travers | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ny Traffic Has ‘Very Good Chance’ After Successful Final Breeze

John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing and Paul Braverman's multiple graded-stakes placed New York-bred Ny Traffic breezed five-eighths in company on the Saratoga main track Friday in preparation for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

The Cross Traffic grey, bred in the Empire State by Brian Culnan, went to the track with jockey David Cohen aboard and tracked a stablemate before taking command to cover five furlongs in 59.45 seconds over the just-harrowed track at 8:45 a.m.

“I thought he went super. It's what we wanted,” said trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. “I got him in 59 and change and out in 1:12 (for six furlongs). I just wanted to see him cool out good and scope good. With our fingers crossed and with a good eight days (before the Derby), we have a very good chance. Today was important. I just wanted to see him come out of the work good.”

Since winning a Gulfstream Park allowance race in January by a sharp 6 3/4 lengths, Ny Traffic has finished second or third in all four stakes races, including a narrow nose defeat to Authentic in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 18, which garnered a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

While Ny Traffic continues to show improvement, Joseph said Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Grade 1 Runhappy Travers winner Tiz the Law – who is stabled across from him – is the horse to beat.

“He's earned that. He's the champ right now and everyone is trying to beat him,” Joseph said. “We're going to give it a try.”

Joseph, Jr. will be well represented at Charles Town on Saturday when he sends out Tonalist's Shape in the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks and Math Wizard in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic. He will also saddle Overdeliver in the Russell Road and Queen Nekia in the Dance to Bristol on the undercard.

Ny Traffic, along with Tiz the Law, is expected to fly from Albany to Louisville on Monday for the Kentucky Derby.

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Belmont, Travers Winner Birdstone Pensioned To Old Friends

Belmont Stakes and Travers winner Birdstone has been pensioned to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY.

Michael Blowen, founder and president of Old Friends, made the announcement Friday.

A homebred for owner Marylou Whitney and trained by Nick Zito, Birdstone captured the G1 Champagne Stakes as a two-year-old in 2003. Birdstone ran up the track in the Kentucky Derby and sat out the Preakness, before surprising most of the sell-out crowd when he got up in the final yards in the Belmont Stakes to ruin Smarty Jones' try for the Triple Crown. That summer, at Saratoga Race Course, Birdstone proved that the Belmont was no fluke when he added a victory in the Travers Stakes to his impressive resume.

The son of Grindstone, out of the Storm Bird mare Dear Birdie, Birdstone retired from racing in 2004 after a chip was found in his left front ankle after his final start was in the GR1 Breeders' Cup Classic. Birdstone retired with five victories from nine starts and earnings of $1,575,600.

He spent his stallion career at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY where he became one of very few sires to have produced a Kentucky Derby winner in their first crop when Mine That Bird captured the 2009 Run for the Roses at 50-to-1 upset in 2009. That same year, his son Summer Bird repeated his sire's efforts by winning both the Belmont and Travers Stakes.

“We are so grateful to John Hendrickson for allowing Old Friends to care for Birdstone in his post-breeding career,” said Blowen. “He's a living tribute to the late Marylou Whitney, and we plan to carry on her great contributions to the aftercare of both humans and horses,” he added. “We're extremely grateful to John for trusting us to care for his tremendous stakes winner. Birdstone had a great life at Gainesway and we plan to continue that tradition at Old Friends.”

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Travers Runner-Up Caracaro Injured, Out Of Kentucky Derby

At Saratoga Friday morning, Caracaro had just completed his final workout before next Saturday's Kentucky Derby when exercise rider J.J. Delgado felt the Travers runner-up take a bad step. According to the Daily Racing Form, trainer Gustavo Delgado didn't like the look of his ligament, and the colt is officially out of consideration for the Run for the Roses.

“I don't have the words,” trainer Delgado told drf.com. “Horses, one day they're good, one day they're bad. That's life as a horseman.”

A 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo, Caracaro finished second in the G3 Peter Pan Stakes on July 16 in what was his first foray into stakes company off a six-month layoff since a maiden-breaking victory at Gulfstream in January. On Aug. 8, Caracaro was beaten 5 1/2 lengths by Tiz the Law in the Travers, improving his record to one win and three seconds from four starts for earnings of $238,800.

Out of a daughter of War Front, Caracaro was a $95,000 weanling at the Keeneland November sale. He was bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock.

Owned by Global Thoroughbred and Top Racing LLC, the colt will have x-rays completed later Friday morning, and Delgado plans to ship the colt to the farm to recover.

Tiz The Law Ascends To Top Of Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Following his dominant win in last Saturday's Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, Sackatoga Stable's 3-year-old Tiz the Law is the new No. 1 in the 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington on Nov. 7.

The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 13. A list of voting members can be found here.

Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law (265 votes) remained undefeated in four starts this year, rolling to a 5 ½-length victory in the Travers under jockey Manny Franco. Tiz the Law, a New York-bred son of Constitution, will be pointed next to the Kentucky Derby (G1) on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, which is the second jewel in this year's restructured Triple Crown. Tiz the Law, who earned 11 first-place votes in this week's poll, won the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 20 prior to his Travers score.

GMB Racing's Tom's d'Etat (262 votes), was tied for first with the 4-year-old Maximum Security in last week's Classic Rankings, but drops to second place. Trained by Al Stall Jr., the 7-year-old Tom's d'Etat, winner of the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2), is five points ahead of third-place Maximum Security (257 votes). Owned by Gary and Mary West, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magner and Derrick Smith, Maximum Security won the San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar on July 25 for trainer Bob Baffert. Maximum Security received 10 first-place votes from the panel this week.

A second Baffert-trained runner, WinStar Farm, CHC Inc. and SF Racing's Improbable (201 votes), drops from third to fourth place this week. The 4-year-old chestnut son of City Zip earned a “Win and You're In” automatic starting position into the Breeders' Cup Classic following his 2-length victory in the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 1.

Allied Racing Stable's 4-year-old By My Standards (124 votes), second in the Whitney, retains fifth place in the rankings. Trained by Bret Calhoun, By My Standards won the New Orleans Handicap (G2) and the Oaklawn Handicap (G2.

W.S. Farish's 4-year-old Code of Honor (110 votes) remains in sixth place. Trained by Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey III, Code of Honor, who won the Westchester Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park in June, finished fourth in the Whitney.

Bruce Lunsford's 3-year-old Art Collector (93 votes) jumped from 10th to seventh place this week following his front-running victory in last Sunday's Ellis Park Derby as the odds-on favorite. A bay son of Bernardini, trained by Tom Drury Jr., Art Collector remains unbeaten this year in four starts, including the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland on July 11.

Juddmonte Farms' 4-year-old Tacitus (90 votes) stays in eighth place in the Classic Rankings for the fourth consecutive week. Trained by Bill Mott, Tacitus swept to an 8 ¾-length victory in the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on July 4. He is expected to run next in the Woodward (G1) at Saratoga on Sept. 5.

Bloom Racing, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's 5-year-old mare Midnight Bisou (81 votes), who was defeated as the odds-on favorite in Saratoga's Personal Ensign (G1) on Aug. 1., drops from seventh to ninth place this week.

The 4-year-old Vekoma (74 votes), trained by George Weaver, drops one spot this week to 10th place. Owned by R.A Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, Vekoma is unbeaten in three starts this year, including two wins in Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races: the Runhappy Carter Handicap (G1), for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), and the Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap (G1), for the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Aug. 11, 2020*

RANK	HORSE	TOTAL VOTES	FIRST-PLACE VOTES
1	Tiz the Law	265	11
2	Tom's d'Etat	262	8
3	Maximum Security	257	10
4	Improbable	201	2
5	By My Standards	124	0
6	Code of Honor	110	0
7	Art Collector	93	0
8	Tacitus	90	0
9	Midnight Bisou	81	0
10	Vekoma	74	0

*Note – The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders' Cup Classic.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track at Keeneland, will be televised live on NBC.

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