His last two trips to historic Pimlico Race Course have resulted in stakes victories, and West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner's Grade 3 winner Jaxon Traveler returns with a chance to extend his streak in Saturday's $100,000 Lite the Fuse.
The seventh running of the six-furlong Lite the Fuse for 3-year-olds and up, named for the two-time Carter (G1) and Frank J. Memorial Dash (G2) winner, was won by Yaupon last year in its return to the Maryland stakes calendar for the first time since 2001. It is among four stakes worth $875,000 in purses on a 10-race program headlined by the $200,000 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3).
Also scheduled for the turf is the $100,000 Alma North for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/8 miles, while fillies and mares 3 and older that have never won an open sweepstakes will sprint six furlongs on the dirt in the $75,000 Shine Again.
First race post time is 12:40 p.m.
Jaxon Traveler has won three of his four career starts at Pimlico, dating back to a debut victory in September 2020. He ran second in the 2021 Chick Lang (G3), winning the Star de Naskra three weeks later and the Maryland Sprint (G3) May 21 on the undercard of the 147th Preakness Stakes (G1) for his first graded triumph.
“He loves Pimlico. Every time he's gone there he's broke well and had running on his mind. He's had some really good efforts down there so we loved it when we saw this spot earlier in the summer. We took dead aim on it,” West Point founder, president and CEO Terry Finley said. “He's had a couple of really good works and he's ready to rock and roll.”
From the barn of Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, who also trained Yaupon, Jaxon Traveler is based in New York with assistant trainer Toby Sheets. He comes into the Lite the Fuse having run third by 1 ¼ lengths in the 5 ½-furlong Ben's Cat on the Laurel Park turf July 30.
“I think he's a better horse on the dirt than he is on the turf,” Finley said. “He's doing very well. Toby, who's had him the whole time up at Belmont, has been super pleased. He tries hard every time. I wish we had a whole bunch of these in our barn because it's always good to have a horse this honest and talented. He seemed to come out of the last race in good shape.”
Finley said the connections have lofty goals for Jaxon Traveler, a son of Munnings bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. Leonard Pineau that was named the state's champion 2-year-old of 2020 and 3-year-old of 2021. He has a record of 6-6-4 from 17 starts with $578,810 in purse earnings and three of his four stakes wins have come in Maryland, including the 2020 Maryland Juvenile Futurity at Laurel.
“I know we still have a ways to go, but we'd love to make him a millionaire. He's almost at [$600,000] now and we'd like to see him get to a million dollars,” Finley said. “He's not going to be a stallion, he's going to be a racehorse for the foreseeable future. Although he's run plenty, he seems like he still loves what he does for a living.”
Jaxon Traveler drew Post 2 in a field of eight and will be ridden by Sheldon Russell.
Among the challengers are stakes winners Wudda U Think Now, Nimitz Class, Wendell Fong and Quick Tempo. The Elkstone Group's Wudda U Think Now has won two of his last three starts for New York-based trainer Rudy Rodriguez, the Feb. 19 Hollie Hughes at Aqueduct and Aug. 12 John Morissey at Saratoga, both six-furlong sprints for New York-breds. He was a front-running 10 ½-length winner against open company Jan. 16 at Aqueduct to launch his 5-year-old campaign.
Thomas Coulter's 3-year-old Nimitz Class strung together three straight wins earlier this year, all at Penn National, where trainer Bruce Kravets is based. He had his win streak snapped when second by a length to Old Homestead in the seven-furlong Concern July 2 at Laurel, and most recently was last of seven facing elders on Presque Isle's all-weather surface in the July 26 Hard Spun.
“He didn't care for the track last time. Never picked his feet up,” Kravets said. “I think he's doing good. He's training great. He's worked a couple times since then and worked really good, really fast.
“He never trained any different. He came out of the [last] race perfect. He went right back to his regular schedule,” he added. “When we breezed him the other day he looked good which was the case when he first breezed back, so he's dead fit and ready to go.”
Nimitz Class nearly overcame a poor start where he stumbled and was checked on the first turn in the Concern, and it will be up to new rider Angel Rodriguez to navigate a better trip from Post 6.
“He ran a big race that day,” Kravets said. “If he didn't stumble at the start, I'm not saying he wins but it would have been a lot closer.”
Wendell Fong is owned by Dark Horse Racing Stable, Serio Racing Stables, Rich Spiesman and trainer Natalia Lynch, a Maryland native whose first career victory came courtesy of the 6-year-old gelding in last January's Fire Plug at Laurel. He ran second in the Tom Fool (G3) before going to the sidelines last winter, returning in the fall with a new trainer but without a win. It will be his first start since being claimed by Lynch for $40,000 out of a third-place finish sprinting six furlongs July 20 at Saratoga.
Also racing first off the claim is Hinder Holdings' Quick Tempo, haltered for $25,000 following a front-running 4 ¼-length optional claiming allowance score Aug. 8 at Colonial Downs going the Lite the Fuse distance. The 4-year-old gelding won the 2020 Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds and has placed in three other stakes – the 2021 Iowa Sprint and Rumson and May 4 St. Matthews.
“We're going to take a shot,” Pimlico-based trainer Kieron Magee said. “It won't be entirely new for him. He's been there before.”
Appropriately enough, Quick Tempo has done his best running on the front end and Magee – who won a seven-way shake for the son of Grade 1 winner Tapizar – expects nothing different Saturday under Jevian Toledo, who returns to ride from outermost Post 8.
“He went three-quarters in 1:09 [last time] and was just much the best,” Magee said. “[The front] is where he wants to be and it's more than likely where he'll be. If there's somebody in there with my kind of speed, maybe we'll try to sit off a little bit. But, that's where he wants to be and he's all speed.”
Trin-Brook Stables, Inc.'s War Tocsin is entered to make his 44th career start in the Lite the Fuse. Owned and trained by Uriah St. Lewis, the 6-year-old Violence gelding has placed three times in stakes, twice in Maryland – the Feb. 19 General George (G3) at Laurel, where he was second to multiple stakes winner Cordmaker, and Maryland Sprint, third by 4 ¾ lengths to Jaxon Traveler.
John Conforti's Chief Ron, riding a two-race win streak sprinting at Delaware Park for trainer Chelsea Moysey; and Jun H. Park and Delia Nash's Sibelius, a last-out winner going six furlongs Aug. 10 at Saratoga, are also entered.
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