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Sifting through options for his many Triple Crown prospects can be challenging, but trainer Todd Pletcher didn't overthink the process when it came to finding a starting spot for Grade 1 winner Daredevil. Seventeen weeks after suffering his first career loss in the Nov. 1 Sentient Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the chestnut More Than Ready colt gets his sophomore season underway Feb. 28 in the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 30th running of the seven-furlong Swale is the second of three stakes for 3-year-olds and goes as race 10 on a 12-race program with an approximate post time of 5:00 p.m. ET Saturday, along with the $150,000 Herecomesthebride for fillies and the $150,000 Palm Beach, both at 1-1/16 miles on turf.  "We gave him a little freshening after the Breeders' Cup and this is kind of where we found ourselves, timing-wise," Pletcher said. "It was mainly the timing and I thought that seven-eighths of a mile would be a good starting point for him. It wasn't a complicated decision or anything like that."
Let's Go Stable and WinStar Farm's Daredevil was one of the leading Triple Crown contenders heading into the Breeders' Cup, having cruised to a 6-1/4-length victory in his September debut and following up with a 2-1/2-length triumph over Upstart in October's Champagne Stakes, both over off tracks at Belmont Park. Breaking from the far outside as the second choice in a field of 11 for the 1-1/16-mile Juvenile, Daredevil raced wide and never found himself in contention and wound up last behind 13-1 longshot winner Texas Red. "I'm not really sure what happened," Pletcher said. "He got a wide trip on a track that probably wasn't playing that way and he had had three races in a short period of time. He's a very talented horse. He showed that in his first two starts last year, and he's come back and trained very well." Daredevil had four works this month at Palm Beach Downs, the last three of them bullets, most recently going four furlongs in :48 1/5 seconds on Feb. 22, the fastest of 19 works at the distance on the day. Regular rider Javier Castellano will be aboard from post 1 at topweight of 123 pounds. China Horse Club recently acquired a minority share in Daredevil and the Swale will be his first start with their name on the ownership roster. "He's a very efficient mover and just has a terrific action to him," Pletcher said. "We'll see how this race goes and probably try to stretch him out in the next start, and play that by ear. We'll get by this race and take it one race at a time, and go from there." Among the horses standing in Daredevil's way is multiple stakes winner Souper Colossal, looking for his first graded stakes triumph. Trained by Eddie Plesa, Jr. for Live Oak Plantation, the bay War Front colt opened his 3-year-old season with a victory in the five-furlong Texas Glitter Feb. 7 at Gulfstream in his turf debut. "It was either don't run him and come back in a seven-eighths of a mile race, or go ahead and get him a little bit sharper, and run him on a surface that he doesn't know and hasn't been on, but should like," Plesa said. "We just figured it would put him in a better place for later on in the year, including this race coming up." Initially racing in the shadow of his talented stablemate Mr. Jordan, who is just working his way back from a ligament injury suffered in December, Souper Colossal opened his career with three straight wins, including the Tyro and Sapling stakes at Monmouth Park. He stumbled at the start and dueled for the early lead before fading to seventh in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. "I'm looking for him to win and move forward. I think he's a top-grade 3-year-old and he's won going short and going long. I don't know what his best distance is yet. I don't think seven-eighths of a mile is going to be any problem whatsoever," Plesa said. "He just needs to get fit and see how good he is." Joel Rosario, up in the Texas Glitter, gets a return call from post 5. Trainer Jorge Navarro, second to Pletcher in the current meet standings at Gulfstream, seeks his first graded stakes victory of the winter with X Y Jet. The speedy son of Kantharos has one win in eight career starts but has finished second five times and third once, and has four seconds in five lifetime tries at Gulfstream. Beaten a neck in the Pasco Stakes Dec. 27 at Tampa Bay Downs, X Y Jet was second by a half-length to Barbados in Gulfstream's Jan. 24 Hutcheson. "He's training excellent. The horse is doing really good," Navarro said. "He's a nice horse, and he's very fast. He's one of my horses in the barn that's training really, really good." Hutcheson rider Edgard Zayas will be back aboard from post 7. Jacks or Better Farm homebred Twotwentyfive A makes his seventh straight stakes start and first in graded company in the Swale. Trained by Stanley Gold, he most recently finished off the board in the Jan. 24 Kitten's Joy, his turf debut. In his only try at seven furlongs, the Awesome of Course colt captured the Florida Stallion Affirmed Stakes last fall at Gulfstream. Jockey Rafael Hernandez will ride for the first time from post 4. Grand Bili, a debut winner on Feb. 1 at Gulfstream; Ready for Rye, off since his runner-up finish in the Jan. 3 Spectacular Bid; and stakes-placed Senor Grits, a January allowance winner in Tampa, round out the field.
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