The $1.25 million Travers will see the winners of each of the three legs of the Triple Crown and last year's Champion 2-Year-Old Colt all vie for superiority amongst a wide open 3-year-old male division. A total of seven sophomores have signed on for this year's edition of the Mid-Summer Derby at Saratoga, which is the highlight of a blockbuster card on Saturday.
Four additional Grade 1 races are offered on Saturday at the Spa. Champion Elite Power will take on familiar rival Gunite in the Forego; a pair of Baffert trainees will face the undefeated New York Thunder in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial; Echo Zulu faces Champion Goodnight Olive and dual Grade 1-winner Matareya in the Ballerina; and seven older horses have signed on for the 1 1/2-mile Sword Dancer.
Of those, two are “Win and You're In” races for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The Ballerina offers an expenses-paid berth to the Filly & Mare Sprint, while the Sword Dancer guarantees the winner a spot in the starting gate for the Longines Turf.
The third “Win and You're In” Challenge race this weekend is on Saturday at Del Mar: a well-matched field of 11 will vie for a spot in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile via the seven-furlong G2 Pat O'Brien Stakes.
Friday's action is also expected to produce some fireworks.
Nest and Clairiere will meet up again in the G1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga. The former, last year's Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, won the last bout against her rival with a 2 1/4-length victory in the G2 Shuvee. Also in the six-horse Personal Ensign field are Grade 1 winner Secret Oath and Grade 2 winner Idiomatic.
Friday evening is highlighted by the Charles Town Classic card in West Virginia. This year's edition of the $1 million race drew a field of 10, with favoritism expected to be tightly-matched between Doppelganger, Skippylongstocking, and Giant Game. One race earlier, the G3 Charles Town Oaks ($750,000) drew a field of 10 to go seven furlongs, led by highly-touted 3-year-old Hoosier Philly.
All times listed below are for the Eastern time zone.
Friday
5:44 p.m. – Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga
Nest will look to keep her perfect Saratoga record intact in Friday's $500,000 Personal Ensign. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Curlin bay enters the nine-furlong test for older fillies and mares with a stellar Spa ledger, including Grade 1 wins in last year's Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama to go along with a last-out win off the bench on July 23 in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Shuvee.
Clairiere [post 6, Joel Rosario, 124 pounds] will look to turn the tables after tracking from last-of-4 in the Shuvee and attempting an inside move on Nest at the top of the lane. She then angled outside her familiar foe and chased gamely to finish 2 1/4-lengths back of the winner. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the classy Curlin bay has banked in excess of $3.1 million through a record of 20-8-6-3 led by Grade 1 scores in the 2021 Cotillion at Parx, the Apple Blossom Handicap in April at Oaklawn Park and back-to-back editions of the Ogden Phipps [2022-23] at Belmont.
Secret Oath will look to get back to winning ways for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The 4-year-old Arrogate chestnut enjoyed a tremendous sophomore season, capturing the Grade 3 Honeybee at Oaklawn en route to victory in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, besting Nest by two lengths. Secret Oath made four tries this year, beginning with a pair of starts at Oaklawn that featured a win in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Azeri when 2 3/4-lengths better than Clairiere, before that foe turned the tables on her next out by a neck in the Apple Blossom. Secret Oath narrowly missed when second by a neck to Played Hard in the Grade 1 La Troienne in May at Churchill and was last seen finishing a flat fifth in the Ogden Phipps.
A new face at the top flight is Idiomatic [post 1, Florent Geroux, 120 pounds], who has garnered back-to-back triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures from wins in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Shawnee [102] in June at Churchill and the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap [100] on July 8. Trained by Brad Cox, the 4-year-old Curlin bay is out of the multiple graded stakes-placed First Defence mare Lockdown, who is a full-sister to 2014 Champion Older Mare Close Hatches.
Rounding out a talented field is graded stakes-winner Sixtythreecaliber [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche, 118 pounds] for trainer Tom Amoss; and graded stakes-placed Malloy [post 2, Dylan Davis, 118 pounds] for trainer Wayne Catalano.
Personal Ensign Entries
10:25 p.m. – Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at Charles Town
Grade 1-winner Doppelganger, multiple graded stakes winner Skippylongstocking, and late entrant Giant Game will now find themselves vying for favoritism in this year's Charles Town Classic.
Trainer Brittany Russell will send out Doppelganger, winner of the Carter Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct this April. The four-year-old son of top sire Into Mischief is coming off a win in the Battery Park Stakes at Delaware Park.
Skippylongstocking may attract more attention at the betting windows in this year's Classic for trainer Saffie Joseph. The 4-year-old son of Exaggerator has consistently kept good company in his races, with the Classic set to mark his 11th consecutive start in graded stakes company.
Joseph will also send out O'Connor, who achieved Group 1-winning status in his native Chile. While he has yet to win a graded stakes stateside, Joseph feels his charge is rounding back into form at the right time.
Giant Game took the field gate-to-wire in the Cornhusker Handicap (G3) two races back, defeating two Classic entrants in Skippylongstocking and Call Me Fast. The improving son of Giants Causeway for trainer Dale Romans followed up that effort with a fifth-place finish in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, which saw him lead to the midway point of the far turn before tiring. Giant Game projects to be the pacesetter in this year's Classic, with Martin Garcia named to ride.
Call Me Fast was another late addition to this year's Classic field, with his connections choosing to supplement the gelded son of Dialed In to the race. Call Me Fast exits four consecutive tries against Grade 3 company for trainer Mike Puhich.
The runner-up in last year's Classic, local hopeful Muad'dib, is not coming into this year's race in the same raging form as last year. He entered last year's Classic a perfect 10-for-10 in his career, but finished second to Art Collector. His form since that night could be described as workmanlike. It includes four wins — all by margins of less than a length — and two more defeats, though each came with legitimate excuses according to two-time Charles Town Classic-winning trainer Jeff Runco. And while Muad'dib's resume may not be as pristine as it was going into last year's event, he does have the benefit of two more races under his belt this season than he did last year.
Trainer Raymond Ginter, Jr. supplemented a pair of graded stakes winners to the Classic in Kelso Handicap (G2) winner Double Crown and General George (G3) winner Eastern Bay. Rounding out the field are Perfect Flight for Peter Miller, Dash Attack for Ken McPeek, and a second local entrant Martin Man for trainer Wade Sanderson, who wound up as the lone alternate for this year's field.
Charles Town Classic Entries
Saturday
3:07 p.m. – Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga
Grade 1-winning millionaires Elite Power, the reigning Champion Male Sprinter, and his worthy adversary, Gunite, that were separated by a head during their epic battle four weeks ago, will meet for the second time this summer in Saturday's $500,000 Forego.
Elite Power, a 5-year-old son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin, enters the Forego on an eight-race win streak dating to a nine-length maiden triumph last June at Churchill Downs, his fourth career start. The closest he's been to losing since came in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap on July 29 at Saratoga, trailing all but one horse early before coming with a steady drive over the sloppy and sealed track to nail Gunite at the wire.
Gunite will be looking to play spoiler again after nearly ending Elite Power's streak in the Vanderbilt. By Gun Runner, who was also campaigned by Winchell and trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the 4-year-old Gunite had to settle for second, more than six lengths ahead of third-place finisher Dean Delivers. It was a much shorter gap than the previous time Gunite met Elite Power in February in Saudi Arabia, beaten 3 1/4 lengths when second. From there, Gunite stayed in the Middle East and was third by a half-length in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen before winning the June 3 Aristides at Churchill.
High Oak, Pipeline, and Synthesis round out the field.
Forego Entries
4:19 p.m. – Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes at Saratoga
Trainer Bob Baffert sends out a formidable duo in Grade 1-winner Arabian Lion and Grade 3-winner Fort Bragg to combat the scintillating speed of undefeated New York Thunder in Saturday's $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores.
Arabian Lion [post 6, John Velazquez, 124 pounds] enters from a strong score in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 10 at Belmont Park. That effort marked a second consecutive triple-digit figure [103] for Arabian Lion, who took the restricted 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton around two turns by four lengths over next-out allowance winner Tapit's Conquest on the May 20 Preakness Day undercard at Pimlico Race Course.
Fort Bragg [post 4, Joel Rosario, 120 pounds] enters from a game nose score over Saudi Crown in the Grade 3 Dwyer traveling a one-turn mile on July 1 at Belmont.
New York Thunder [post 5, Tyler Gaffalione, 122 pounds] missed the Woody Stephens with a bruised foot but was no worse for wear on his return with a powerful performance on July 28 in the Spa's 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Amsterdam. Trained by Jorge Delgado, the Nyquist colt opened up by three lengths at the stretch call, putting away odds-on favorite Drew's Gold and romping to the wire a 7 1/2-length winner in a final time of 1:14.65. His six-furlong split of 1:07.77 is faster than Saratoga's six-furlong track record of 1:07.92 set by Imperial Hint in the 2019 Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, and the colt's geared down final time was not far off of Quality Road's track record of 1:13.74 set in the 2009 Amsterdam.
Verifying [post 3, Flavien Prat, 120 pounds], Drew's Gold [post 1, Jose Gomez, 118 pounds], and One in Vermillion [post 2, Luis Saez, 118 pounds] round out the field.
Jerkens Entries
4:55 p.m. – Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap at Saratoga
Echo Zulu puts her unbeaten 4-year-old campaign and lifetime perfect record at the Spa on the line in Saturday's $500,000 Ballerina Handicap, a seven-furlong main track sprint for fillies and mares. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Echo Zulu [post 6, Florent Geroux, 123 pounds] enters from an impressive 7 1/4-length score in the six-furlong Grade 2, Honorable Miss on July 26 here, where she set the pace and opened up a five-length advantage at the stretch call before being geared down to the finish in a final time of 1:08.76. The performance earned a career-best 112 Beyer Speed Figure and was her seventh graded victory.
Asmussen could also be represented by Winchell Thoroughbreds' multiple graded stakes-winning Kentucky homebred Wicked Halo [post 5, Tyler Gaffalione. 123 pounds] as she looks to protect a perfect 2-for-2 record at the Spa.
Goodnight Olive [post 7, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 124 pounds], trained by meet leading conditioner Chad Brown, won last year's Ballerina before taking the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland with a 2 1/2-length score over Echo Zulu to secure honors as Champion Female Sprinter.
Dual Grade 1-winner Matareya [post 2, Flavien Prat, 122 pounds], trained by Brad Cox, had a four-race win streak snapped in Saratoga's Grade 1 Test last August, but after a layoff and game second in the Matron in March at Oaklawn Park, she found herself back in the winner's circle for the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff.
Dual graded stakes-winner Caramel Swirl [post 8, Junior Alvarado, 121 pounds] finished third last out in the Bed o' Roses for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The 5-year-old Union Rags bay made the grade with a head score in the Grade 2 Raven Run in October 23 and two starts later finished second to Goodnight Olive in last year's Ballerina. Caramel Swirl rallied from sixth to win the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Vagrancy in May at Belmont Park, besting returning rival Dr B by 2 1/2-lengths.
Trainer Butch Reid Jr. will send out Dr B [post 4, Luis Saez, 118 pounds], who last finished second to Echo Zulu in the Honorable Miss. Prior to that effort, she ran fourth, 13 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Goodnight Olive in the Bed o' Roses.
Graded-stakes placed Sterling Silver [post 1, Javier Castellano, 116 pounds] finished ninth in her last try at the top flight in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at odds of 78-1. Trained by Tom Albertrani, Sterling Silver has returned with a strong 4-year-old season, last out winning a seven-furlong optional claiming event last out on July 29 at Saratoga to add to a pair of state-bred stakes placing at Belmont.
Rounding out the field is graded-stakes winner Maryquitecontrary [post 3, Luca Panici, 120 pounds] for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. The 4-year-old First Dude bay captured the Grade 2 Inside Information in January at Gulfstream Park for her former conditioner Joseph Catanese, III. She finished a close second to Goodnight OIive in the Madison at first asking for McGaughey and arrives from a distant fourth after a bobbled start in the Honorable Miss.
Ballerina Entries
5:31 p.m. – Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes at Saratoga
The evergreen 9-year-old Channel Maker will strive for a rare feat in Saturday's $750,000 Sword Dancer going 1 1/2 miles over the inner turf. Should Channel Maker win the Sword Dancer, he would become the fourth 9-year-old horse to earn a Grade 1 triumph at a NYRA track, according to data provided by Equibase. Channel Maker has done his best running when on the front end, utilizing pacesetting tactics en route to a two-length conquest last out on July 30 in the Bowling Green.
Bolshoi Ballet arrives from Ballydoyle Training Center in Ireland in search of his first triumph since taking the 2021 Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational before finishing fourth in the Saratoga Derby Invitational and Jockey Club Derby Invitational at Belmont Park. The Aidan O'Brien-trained son of Galileo, enters from a distant sixth at triple-digit odds in the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Diamond in July over good to soft ground at Ascot. The 5-year-old bay did finish in the money in his other three starts this season.
Grade 1-placed Stone Age [post 7, Flavien Prat] will make his debut for four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, who seeks his fourth Sword Dancer triumph. Stone Age finished second in last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf in November at Keeneland for previous trainer Aidan O'Brien and also was a close-third in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational. The 4-year-old Galileo dark bay was last seen finishing a distant 12th in the Group 1 HH The Amir Trophy in February at Doha Racecourse in Qatar.
Trainer Christophe Clement saddled 2021-22 Sword Dancer winner Gufo and sends out Solider Rising [post 1, Jose Ortiz], who finished third in last year's Sword Dancer. The 5-year-old Frankel gelding also boasts three other Grade 1 placings when second in the 2021 Saratoga Derby as well as this year's Man o' War and Manhattan – both at Belmont.
Trainer Robert Ribuado and owner Marc Keller captured back-to-back editions of the Sword Dancer in 2007-08 with Grand Couturier and return this year with two-time winner Daunt [post 4, Javier Castellano]. The 4-year-old Nyquist dark bay finished second in his first three starts this year over Belmont's inner turf before finishing fourth in the Bowling Green, 4 1/4 lengths behind Channel Maker.
Bowling Green runner-up Verstappen [post 2, Declan Cannon] will attempt to turn the tables on Channel Maker. The Brendan Walsh-trained 4-year-old War Front gelding captured the Grade 2 Elkhorn in April at Keeneland by a head over Red Knight en route to a seventh-place finish in the Man o' War behind that same rival.
Completing the field is Pioneer Spirit [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], who has done no wrong since going back to turf. He was scratched from Wednesday's $135,000 John's Call in favor of the Sword Dancer. Trainer Linda Rice haltered the American Pharoah gelding for $40,000 out of a maiden claimer in February at Aqueduct and he has not lost in three starts since.
Sword Dancer Entries
6:11 p.m. – Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga
This year's Travers will see the winners of each of the three legs of the Triple Crown and last year's Champion 2-Year-Old Colt all vie for superiority amongst a wide open 3-year-old male division.
Forte, the 2022 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, headlines this year's Travers and sports a ledger of 9-7-1-0 while bragging field-best earnings of $2,954,830. The son of Violence enters from a narrow triumph in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 29 over a sloppy and sealed Spa main track. Racing an even third along the inside down the backstretch, Forte raced in between Angel of Empire and Saudi Crown in upper stretch and defeated the latter by a nose while earning a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
The Jim Dandy victory was a redeeming one for Forte, who finished a late-closing second in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 10, five weeks after being scratched as the morning-line favorite for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.
Pletcher also will saddle Tapit Trice, who seeks his first win since capturing the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 8 at Keeneland. The gray son of Tapit, who sired 2021 Travers winner Essential Quality, finished a distant seventh in the Kentucky Derby before a third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes, where he finished a nose behind Forte. Entering from a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Haskell on July 22 at Monmouth Park, Tapit Trice will sport blinkers for the first time in Saturday's test.
A total of 10 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winners later added a Travers win to their ledger, and this year's winner Mage will attempt to be the first since 2007 winner Street Sense. The Good Magic chestnut trained by Gustavo Delgado ran a respectable second in the Haskell, settling in between horses in sixth going down the backside before launching a bid at the top of the stretch and finishing 1 3/4 lengths behind Geaux Rocket Ride. This effort came two months after rounding out the trifecta in the Grade 1 Preakness, where he finished 2 1/4-lengths behind returning rival National Treasure.
Preakness winner National Treasure will attempt to become the ninth horse to capture both the middle jewel of the Triple Crown and the Travers. The son of Quality Road went gate to wire in the Preakness, keeping Blazing Sevens at bay to his outside to win by a head. He put the same frontrunning tactics on display in the Belmont Stakes, ultimately fading to sixth. National Treasure will make an equipment change and run with blinkers off. His last start without blinkers was in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April, where he finished fourth.
Trainer Jena Antonucci made history when becoming the first female trainer to saddle a winner of a Triple Crown race when Arcangelo captured the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. Arcangelo had no prior two-turn experience before conquering the 'Test of a Champion,' which came four weeks after he won his graded stakes debut in the Grade 3 Peter Pan going a one-turn 1 1/8 miles at Belmont Park. Antonucci opted to train Arcangelo up to the Travers from his memorable Belmont Stakes win, a successful path used by 2004 winner Birdstone. A total of 31 horses have swept the Belmont-Travers double.
After campaigning last year's winner Epicenter, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will compete this year with Disarm in attempt to be the first owner-trainer combo to win back-to-back Travers since Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey and the Phipps family did so with Easy Goer [1989] and Rhythm [1990]. Disarm will sport blinkers for the Travers. The a chestnut son of Gun Runner has never finished worse than fourth in eight lifetime starts, entering from a fourth beaten 2 1/4 lengths in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy. In his prior start, he posted a half-length win in the Grade 3 Matt Winn on June 11 at Ellis Park over next out graded stakes winner Verifying, and ran a career-high 102 Beyer.
Completing the quality Travers field is Scotland [post 7, Junior Alvarado, 12-1 ML] for Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott. The Good Magic chestnut will attempt to be the first gelding to win the Travers since 2000 winner Unshaded. Through a 4-3-1-0 record, Scotland is the lightest-raced contender in the field, but won the restricted nine-furlong Curlin last out in dominant fashion with a pacesetting trip en route to a 3 1/4-length score in his stakes debut
Travers Entries
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