David Cassidy on the Web
Unswept is unrelenting in Spa debut
August 31, 2002
www.nybreds.com
Nine New York-bred two-year-olds -- four making their first starts -- loaded into the starting gate like veteran professionals for Saratoga's Saturday opener, a $41,000 5 1/2-furlong restricted maiden special, and the four first-time starters finished first through fourth, with UNSWEPT regaining the lead to win under a hand ride. Sent off the 11.40-to-1 fifth choice with Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day on board, Unswept tucked behind the early leaders, 7.10-to-1 third choice My Buddy Duddie and .75-to-1 favorite J. B. Hood, as the former zipped an opening quarter in 22.67. With a dramatic outside move on the turn, the dark bay colt took the lead from J. B. Hood, then lost the lead briefly to that rival approaching the quarter pole before regaining command and drawing clear to a 1 3/4-length victory.
Unswept ran his final three-sixteenths in a sprightly 18.67 seconds, setting a five-furlong fraction of 58.45 and winning in 1:04.92, as 10.90-to-1 fourth choice War Paint closed strongly along the rail to place second over J. B. Hood. The latter, a $310,000 purchase out of Fasig-Tipton Florida's selected two-year-olds in training sale at Calder six months earlier, was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey. Unswept earned $24,600 for winning his first start, and his victory marked the first of two winning rides on Saratoga's Saturday card for Day.
Owned by television and singing star David Cassidy in partnership with Richard Brodie's Andrew Farm, Unswept is trained by Gary Contessa, who before the race scratched the other half of the entry originally coupled with Unswept. Cassidy purchased the colt for $117,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2001 Saratoga preferred sale of yearlings a year ago. Unswept's breeders, Dr. Jerry Bilinski of Waldorf Farm in North Chatham, Martin Zaretsky of Old Chatham, and Marc Roberts, jointly qualified for a $2,460 breeder award. Bilinski purchased Unswept's dam, four-time winner Dress, for $27,000 at the 1999 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's October mixed sale in Florida when she was carrying Unswept, who is by deceased End Sweep, currently the third-leading juvenile sire in North America.
Unswept is the fourth offspring and fourth winner produced by Dress, a Topsider mare who was an allowance winner on turf and a three-time winner on dirt. Dress's first offspring won open allowance races at Arlington Park and Meadowlands; her second, Diablo His Due, captured a non-black-type stakes race at Turf Paradise in 2000; her third broke his maiden by six lengths at Hollywood Park this summer and won again on August 28 at Sacramento. Dress's half-brother, Brunswick ($412,960), won Saratoga's Grade 1 Whitney Handicap by 3 1/2 lengths in 1993. Unswept figures to have great genes.
Unswept wins!
