SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Gufo has been very good for a long time, although it appears he saves his absolute best for Saratoga. Gufo returned to the Spa for the first time since winning the 2021 Sword Dancer and turned in a carbon copy of that performance right down to the 104 Beyer Speed Figure he earned for his half-length victory over Mira Mission in the Grade 1 turf fixture here Saturday. In his only other Saratoga appearance, Gufo finished a late-running second, beaten a head by Domestic Spending, as a 3-year-old in the 2020 Saratoga Derby Invitational. Gufo, who now holds the distinction of being a Grade 1 winner in three consecutive seasons, having also captured the Belmont Derby at 3, came out of the race on Saturday “in very good shape” his trainer, Christophe Clement, said Sunday. Clement made a decision that may have made the difference between victory and defeat in the Sword Dancer by putting blinkers on Gufo for the first time since the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Turf, marking only the fifth time in 19 career starts that the son of Declaration of War has raced with the hood. :: DRF's Saratoga headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more “He has not been consistent mentally through the year and I don’t know why. I had the same thing with him last season as well,” Clement noted. “I took them (blinkers) off at the start of this year because he got very aggressive in the Breeders’ Cup and he ran a very poor race. He trained very well earlier this year, but started getting a touch lazy and it was my fault after the Manhattan. I should have put the blinkers back right away, but I wasn’t so sure. There was no doubt about it after his race in New Jersey (Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park) when he dropped so far back and then only got beat a couple of lengths.” Clement said he will discuss the options with his owner (Otter Bend Stables) before choosing the next start for Gufo but added, “if it’s up to me, the next stop will be the Turf Classic (Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Aqueduct on Oct. 8)." Gufo finished third in the Hirsch Turf Classic exiting his victory in the 2021 Sword Dancer. As for the blinkers, Clement said “we’ll see how he trains, but as long as he trains well with them, yes, we’ll keep them on for the next race.” Clement was also extremely pleased with the effort given by his lesser-regarded runner in the Sword Dancer, Soldier Rising, who rallied from last to finish third, beaten only a length by Gufo in his Grade 1 debut, and earning a career-best 103 Beyer Figure. “I thought he (Soldier Rising) ran a great race as well, he came from even farther back than Gufo, and finished all the way to the end," Clement said. "And they (the Sword Dancer field) were the best group you can find at the moment. He’s a good horse who needs to win a big race one day, and we’ll have to work on that.” Clement said he’s leaning toward the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for Soldier Rising’s next start as well. The Sword Dancer was Clement’s 14th winner and fourth stakes win of the meet, although he still has some work to do in the final week of the session if he’s to equal his 17 victories here last year. “It’s been a good meet and winning the Sword Dancer was very much the highlight,” Clement conceded. “Big Invasion winning two stakes and City Man a graded stakes was also a lot of fun. And we still have one week left with plenty more runners coming up.” Mira Mission ran arguably the race of his life, only to get run down late by Gufo after opening a three-length advantage through midstretch in the Sword Dancer. Mira Mission suffered a similarly frustrating setback several months earlier in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Turf Classic, taking the lead a furlong from the wire, only to be caught late and beaten a neck by Santin.        :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies and more. “I’ve lost two Grade 1s by less than a length,” trainer Ian Wilkes lamented. “But you’re proud of him. He’s really small, knee-high to a grasshopper, but he’s all heart. I love him at a mile and one half because he switches off, he listens to the rider, he doesn’t get strong, he doesn’t get rank, so it’s all good.” Wilkes said he’s hoping Mira Mission will earn himself a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on November 5. “I’ll take him back to Kentucky and target the Breeders’ Cup,” Wilkes said. “I’d like to give him one more race somewhere in between, although to be honest I’m not sure where, I haven’t looked yet. I’m still on the high from yesterday. But we’ll figure it out.”