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close seconds in six starts. Perhaps just as important, he has Bob Baffert and Mike Smith in his corner, the same Hall of Fame duo that torched Saratoga last summer with eventual champions Arrogate and Drefong. West Coast gets a class test today.
It may also seem unusual that a horse who has made only one start on dirt should be the third choice in the Travers. Good Samaritan could not have been more impressive in romping in the Jim Dandy by 4 ¾ lengths, but he may be considered an underlay at 5-1. Bettors may want to see him run another big one on dirt before using him at that price.
Always Dreaming (61) and Cloud Computing (8-1) are in a similar position: classic winners whose stock has fallen considerably since their Triple Crown triumphs. Both f i nished up the track in the Jim Dandy. Always Dreaming figures to set the pace again today, but faded badly in the Preakness and Jim Dandy. Cloud Computing, who starts from the inside post, has lost ground late in three of his four stakes appearances. It’s hard to see either horse relishing 10 furlongs at this point. The race has been a target for his trainer, Mechanicville native Chad Brown, since he began conditioning horses.
“It’s the top of the list,” Brown said. “Since I be- gan training and someone asked me what race I really wanted to win — it’s this one. My team feels the same way. With a horse training as well as he is you don’t stay in the barn.”
Girvin ( 10-1) and McCraken ( 12-1) are also in similar positions: both horses disappointed in the Derby, albeit with extenuating circumstances, but both have rebounded to run arguably their best races this summer. If you toss the Derby result, Girvin would be less than a length shy of being undefeated in six career starts, while McCraken — with a 5-1-1 record in seven starts — would be four lengths short of being unbeaten in seven. If their morning- line odds hold, both colts would appear to offer value.
Irap (8- 1) is another who has improved off his Derby result, with subsequent victories in the Grade 3 Ohio and Indiana derbies. The competition, however, will be a lot tougher today.
This son of Tiznow may be most likely to pressure Always Dreaming early, and then, if he’s good enough, to get first jump when and if the Derby winner starts backing up. Giuseppe the Great (20-1), Gunnevera (20-1), Lookin At Lee (30-1) and Fayeq (30-1) round out the field.