The spirit of the late Christophe Clement has been palpable for the last two weeks at Saratoga.
Clement died last year from a rare form of eye cancer. The Paris-born trainer was a leading conditioner in the U.S. for over 30 years, logging 2,576 career wins with horses that earned over $184 million. He was a brilliant trainer of turf runners and is perhaps best remembered for a dirt victory in the 2014 Triple Crown when Clement’s Tonalist won the Belmont Stakes (G1) to deny California Chrome’s bid to sweep the series.
Upon his death, the stable passed to his son and long-time assistant Miguel. Clement is gone but certainly not forgotten at the Spa. Only last Friday, Clement was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing located directly across the street from Saratoga Race Course.
“Christophe viewed himself as a conductor, blessed to have talented musicians,” said Clement’s widow Valerie. “He was very proud of his team – the CC tribe – and the wonderful people he surrounded himself with.”
That same afternoon--only hours later--the team won one for the “conductor” as Bottas captured the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2).
The following day, the CC tribe struck again, winning the Fourstardave (G1) with Deterministic. It was as if Christophe never left.
The honors and the memories continue this week with the first running of the Christophe Clement (G1), a new name for an old stakes, the Sword Dancer.
The 1 ½- mile turf race is a Breeders’ Cup “Win, and You’re In”, offering an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) on Oct. 31 at Keeneland. In a tribute to Clement, the race has a strong European flavor.
The fils de Clément has a runner: Tawny Port (8-1) in this seven-horse field. Perhaps the guiding hand from beyond will lead another runner into the winner’s circle.
Tawny Port won the Belmont Gold Cup (G2) going 2 miles last time out, so stamina won’t be an issue.
“He’s training lights out,” Miguel Clement said. “I’m cutting him back, which is funny to say in this country when you’re going back to a mile-and-a-half, but he’s training as well as he ever has. I’m the guy who always believed in this horse for the longest amount of time, and finally he’s started rewarding us this past year.
“I’ve got three races I wanted to win the most this Saratoga season - the Hall of Fame, the Fourstardave and the Christophe Clement,” Clement added. “They mean the world to me for so many reasons.”
The top European runner is Ancient Egypt (5-1), who missed by a head most recently in the Grand Prix de Paris (G1) at this same 12-furlong distance. That followed a neck loss in the King Edward VII (G2) at Ascot.
“The horse has landed in New York, and he’s shipped well and, touch wood, everything goes smoothly from here,” trainer Charlie Johnston said. “He seems to have done well. His last two runs have been fantastic, albeit a bit heartbreaking in defeat. He ran fantastic races in both Ascot and Paris and showed himself as a top-class mile-and-a-half horse on fast ground.”
Firmer ground is what Ancient Egypt is likely to find here versus European courses. The 3-year-old drew the rail with David Egan set to ride.
“On balance, we felt that was the right call for him, and this was the right race,” Johnston said. “European horses have had a good record in it, and we think it will suit him really well. It’ll be a much tighter track than he’s encountered before, but hopefully he’ll be able to cope with that OK. We’re going over there, hopeful for a very big run.”
So are we, for a horse who has the look of a star in the making.
Fort George (9-2) returns in a bid for a U.S. graded stakes after a bold try in the Bowling Green (G2) here last month. The 4-year-old trained by Ed Walker was a poor seventh in the Dubai Turf (G1) before regrouping to tackle the Bowling Green.
“In the Bowling Green, Flavien Prat dictated the Bowling Green from the front really well on Ole Crazy Bone and Kieran (Shoemark) gave our horse a lovely ride, but our boy was a little rusty around those sharp bends,” Walker continued. “I think our horse would have learned a lot from that, and I think Kieran will have, too. Fitness and acclimatizing-wise, there are lots of reasons to believe he will improve for that run.”
Survie, a 5-year-old mare, will take on the boys in this one, coming off a victory in the 1 ½-mile Glens Falls Stakes (G2) on Aug. 2 at the Spa. Flavien Prat was aboard for the Glens Falls as Ireland-bred Survie made her U.S. debut; Manny Franco has the call Saturday on the 6-1 shot.
Before we put it all together for our selections, here is another in a series of Saratoga dining reviews for those in town for the races. The grilled swordfish special (when available) is an excellent choice at the Brook Tavern located directly across from the track at the junction of Union and Nelson Avenues. It is served over mashed potatoes and a medley of seasonal vegetables. For an appetizer, start with the delicious oysters, and you can have a Saratoga seafood smorgasbord.
Now for….
| # | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Morning Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ancient Egypt | D Egan | C Johnston | 5/1 |
| 2 | Tawny Port | K Carmouche | M Clement | 8/1 |
| 3 | Ole Crazy Bone | I Ortiz, Jr. | M J Maker | 4/1 |
| 4 | Program Trading | F Prat | C C Brown | 7/2 |
| 5 | Fort George | K Shoemark | E Walker | 9/2 |
| 6 | Minaret Station | J L Ortiz | W Walden | 3/1 |
| 7 | Survie | M Franco | G Boughey | 6/1 |
Last Updated on 08/12/2026
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
