Mitole’s Tirupati overcomes tough start to win Santa Anita’s Swingtime S.

Mitole tallied his sixth stakes winner of the year Oct. 12 at Santa Anita Park Tirupati when Tirupati rallied from far off the pace to take the Swingtime S. by a half-length over Miracle Beauty (IRE).

Mitole, currently third on the Fourth-Crop sire list behind fellow Spendthrift sires Omaha Beach and Vino Rosso, has nearly $6.5 million in progeny earnings. The farm recently announced Mitole’s 2027 stud fee at $10,000 S&N.

Tirupati hopped at the break of the one-mile turf contest, then almost immediately had to take up after being squeezed between horses. She found herself some eight lengths from the front in the first furlong. She still faced a similar deficit going into the final turn, when she began to make up ground.

With no choice but to go wide with a quarter-mile to run, Tirupati turned for home in the middle of the track. She was full of run in the stretch and outran Miracle Beauty in the final strides to secure the win.

 “It’s nice to get the first win on the board,” said jockey Jamie Spencer, who recently began riding in southern California. “She was a little bit restless in the gate so I had to go to Plan B and ride her patiently. Originally, we wanted to start in the first three, but it worked out.”

Tirupati, winner of last year’s Wilshire S. (G3), is now 5-5-6 in 20 outings for Augustin Stables. The 5-year-old mare was bred in Kentucky by Spendthrift Farm, LLC.