Jockey Olivier Placais seems to have a lot of luck with important dates.
One week after the Frenchman returned a winner from a three-month suspension aboard Super Fortune on his country’s National Day on July 14 for his own brand of ‘Liberation’, he was this time toasting to his own birthday with victory aboard Swift in the opening event one week later.
The Angers native, who turned 33 on Friday itself, thought he would have a quiet celebration – as he usually does – after he went through his book of four rides, but he thought if he were to get a present, it would have to be Leticia Dragon’s runner in the opening event, the $35,000 Class 5 Division 1 race over 1100m.
And he was spot-on. The Elvstroem six-year-old always travelled like a winner the moment he took the slipstream of noted frontrunner and $12 favourite Barnburgh Lad (Benny Woodworth) and Dominy (Derreck David), and into the home straight, Placais could already blow his candles when he dived through a rails gap to collar Barnburgh Lad.
It was not a brief tussle as Barnburgh Lad did fight back, but Swift ($49) slowly gained the ascendancy before darting away to a two-length win from Barnburgh Lad with Dominy third another 1 ¾ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 5.23secs for the 1100m on the Polytrack.
“I won on my country’s birthday, and tonight it’s for my own birthday!” said a delighted Placais.
“I watched his videos and I did see he had some gate speed three runs back. With his good gate in one, I thought I would scrub him up a little just to hold his spot and be closer to the pace.
“When I saw Derreck’s horse take on Benny’s, I was even more confident. I had plenty of horse under me and I knew they would both tire each other.
“Benny’s horse rolled off and mine took the gap. It was a close fight, but we wore the other horse down in the end.”
With that sixth win, Swift has now taken his career earnings past the $200,000 mark for his connections.
