Travers Stakes

Our sport thrives on anticipation; our business, on outcomes. But actually it can take a while to unpick one from the other--especially when even a race as storied as the GI Runhappy Travers S. is not just an end in itself, but also a potential means to viability for the whole program of whoever is lucky enough to own the winner. In principle, the bare couple of minutes dividing anticipation from outcome at Saratoga on Saturday will be history tangibly in the making. From the flux of hopes and interests...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - It's not your imagination that jockey Joel Rosario is having a big summer at Saratoga. Rosario, 37, is very much in the hunt for the overall title, a competition led by Irad Ortiz, Jr. Through Thursday's program, Ortiz had 37 wins, eight more than Rosario. However, in graded stakes races, Rosario is far and away the leader with 10 victories from 19 starts, a remarkable 53% win rate. Ortiz is next with five. With the 10, Rosario is in position to smash the current record of...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Trainer Eric Reed is looking back and ahead as he prepares GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) for the GI Runhappy Travers S. With a firm opinion of what went wrong in the Rich Strike's sixth-place finish in the GI Belmont S. June 11, Reed is expecting a much better performance in the $1.25-million signature race of the Saratoga Race Course meet Aug. 27. He will be the first Derby winner to run in the Travers since Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) finished ninth in 2017....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Two standouts. Two high-profile graded stakes. Two different scenarios Saturday for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. In the Grade I portion of his afternoon at Saratoga Race Course, Asmussen will saddle champion Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music), who just might go off as the shortest-priced favorite in the history of the $350,000 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H., which has been run since 1985. One race later, in the $600,000 GII Jim Dandy S., Asmussen will send out Epicenter (Not This Time), runner-up as the favorite in...

For Nest (Curlin), the easy route to the Breeders' Cup includes a stop in the GI Alabama Aug 20. It's a prestigious race, has a $600,000 purse and Nest would be an odds-on favorite against many of the same horses she thrashed Saturday in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks. But what fun is that? Owners Mike Repole, Michael House and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trainer Todd Pletcher have already shown that they will think outside the box. They ran their filly in the GI Belmont S., where she finished...

V.E. Day (English Channel), winner of the 2014 GI Travers S., is one of 27 hips to be offered during the Wanamaker's June Sale. Consigned by Lovacres Ranch as a stallion prospect, V.E. Day also won the 2015 GII Brooklyn Invitational. His second crop are 3-year-olds this year. Also among the June offerings is the stakes-winning mare Mega Dream (Medaglia d'Oro), in foal to Lexitonian and consigned by Cary Bloodstock, and the 2-year-old racing prospect Honor King (Always Dreaming), a half-brother to GII Remsen S. winner Leave the Light On...

After winning the GII Remsen S. and the GII Wood Memorial S. and running a credible fifth in the GI Kentucky Derby, Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) put it all together on Saturday. He was the decisive winner of the GI Belmont S. to give New Yorker Mike Repole a one-two finish in the final leg of the Triple Crown at his home track. It was a good story and a good performance from a very good horse. It was not, however, the highlight of the day. It's hard to overshadow...

GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice) arrived in New York by van from Kentucky at 1 a.m. Wednesday to prepare for the GI Belmont S. June 11. With exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes up, Rich Strike visited Belmont's dirt training track at 9:30 a.m. with the accompaniment of outrider Juan Galvez and his pony Stormy, making two laps the wrong way round. "He settled down a lot the second time round. A lot of that was trying to get him used to the pony. You could see the farther...

The first mare has scanned in foal to multiple Grade I winner Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}--Reunited, by Dixie Union), who stands at Lane's End Farm. The stakes-winning mare Initiation (Deputy Minister) is already the dam of multiple stakes placed Forward Thinker (Indian Charlie) and is owned by St. Simon Place. Code of Honor won the 2019 GI Runhappy Travers S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup and was second in the GI Kentucky Derby. On the board in 14 of 20 starts, the 6-year-old chestnut won seven times...

Godolphin's Essential Quality (Tapit) exited his win in Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S. in fine shape, and, while his next start is up in the air, his ultimate target will be the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, trainer Brad Cox confirmed Sunday. "He looked great this morning. He's in good shape," Cox said. "[Godolphin USA President] Jimmy Bell and I spoke about [his next start] this morning, there's no pressure to make a decision right now. We'll just let the dust settle and enjoy this victory for a little...

If you like to sift through numbers, a few stand out from Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S. card at Saratoga Race Course. How about six Grade I stakes, whose winners all earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures? They weren't big-figure blowouts either. Five of those ultra-competitive races were decided by a half-length or less at the wire. Nine winning favorites from 13 races also catches the eye. As does the four-win performance by jockey Joel Rosario. But the most mind-boggling numeric notation from the summer's biggest day of racing appeared in...

Eclipse winner Essential Quality (Tapit) headlines a strong field of seven in Saratoga's prestigious GI Runhappy Travers S. Saturday evening. Should he succeed he would be the second colt in as many as years to complete the GI Belmont S./Travers double and the first juvenile champion to take the Midsummer Derby since Street Sense won the 2007 renewal. Opening his sophomore account with wins in the GIII Southwest S. Feb. 27 and GII Toyota Bluegrass S. Apr. 3, the Godolphin homebred was fourth as the favorite in the GI Kentucky...