Photo:

Woodbine / Michael Burns Photo

Swift Delivery, co-owned by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis
Kelce with an obvious reminder of the NFL star’s girlfriend, chases his first stakes success Saturday at 5:25 p.m. EDT in the Grade 3, US$97,737 Ontario Derby at Woodbine.

Durham Cup winner Dresden Row, who has four first-place finishes at Woodbine, actually is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. But Swift Delivery understandably has attracted attention for more than his on-track exploits.

Click here for Woodbine entries and results.

Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Swift Delivery is the 2-1 second choice and the 3-year-old son of Not This Time out of Rockport Harbor mare Raegen Harper. He
arrived at the 1 1/8-mile, synthetic-track tilt for sophomores off a
second-place finish over one mile of turf Aug. 31 in the Toronto Cup.

“I thought it was good,” Casse said of the first stakes
engagement. “He may be a little better on the all-weather. At least that is
what it looks like. It was a solid race. Was it his best race? Probably
not. He’s doing well, and we are anxious to get back on the all-weather track.”

On Aug. 27, Team Valor International founder and CEO Barry
Irwin announced that the Zoldan Family, owners of Phantom Fireworks, and
Kelce, the three-time Super Bowl champion who dates music megastar
Taylor Swift, acquired a significant share of Team Valor’s interest in Swift
Delivery, who Team Valor owns with Gary Barber.

Bred in Kentucky by Hunt-Steeple Hill, the gray made his
first four starts at Woodbine.

“We thought he was one of our better horses as a 2-year-old, but
it just never transferred over into the afternoons,” Casse said. “So his
2-year-old year was very disappointing. During the wintertime we gelded
him and gave him a bit of a break. Once we started back training him, I could
see a difference in him.

“We always had high expectations for him. He has a very good
pedigree, and it took him a while to show his ability. I could see him training
very well this winter at our training center. He was a happy horse.”

Swift Delivery launched his 3-year-old campaign with a pair of
races at Gulfstream Park this April and May. After consecutive thirds in
Florida, he came back to compete at Woodbine. His maiden score came
for Team Valor and Barber in an allowance race June 23, a 16 1/2-length,
head-turning triumph when Barber was the sole owner.

One race later Swift Delivery was back in the winner’s circle
courtesy of a 1 1/4-length score at 1 1/6 miles over the inner turf.

“When he won that race by 16 1/2 lengths, I watched the finish
with my mouth open,” Casse said. “When he won the other in July on the inner
turf, he drew post 11. I told Gary and Barry that this horse would have to be
Superman to win that race from there.”

Casse is hopeful Swift Delivery, who sports a record of 9: 2-2-1,
is sitting on a big performance.

“I think the distance is good for him, and he likes the
all-weather, so hopefully it translates into a strong effort on Saturday,”
Casse said.

Casse, the 16-time Sovereign Award winner as a Canada champion, already
set the record for most Woodbine stakes training wins in one year with 30. He said
he is thrilled to see fans of both racing and music take an interest in Swift
Delivery.

“It was nice to see everyone that came out to see him,” he said. “Hopefully,
we get to see that again this Saturday. Anything that is good for racing makes
me happy.”

The field also includes Breeders’ Stakes winner Roscar, Durham Cup
(G3) victor Dresden Row and 2023 Coronation Futurity winner Babbo.

A sunny, 65-degree day will greet the field for the Ontario Derby.

Horse Racing Nation coverage of the Woodbine Thoroughbred season is made possible in part through a sponsorship by Woodbine Entertainment Group.

Post	Silks	Horse / Sire	Rating	Trainer / Jockey	Last Start / Next Start	Morn. Line
1		Bail Us Out Lookin At Lucky	4.79	Kevin Attard Kazushi Kimura	1st, WO AOC (09/07/2024-R8)	4-1
Last Race		1st, WO AOC (09/07/2024-R8)
2		Roscar Oscar Performance	0.00	Rachel Halden Justin Stein	1st, Breeders’ S.	6-1
Last Race		1st, Breeders’ S.
3		Two Ghosts Ghostzapper	0.00	Barbara J. Minshall Fraser Aebly	1st, WO OCL (09/13/2024-R2)	15-1
Last Race		1st, WO OCL (09/13/2024-R2)
4		Swift Delivery Not This Time	0.00	Mark E. Casse Patrick Husbands	2nd, Toronto Cup S. Presented by Crown Royal	2-1
Last Race		2nd, Toronto Cup S. Presented by Crown Royal
5		Dresden Row Lord Nelson	0.00	Lorne Richards Ryan Munger	1st, Durham Cup S.	9-5
Last Race		1st, Durham Cup S.
6		Babbo Kantharos	4.84	Sid C. Attard Eswan Flores	4th, Toronto Cup S. Presented by Crown Royal	12-1
Last Race		4th, Toronto Cup S. Presented by Crown Royal
7		Miss Roberts Siyouni	0.00	James Bentley Begg Keveh Nicholls	10th, 2023 Montrose Fillies’ Stakes LS	20-1
Last Race		10th, 2023 Montrose Fillies’ Stakes LS