search, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.