Even with no champions entered, the 148th Travers Stakes can stand on its own merits.
For the first time in 35 years, the "Mid-Summer Derby" at historic Saratoga has drawn the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes winners. Always Dreaming, Cloud Computing and Tapwrit, respectively, and nine opponents are trying to fill the leadership void in the 3-year-old male division. The Travers and the Sept. 23 Pennsylvania Derby, the latter possible for juvenile champion Classic Empire, allow 3-year-olds to sort things out themselves before asked to face older horses.
Tapwrit, idle since winning the Belmont Stakes June 10, is the early 7-2 favorite in the mile-and-quarter Travers. Tapwrit, a million-dollar yearling purchase, gave trainer Todd Pletcher two legs of the Triple Crown after Always Dreaming splashed home in the May 6 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown scored his first victory in the Triple Crown series with Cloud Computing in the May 20 Preakness at Pimlico.
Girvin comes off a Grade 1 victory in Monmouth Park's Haskell Invitational July 30 after Always Dreaming and Cloud Computing faltered in the previous day's Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott won the Jim Dandy with Good Samaritan making a Cigar-like switch from turf to dirt while pacesetter Always Dreaming finished third and Cloud Computing last of five going nine furlongs.
Girvin nosed out McCraken, an early-season Derby contender, in the Haskell. A two-time graded winner in Louisiana, Girvin "definitely moves" to the front in the 3-year-old division with another Grade 1 victory, said trainer Joe Sharp.
McCraken and Tapwrit renew a rivalry from Florida that saw each win a graded Derby prep at Tampa Bay Downs. Tapwrit was sixth in the roughly run Kentucky Derby, then came back in five weeks to run down Irish War Cry in the Belmont.
Explaining Tapwrit's layoff since June, Pletcher said, "We felt like, if we ran in either the Jim Dandy or the Haskell, we'd leave a little something on the table that we wanted to save for the Travers."
Always Dreaming, he said, "doesn't have to be on the lead, but if he were to get there the right way, we wouldn't take it away."
Also in the Travers are multiple stakes winners Irap, Gunnevera and West Coast, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert shipping the latter from California. Oaklawn Park's main connection to the race is Arkansas Derby third-place finisher and Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin At Lee, a confirmed closer trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Jim Dandy runner-up Giuseppe the Great and Fayeq, a half-brother to Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra, complete the field.
Post time for the Travers is 4:44 p.m. CDT.
Sports on 08/24/2017