Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
TRAVERS 148
TAPWRIT TAKES ON FELLOW TRIPLE CROWN RACE WINNERS,
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – This year’s Travers has all the makings of a classic.
For the first time since 1982, when Runaway Groom knocked off Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol, Preakness winner Aloma’s Ruler, and Belmont Stakes winner (and 2-5 Travers favorite) Conquistador Cielo, the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga has lured the three separate winners of the Triple Crown races.
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing are coming off disappointing performances in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy here four weeks ago. Belmont Stakes winner Tapwrit is coming off an 11-week layoff.
But wait, there’s more. The field for Saturday’s $1.25 million Travers includes Girvin and McCraken, separated by a nose in the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth; Jim Dandy winner Good Samaritan; Blue Grass Stakes, Ohio Derby, and Indiana Derby winner Irap; Los Alamitos Derby winner West Coast; and Fountain of Youth winner Gunnevera. Lookin At Lee, Fayeq, and Giuseppe the Great are the only non-graded stakes winners in the 12-horse field.
“It truly seems like one of those races [where] if afterwards a number of horses won, you wouldn’t be shocked,” said Todd Pletcher, a two-time Travers winner and the trainer of Always Dreaming and Tapwrit. “From that perspective, it’s pretty wide open.”
Tapwrit was made the 7-2 morning-line favorite by Saratoga oddsmaker Travis Stone. There is a lot to like about this son of Tapit, who as a yearling sold for $1.2 million across the street at the Fasig-Tipton auction. He has the hottest rider on the grounds in Jose Ortiz, and he has a stalking running style that figures to have him right off what is likely to be a moderate pace.
However, there’s that 11-week layoff. But Birdstone in 2004 and Golden Ticket, who in 2012 dead-heated with Alpha, won this race off layoffs of 12 and 16 weeks, respectively.
Pletcher said he and the horse’s owners felt that a start in the Jim Dandy or Haskell might not have allowed Tapwrit to be at his best in the Travers. Tapwrit’s two five-furlong workouts this month were punctuated by strong gallopouts.
“I think we’re right where we want to be,” Pletcher said. “I think we’re both fresh and fit.”
Always Dreaming won his first four starts this year, including the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. After finishing eighth in the Preakness, he was given two months off before the Jim Dandy. Pletcher felt he had done enough with Always Dreaming to have him fit for the race. After setting a moderate pace while loose on the lead, Always Dreaming faded to third, beaten 5 1/4 lengths by Good Samaritan.
Pletcher believes Always Dreaming was compromised by the main track being deep and demanding early in the meet. Pletcher said the track has changed and noted that Thebigfundamental, another of his 3-year-olds, finished third on July 23 and came back to win Aug. 17 in the same condition at 1 1/8 miles.
Speaking of Always Dreaming, Pletcher said: “I’m hoping he’ll follow suit. He’ll not only appreciate the race and a couple of works but a tighter track to run over.”
Trainer Chad Brown believes the deep track also compromised Cloud Computing in the Jim Dandy. Brown made Cloud Computing show him in his morning training that he should be in this race. Cloud Computing’s two breezes over the main track showed him just that.
“Despite him coming off a poor race, I’m going into the race really confident that he’s going to run a good race,” Brown said. “Whether it’s good enough to win the Travers remains to be seen.”
Trainer Bob Baffert won last year’s Travers with Arrogate, who was on few horseplayers’ radar screens coming into the race. He would go on to become the Horse of the Year. This year, Baffert sends in West Coast, who has won three consecutive races, including the Easy Goer Stakes at Belmont and the Los Alamitos Derby.
“Last year with Arrogate, we knew we were going in with a secret weapon,” Baffert said. “We’re going in now with a horse who seems like he’s getting better and better. I think they’re all nice horses, just no super freaks.”
Good Samaritan appeared to freak in the Jim Dandy, his first start on dirt after making his first six on turf. If he benefitted from the deep, demanding track early in the meet, his trainer, Bill Mott, believes Good Samaritan will be even better on a tighter surface.
“I always thought a faster racetrack played into a closer’s style,” Mott said. “I think the biggest thing in the equation is having a really good horse.”
Among the horses who figure to be double-digit odds, Irap, Girvin, and McCraken intrigue the most. Irap beat McCraken and Tapwrit in the Blue Grass, and after an 18th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, he’s come back with two graded stakes wins, including a nose victory over Girvin in the Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
“Physically, he was more mature than his peers,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “It took him a while to mentally figure it all out. The Ohio Derby sent him forward, then we saw him go forward again in the Indiana Derby. He continues to train like a mature horse, mentally. We’re optimistic.”
Girvin rallied from last to nail McCraken by a nose in the Haskell. He has breezed well at Saratoga, and his connections are quite confident in his ability to get 10 furlongs. McCraken may have idled when he made the lead in the Haskell, and it sounds like his connections might try to wait a little longer to make their move.
The Travers goes as race 11 on a 13-race card that begins at 11:35 a.m. Eastern and includes seven stakes, six of which are Grade 1 races. Songbird, the two-time Eclipse Award champion, heads a five-horse field in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign. Lady Eli heads a six-horse field in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa. Drefong, the 2016 sprint champion, meets Mind Your Biscuits in the Grade 1 Forego.
The Travers and the Grade 1, $1 million Sword Dancer will be shown live on a 90-minute broadcast on NBC. Fox Sports 2 and MSG Plus will have 2 1/2 hours of coverage from Saratoga starting at 2 p.m.
The forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.