Ancient Egypt looms large in G1 Christophe Clement Turf
Saturday’s 52nd running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Christophe Clement Turf, previously known as the Sword Dancer Invitational, drew a competitive international renewal in its first year under the new moniker, which honors the life and legacy of the brilliant conditioner Christophe Clement, a record-holding five-time winner of this race who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on August 7.
The 12-furlong inner turf test provides its winner an automatic berth into the Grade 1, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on October 31 at Keeneland and has drawn an international field of seven.
Three Europeans appear every bit imposing in the lineup, seeking to add to a strong recent run of success for global ship-ins - including two of the past three editions with El Cordobes [2025] and Bolshoi Ballet [2023]. Along with the American quartet, they seek to join an impressive honor roll of past winners that includes dual Horse of the Year John Henry [1981], as well as subsequent Breeders’ Cup Turf winners Theatrical [1987], Fraise [1992], Better Talk Now [2004] and Main Sequence [2014].
Top-rated among the trio is Amo Racing USA’s highly regarded and well-bred Ancient Egypt, a ‘pink and green’-blooded son of Frankel whose pedigree is up, down and sideways Juddmonte. Out of a full-sister to Juddmonte’s Champion, Breeders’ Cup winner and six-time Group 1/Grade 1 winner Midday, the multi-generational descendent of the famed operation was bred by Yulong Investments after the owner purchased his dam, Atone [in foal with Ancient Egypt], from Juddmonte at Tattersalls in 2022 for $376,726 [£300,000].
Developed in his racing career by Charlie Johnston to win three of his seven runs so far, including the Listed Newmarket on May 1, Ancient Egypt was then a disappointing eighth-of-14 on soft turf in the famed Group 1 Epsom Derby, second by a neck in Royal Ascot’s Group 2 King Edward VII just 13 days later and then a head second in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris on July 14 at Paris-Longchamp.
Johnston said Ancient Egypt arrived in Saratoga on August 7 in fine fettle.
“The horse has landed in New York and he’s shipped well and touch wood, everything goes smoothly from here,” 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.
“That was part of the reasoning for thinking about going over for this race, as far as Grade 1 options,” Johnston continued. “In Europe, we were left with the Arc or races in Germany and felt like those races at that time of year, there’s a reasonable likelihood of soft ground, which we learned in Epsom didn’t suit him very well. We either had to drop down to Group 2 company [in the Group 2 Great Voltigeur] and take him to York in a couple weeks or look to travel stateside.
“On balance, we felt that was the right call for him and this was the right race,” he added. “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.”
David Egan rides from the inside post.
Michael Tabor’s mercurial mare Survie wheels back on less than two weeks’ rest after flattening fellow fillies and mares in the Grade 2 Glens Falls over course and distance on August 2. Trained by George Boughey, who is enjoying a brilliant year highlighted by superstar miler Bow Echo, the daughter of Churchill has won 5-of-19 starts and finished top-three in 13 of those efforts.
A troubled sixth-of-16 against the boys two back in Royal Ascot’s Listed Wolferton, Survie was last seen taking on top-level company when third in The Saudi Cup’s Group 1 Neom Turf Cup over an American-style flat oval on February 14. Winner of the Group 2 Prix de Malleret over this distance as a 3-year-old, two years ago, the Irish-bred was then trained by Nicolas Clement, brother to the late namesake Christophe, before being sold at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale 2025 for $2,636,068.
Ridden last out by Flavien Prat, she will be piloted on Saturday by in-form Manny Franco - winner of this race with Channel Maker in 2020 - from post 7.
Mrs. Fitri Hay’s Fort George shipped over last month for trainer Ed Walker and rewarded his conditioner with a smart performance, missing by a nose to Ole Crazy Bone in the 11-furlong Grade 2 Bowling Green on July 11. 3-for-13 lifetime and markedly consistent, the son of Territories has only tried this distance once, resulting in arguably his best lifetime performance, a game second to Godolphin’s iconic Rebel’s Romance in February’s Group 2 Dubai City of Gold at Meydan. Winner of the Group 3 Dubai Millennium in late January, the hard-knocking sort will be reunited with jockey Kieran Shoemark.
Walker said he hopes to follow the lead of overseas trainers Hugo Palmer and Simon Crisford after they each scored respective Grade 1 wins this summer at the Spa with Glacius in the Saratoga Derby on August 8 and Title Role in the Belmont Derby on July 4.
“He’s trained really well since the Bowling Green and we’re really excited,” Walker said. “It was really good to see Hugo Palmer win a Grade 1 there, which was good for the ‘away team,’ if you will. Crisford has won one, Palmer has won one and now hopefully we can. We need to keep the momentum going.
“In the Bowling Green, Flavien Prat dictated the Bowling Green from the front really well [on Ole Crazy Bone] and Kieran 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. Until the slight hiccup yesterday, we couldn’t have been happier.”
On Saturday, the gritty globetrotter had a run-in with a bit of wildlife, ultimately delaying his planned Sunday breeze on the Oklahoma turf course.
“He is doing very well, all considered, but he wasn’t able to gallop [breeze] this morning because he got stung by a bee and had a bit of reaction to it yesterday morning,” Walker said. “He was just a bit sore after that, but was much better today. We decided to postpone the work until Monday. He’ll go on the dirt instead of the turf, which should be fine for him. I would have rather worked on the grass, but otherwise everything has been ‘A-1 perfect’ and the team is doing a fantastic job.”
Shoemark, who broke from post four of six last time, rides from post 5 on Saturday.
Flying P Stable’s aforementioned Ole Crazy Bone [post 3, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] has been a picture of consistency in the past year, finishing top three in eight of his past nine runs, including his Bowling Green victory and a smart win in the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup last September. On the cusp of $2 million in earnings, the son of Ghostzapper has joined an honor roll of similarly consistent, hard-knocking turf marathon types from the yard of trainer Mike Maker, including Red Knight, Zulu Alpha, Bigger Picture, Oscar Nominated, Da Big Hoss and Dark Cove.
“He’s doing really well and I was very happy with this last race,” Maker said. “He’s been breezing well. He gives it his all every time and every race he runs he tries to run a winning race. Good horses make us look good.”
Peachtree Stable’s popular Tawny Port seeks what could be an emotional victory for trainer Miguel Clement, son of the namesake. Entering off a two-mile track record-setting victory in the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup on June 4, the six-time winner from 32 starts appears in career-form at age 7 and has upped his performance level over the past 12 months, including seconds in the Grade 1 Canadian International and in Ole Crazy Bone’s Kentucky Turf Cup. Flying high off wins in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame with Bottas and Grade 1 Fourstardave with Deterministic this past weekend, Clement seeks his own personal triple in the process.
“He’s training lights out,” Clement said. “I kept him fresh and skipped the Bowling Green. 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.”
Tawny Port earned a “Golden Ticket” berth to the two-mile Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup, AUD $10 million [USD $7.2 million] in total prize money, on Tuesday, November 3 at Flemington Racecourse. Clement said that race could be an option down the road for the hardy son of Pioneerof the Nile.
“This was always the plan to run here [in the Clement] after the Belmont Gold Cup, then go back to Kentucky Downs and after that discuss whether we go back to Canada or actually take a swing at Australia in the Melbourne Cup,” Clement said. “The horse is ready.”
Kendrick Carmouche, who was aboard Deterministic, picks up the mount from post 2.
Another exiting a smart graded stakes victory is Klaravich Stables’ Program Trading, who landed Monmouth Park’s Grade 2 United Nations and Listed Monmouth Stakes in his past two runs. Stretching out to 12 furlongs for the first time, the son of Lope de Vega will be ridden by Flavien Prat, who rode Ole Crazy Bone and Tawny Port in their most recent efforts and opts instead for this assignment, from post 4. Prat also won this race last year on El Cordobes.
“He loves Monmouth [3-for-3 and two stakes wins],” said trainer Chad Brown. “He also appreciates some give in the ground, but I’m not sure we’re going to get that. He just ran terrific going a mile and three-eighths and we'll give this a shot. He's doing very well right now.”
A three-time winner of the race, Brown competed against the late Clement in countless graded stakes in New York.
“Christophe was a great trainer,” he said. “I'm happy to see him get in the Hall of Fame and that NYRA named a significant race after him, it's well deserved. I always had a good relationship with him. Any time you're in professional sports, you're always rivals with your direct competitors, and we had a friendly rivalry."
Rounding out the Clement Turf septet is OXO Equine homebred Minaret Station [post 6, Jose Ortiz], a well-regarded son of his owner’s turf star Instilled Regard, winner of the 2020 Grade 1 Manhattan and Grade 2 Fort Marcy. A winner of 3-of-7 efforts for trainer Will Walden, the 4-year-old won last year’s Listed American Derby at 3 and the Grade 2 Bourbon at 2. His three winless, but respectable efforts since returning to the races in 2026 were capped by a third last out in the Bowling Green, beaten a half-length by Ole Crazy Bone and Fort George as the market’s second favorite.
“He’s a super easy horse to train; very straightforward and very easy to be around,” Walden said. “He does everything the way it’s supposed to be done. We’re excited to be running him at a mile and a half. I thought he ran great [in the Bowling Green]. It was his first time going that far; a little new going three turns, but I thought he ran great.”
The Christophe Clement Turf is slated as Race 9 on Saturday’s 12-race card, which includes the Listed $200,000 Galway in Race 10. First post is 12:30 p.m. Eastern.
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