It Looks Like a Small Field for Travers
By GREG MELIKOV, HorsesWild contributing writer
The 136th Travers, America's oldest stakes race for 3-year-olds named for the founder of Saratoga, will have a small field.
The likely odds-on favorite will be Roman Ruler, impressive winner of the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth where he proved he could win at 1 1/8 miles.
Knocked off the Triple Crown trail by persistent foot problems, the son of Fusaichi Pegasus returned from a 3 ½-month layoff to whip Jim Dandy winner Flower Alley in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont. They hook up again in Saturday's $1 million Travers at 1 ¼ miles.
Other expected starters are Reverberate, Jim Dandy runner-up; Don't Get Mad, fifth in the Swaps at Hollywood Park after winning the Northern Dancer Stakes at Churchill Downs; Chekhov, fourth in the Haskell; and Andromeda's Hero, runner-up to Afleet Alex in the Belmont Stakes.
Birdstone last year became the fifth Belmont winner since Easy Goer in '89 to capture the Travers, defeating six rivals. In '03, Ten Most Wanted scored in a six-horse field.
However, the smallest field for the Grade 1 event occurred four times between 1883 and 1921: two.
The margin of victory was a nose seven times -- from 1916 to '98. Damascus posted the largest winning margin in '67 -- 22 lengths.
William Travers, the track's first president, owned the winner of the inaugural race in 1864 when the purse was $2,940: Kentucky.
Prior to 1890, the race was staged at 1 ¾ miles. It wasn't run in 1896, 1898-99, 1900 and 1911-12 while it was run at 1 ½ miles 1890-92 and 1 1/8 miles in 1895 and 1901-'03.
The distance has been 1 ¼ miles since 1904 when Broomstick won in 2:06 4/5. The fastest time was posted in '79 by General Assembly -- two minutes flat.
Ironically, only three winners of the Kentucky Derby captured the Travers since Triple Crown winner Whirlaway did in '41: Shut Out, '42; Sea Hero, '93; and Thunder Gulch, ''95.
Notable races in the last quarter-century include Alydar's victory by disqualification over '78 Triple Crown winner Affirmed in '78, Holy Bull's triumph over Concern en route to Horse of the Year in '94 and Will's Way upset of '96 Preakness winner Louis Quatorze.
Some pretty fair 3-year-olds have taken Saratoga's premier race over the past eight decades:
The '01 Preakness-Belmont Stakes winner, Point Given;'67 Preakness-Belmont winner Damascus, third in the Kentucky Derby; '53 Preakness-Belmont winner Native Dancer, who only lost one of 22 races to Dark Star in The Derby; and '20 Preakness-Belmont winner Man o' War, who didn't run in the first leg of the Triple Crown.
The original Travers trophy is the gold George III Man o' War Cup, crafted by Tiffany & Co., that's nine inches high and 12 ½ inches in diameter. It was won by Mrs. Samuel D. Riddle's Big Red when he defeated 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in a match race the following year in Canada.
The cup was donated to the Saratoga Association to be used as the permanent trophy for the Travers along as a member of the Riddle family made the presentation. A gold-plated replica goes every year to the winning owner.
Bet Saratoga Horse Racing @ Bodog Racebook.
The 136th Travers, America's oldest stakes race for 3-year-olds named for the founder of Saratoga, will have a small field.
The likely odds-on favorite will be Roman Ruler, impressive winner of the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth where he proved he could win at 1 1/8 miles.
Knocked off the Triple Crown trail by persistent foot problems, the son of Fusaichi Pegasus returned from a 3 ½-month layoff to whip Jim Dandy winner Flower Alley in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont. They hook up again in Saturday's $1 million Travers at 1 ¼ miles.
Other expected starters are Reverberate, Jim Dandy runner-up; Don't Get Mad, fifth in the Swaps at Hollywood Park after winning the Northern Dancer Stakes at Churchill Downs; Chekhov, fourth in the Haskell; and Andromeda's Hero, runner-up to Afleet Alex in the Belmont Stakes.
Birdstone last year became the fifth Belmont winner since Easy Goer in '89 to capture the Travers, defeating six rivals. In '03, Ten Most Wanted scored in a six-horse field.
However, the smallest field for the Grade 1 event occurred four times between 1883 and 1921: two.
The margin of victory was a nose seven times -- from 1916 to '98. Damascus posted the largest winning margin in '67 -- 22 lengths.
William Travers, the track's first president, owned the winner of the inaugural race in 1864 when the purse was $2,940: Kentucky.
Prior to 1890, the race was staged at 1 ¾ miles. It wasn't run in 1896, 1898-99, 1900 and 1911-12 while it was run at 1 ½ miles 1890-92 and 1 1/8 miles in 1895 and 1901-'03.
The distance has been 1 ¼ miles since 1904 when Broomstick won in 2:06 4/5. The fastest time was posted in '79 by General Assembly -- two minutes flat.
Ironically, only three winners of the Kentucky Derby captured the Travers since Triple Crown winner Whirlaway did in '41: Shut Out, '42; Sea Hero, '93; and Thunder Gulch, ''95.
Notable races in the last quarter-century include Alydar's victory by disqualification over '78 Triple Crown winner Affirmed in '78, Holy Bull's triumph over Concern en route to Horse of the Year in '94 and Will's Way upset of '96 Preakness winner Louis Quatorze.
Some pretty fair 3-year-olds have taken Saratoga's premier race over the past eight decades:
The '01 Preakness-Belmont Stakes winner, Point Given;'67 Preakness-Belmont winner Damascus, third in the Kentucky Derby; '53 Preakness-Belmont winner Native Dancer, who only lost one of 22 races to Dark Star in The Derby; and '20 Preakness-Belmont winner Man o' War, who didn't run in the first leg of the Triple Crown.
The original Travers trophy is the gold George III Man o' War Cup, crafted by Tiffany & Co., that's nine inches high and 12 ½ inches in diameter. It was won by Mrs. Samuel D. Riddle's Big Red when he defeated 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in a match race the following year in Canada.
The cup was donated to the Saratoga Association to be used as the permanent trophy for the Travers along as a member of the Riddle family made the presentation. A gold-plated replica goes every year to the winning owner.
Bet Saratoga Horse Racing @ Bodog Racebook.
Travers Stakes, Horse Racing, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga 2005
posted by Seabiscuit Schmiscuit at 6:24 PM
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