Triple Crown | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Progressive’ Ny Traffic Could Take Another Step Forward In Saturday’s Haskell

Cash is King, LC Racing and Paul Braverman's Ny Traffic has a trio of graded stakes placings on his resume, and will be looking to add a win to that list in this Saturday's Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. The 3-year-old son of Cross Traffic drew the outside post in the field of seven, and will be ridden by regular jockey Paco Lopez.

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. has enjoyed seeing the colt move forward over the first half of the 2020 season, beginning with an allowance win at Gulfstream in January. Shipped over to New Orleans for the Risen Star, Ny Traffic finished third. In March, the colt ran a good second behind Wells Bayou in the Louisiana Derby.

After a short break, Ny Traffic returned to the races in the G3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 23. The colt ran a big race to finish second to top Derby contender Maxfield, beaten a length at the wire.

“I watched that race with such a rare feeling because I know how important it was to finish in the first two or even the first three, and so when he crossed the wire, I felt really good,” Joseph said on Wednesday's media teleconference organized by the NTRA. “Normally, you run second in a race, you feel a little disappointed, but there was no disappointment in me. I knew I ran behind a really nice horse, Maxfield, and just to run so close to him, it was an honor to see our horse show up but continue to improve himself.”

Ny Traffic currently has 70 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, likely enough to guarantee him a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in September. Should the colt continue to show improvement the way he did in the first part of the year, Ny Traffic could be a major player in the Haskell.

“It hasn't been huge jumps, but it's been just progressive jumps,” said Joseph. “And that's what you want to see from a 3-year-old because he's headed in the right direction. I don't think he was the best horse of the crop, but the way things have worked out, he's just climbing higher and higher.”

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‘We’ll Let The Horse Take Us Along’: Art Collector Could Use Ellis Park Derby As Springboard To Roses

If Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector races again before the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, it will be in the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9 at Ellis Park.

Trainer Tom Drury said that Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector could run in the 1 1/8-mile Ellis Park Derby as a tightener if a streak hot weather would make him ease up in the colt's training. Art Collector secured a spot in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby after picking up 100,000 qualifying points for winning last Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Blue Grass by 3 1/2 lengths over the filly Swiss Skydiver. Ellis Park regular Brian Hernandez Jr. is Art Collector's jockey.

“No. 1, I'm just sure thankful that race is there,” Drury said of the Ellis Park Derby. “Ellis, I know they had to work hard to have their meet this year. To keep a race like that really helps us, keeps us from having to travel if we decide to go there. If I knew it was going to be 65 degrees every morning and I could train him exactly the way I wanted, I would probably say we're just going to train up to the Derby.

“But the first part of August, it could be crazy kind of weather. If that's the case, do you really want to be cranking on your horse (on a daily basis)? So I'm glad to know that race is there. I've met with Bruce and we've discussed it and decided we'll let the horse take us along; we're not going to take him. If we feel he needs another race, that is the only spot that's even in consideration. If we feel we don't need another race, we'll just train up to the big dance.”

The Ellis Park Derby marks a historic occurrence in track history, with Ellis Park only in position to have a Kentucky Derby prep because of the coronavirus-forced delay of the Churchill Downs classic. The Ellis Park Derby winner will receive 50 qualifying points — which should guarantee a spot in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby — but that's not a consideration for Drury.

“We're in a good spot now,” Drury said. “Before the Blue Grass, it was a little nerve-wracking. Because that was an all-or-nothing deal. Now that we got over that hurdle, it's almost like you can exhale a little bit. Now your whole thought process is on your horse. It's not on getting points to get there, or any of the other things going on around you. It's just focusing on the horse and doing what's right for him. You're not even thinking about the (Ellis Park Derby) purse.

“In all honesty, you don't even have to win that race. If you need that race as a tightener, it's there for you. If you don't, you don't. The good news is that everything seems to be in order at this point. He came out of the Blue Grass in good order and he's a happy horse. And usually that's a big part of being successful, having a horse that's on his game and happy and enjoying what he's doing.”

Another prominent horse under consideration for the Ellis Park Derby is Godolphin's Brad Cox-trained Shared Sense, who picked up 20 points toward Kentucky Derby qualifying in winning Indiana Grand's Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby under Florent Geroux last week.

“The Ellis Park Derby is on the discussion table,” Darley America president Jimmy Bell, whose team also oversees Godolphin's American racing operation, said in an email response to an inquiry. “We obviously have some other options that we are considering as well. A little more time and we'll have a better idea as to which direction we're headed.”

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Brisnet.com Triple Crown Throwdown: Peter Pan

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN’s Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins.

DeRosa – Blue Grass Result – Art Collector (+$530) wore down Swiss Skydiver for a breakout victory. Bankroll: $4210.

GIII Peter Pan S. – I normally don’t like horses who need 1 1/8 miles on dirt to break their maidens as a 2-year-old, but given this one is by Tonalist, who has needed some time with his progeny, it’s more understandable. I loved Country Grammer’s race in the Fountain of Youth off that maiden win and the comeback wasn’t bad given he had to go long off the bench and was caught wide. Now back to nine furlongs second off the bench and I like his chances. Would loved to have pulled the trigger on Caracaro, but going this long against stakes types off a six-month layoff is a big ask. Selection: #2 Country Grammer (7-2).

Sherack – Blue Grass Result – Still plenty of work left to do to catch the top two, but nice to get back in the win column with Art Collector. Bankroll: $3135.

GIII Peter Pan S. – I couldn’t have been any higher on Mystic Guide following his eye-catching maiden win at Fair Grounds, and getting back to two turns with some added distance to work with after a good second in a quickly run race should be right up his alley. Will be making a nice exacta box with Candy Tycoon. Selection: #6 Mystic Guide (5-2).

DiDonato – Blue Grass Result – Rushie settled for third at 7-1 after a wide trip. This thing’s getting close. Bankroll: $4375

GIII Peter Pan S. – Mystic Guide and Country Grammer, the second and third finishers in that salty allowance won by Tap It to Win at Belmont June 4, are the two I’m most interested in (Caracaro’s also intriguing, but not sure what to make of him). I believe I’ve picked both in earlier contest races, but decided to side with Country Grammer here for red-hot (always hot?) Chad Brown. Mystic Guide finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Country Grammer, but the latter covered about two more lengths of ground according to Trakus data. Country Grammer also made a tougher move, being asked for his run earlier from farther back while off cover. He seems better suited to this two-turn nine furlongs, and is already a winner at the distance. Selection: #2 Country Grammer (7-2).

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‘Extremely Fast’ Authentic Brings Baffert Back To Jersey Shore; Hall Of Famer Seeks Ninth Haskell Victory

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won Monmouth Park's Haskell a record eight times, though not since 2015 with Triple Crown champion American Pharoah. Baffert took a moment to reflect on Pharoah's trip to the Jersey Shore during Wednesday's media teleconference organized by the NTRA.

“I remember bringing Pharoah in there, and I was really nervous,” said Baffert. “We were all really nervous; the Zayat family brought like 200 friends. I didn't want to get the Triple Crown winner beat.

“It was such an exciting visual, the horses were getting ready to go in the gate, and the place was packed, and all of the sudden somebody said, 'look down at the rail.' I'd never seen anything like it, I'd never seen it before, but the jockey's room was emptied out and all the jockeys were out there to watch him run.

“It was such a wonderful experience. American Pharoah brought so much joy to everyone that day.”

Baffert's other Haskell wins came in 2014 (Bayern), 2012 (Paynter), 2011 (Coil), 2010 (Lookin at Lucky), 2005 (Roman Ruler), 2002 (War Emblem) and 2001 (Point Given).

This year, Baffert will be seeking his ninth win in the 1 1/8-mile contest with 4-5 morning-line favorite Authentic, owned by Spendthrift Farm, Madaket Stables, Starlight Racing, and MyRacehorse.com. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief will face a field of six rivals in the $1 million contest, which awards the winner both 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Authentic won the first three starts of his career, including the G2 San Felipe Stakes, before finishing second behind Honor A. P. in last month's G1 Santa Anita Derby.

“He came into the race, I think he was a little bit fresh,” Baffert said. “I backed off of him, because I didn't know when they were going to run the Santa Anita Derby. You know, we like to make excuses for the horses, they're like our children.

“He didn't have a great trip, he was a little wide and he just got tired … But since then, he's been training really well, and I think he couldn't be doing any better.”

Authentic will be ridden by Mike Smith from post position two this Saturday. The colt arrived at Monmouth late Tuesday evening, and galloped over the track on Wednesday.

“He shipped well, he settled in well,” Baffert said. “[Assistant trainer] Jimmy [Barnes] said he went to the track today and he just floated over it.”

Earlier in this unusual 2020 season, Baffert had hoped to send Charlatan to the Haskell, but that colt came up with filling in a front ankle and recently underwent a successful surgery to remove a bone chip. The Arkansas Derby winner is expected to return to Baffert's barn in mid-to-late August, and will likely not make either the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes, but could run in the Breeders' Cup.

“We've had some horses get injured, unfortunately, and it changed everything,” Baffert said. “But I thought this horse, Authentic, would be a perfect fit (for the Haskell). He's an extremely fast horse and he's a good horse.”

The field for the 53rd Haskell Stakes:

1. Dr Post Todd Pletcher Joe Bravo 5-2

2. Authentic Bob Baffert Mike Smith 4-5

3. Jesus' Team Jose D'Angelo Nik Juarez 15-1

4. Ancient Warrior Jerry Hollendorfer Trevor McCarthy 20-1

5. Fame to Famous John P. McAllen Jose C. Ferrer 30-1

6. Lebda Claudio Gonzalez Alex Cintron 20-1

7. Ny Traffic Saffie Joseph, Jr. Paco Lopez 7-2

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