In his first race in four months, and first wearing the crown of Horse of the Year, Favorite Trick drove through horses in the stretch to win the Swale Stakes yesterday at Gulfstream Park.

The victory in the seven-furlong Swale extended Favorite Trick's win streak to nine -- he has never lost -- and it answered the question of how the horse has fared under his new trainer, Bill Mott. But it revealed little about the chances of this son of a sprinter to win, or even reach, the country's most prestigious race, the Kentucky Derby.

"He looks like a horse who wants to run long and be a two-turn horse," Mott said. "But that doesn't answer whether he wants to go a mile and a quarter. Time will tell."

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-03-15/sports/1998074186_1_favorite-trick-derby-day-favorite-son