Tiago looking for a sweep of Santa Anita Derby, Swaps

Tiago will be in a different role when he faces five other 3-year-olds in the $350,000 Swaps Stakes on Saturday at Hollywood Park.

The half brother to 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo will be favored for the first time in his career in the Swaps, a Grade II at 1 1/8 miles.

A winner of two of six starts for owner-breeders Jerry and Ann Moss and trainer John Shirreffs, the son of Pleasant Tap has never been lower than 6-1, but his odds probably will be less than 2-1 in his first race since he finished third behind Rags To Riches and Curlin in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

The Belmont was the last of three consecutive Grade I races in which Tiago appeared, beginning with his 29-1 upset in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7. Sandwiched between those two efforts was a seventh in the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs.

In his first start over the track where he regularly trains, Tiago will be facing three horses who ran in the Affirmed Handicap on June 17, including wire-to-wire winner Desert Code.

Tiago will try to become only the fourth horse to win both the Santa Anita Derby and Swaps. He hopes to join Came Home, who completed the parlay in 2002, Free House (1997) and Temperate Sil (1987).

This race could lead to another try against the division’s big guns in the $1-million Travers on Aug. 25 at Saratoga.

“We’re hoping that this race is a steppingstone,” Shirreffs said. “I’m not sure what we’ll do [next]. I’ll have to see how things go. Obviously, the Travers would be a great race, but I don’t know yet.”

The Swaps will be the first start over a synthetic track for Tiago, but his works indicate he won’t have any problem. He went six furlongs in a best-of-the-morning 1:12 on July 1 and followed with a drill at the same distance in 1:13 3/5 a week later. Both works were termed breezing by clockers.

Besides Desert Code, who has won two of three starts on the Cushion, the two horses who ran in the Affirmed who are back in the Swaps are runner-up Albertus Maximus and Awesome Gambler, who finished in a dead heat for fourth.

With Jorge Chavez having left California to begin riding again in New York because of family concerns, David Flores will take over on Albertus Maximus.

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The final graded stakes of the meet will be the $150,000 Sunset Handicap on Sunday.

A Grade II at 1 1/2 miles on turf, the Sunset lured eight, including Runaway Dancer, who will be making his fourth appearance in the race. His best finish was a dead heat for second in 2005.

An 8-year-old gray gelding owned by RL Stables and trained by Dan Hendricks, Runaway Dancer will be looking to give jockey Alex Solis a record third consecutive win in the race. Solis, who has won the race five times, scored with Always First in 2005 and T.H. Approval last summer. No jockey has ever won the Sunset three times in a row.

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Steve Wood, who has served as track superintendent at Santa Anita since 1989, will leave the position, effective Sunday.

No replacement for Wood, who also serves in the same capacity at Del Mar, which begins its first meet with Polytrack on Wednesday, and Fairplex Park, has been chosen, but the current installation of the synthetic Cushion Track at Santa Anita is being directed by Magna track consultant Ted Malloy and plant manager Steve Guise.

“The rules of track maintenance have changed dramatically,” Santa Anita President Ron Charles said in a statement. “[Steve and I] agreed that whoever holds the position of track superintendent should be closely involved with the installation process and should also be prepared to monitor and maintain the surface on a daily basis, beginning immediately.”

Santa Anita hopes to have its new surface in place by the beginning of September. The Oak Tree meet begins Sept. 26.

bob.mieszerski@latimes.com