Could Travers Be on Nest's Agenda?
The talk July 24 at Saratoga Race Course centered around the dazzling performance put together by 3-year-old filly Nestin the $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) the day before. The question was this: Will the daughter of Curlin head next to the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (G1) Aug. 20 or would she try the boys again, this time in the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers (G1) Aug. 27? The destination answer on this day was probably the Alabama, but don't count out the marquee event of the Saratoga summer. Todd Pletcher, Nest's Hall of Fame trainer, said the filly would probably run in the Alabama. But... "I had a brief conversation (with her owners) and we did not completely rule out the Travers," he said. Nest's 12 1/4-length CCA Oaks decision over Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Secret Oath closes the gap between the two for divisional honors. D. Wayne Lukas, Secret Oath's Hall of Fame trainer, said Sunday that his filly was heading to the Alabama. It's the likely landing spot for Nest, too, but the Travers carrot is dangling in front of the ownership group of Mike Repole's Repole Stable, Aron Wellman's Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House. "It is a distant thought," Repole said while watching races from his clubhouse box. "It's not in the front of my head. We will talk about it. Eclipse has a huge say in what we do, Todd has a huge say in what we do." Both races are 1 1/4 miles. Nest has already run against colts, finishing second in the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1). Repole will be running Be Better in the $135,000 restricted Curlin July 29 and he could be Travers bound. And Pletcher trains the highly regarded Charge It, owned by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, who is training up to the Midsummer Derby. A filly hasn't won the Travers since 1915. Mechanical Issues Disrupt Race The seventh race at Saratoga Sunday was declared a no contest by the stewards following a bizarre incident during the running of the 1 1/16-mile race on the Inner turf. After the field of nine left the starting gate and headed into the clubhouse turn, workers began the procedure of removing the starting gate and the tractor that pulled it onto the course. However, a mechanical issue with the starting gate tractor created a delay in removing the gate after the field broke. According to Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, the Jockey Club Steward, a member of the starting gate crew notified the stewards via radio that there was a malfunction. At that time, the field was approaching the half-mile pole. An outrider began waving his arms, signaling the jockeys to pull up, which many of them did. While this was going on, a second tractor was brought out onto the course and it was able to attach to the first tractor and starting gate and get it off the course. When the field of 2-year-old fillies got into the stretch, several jockeys began riding their horses again. At the end, it was Towhead, owned by Deuce Greathouse, Cindy M. Hutson, and Brett Setzer, and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, who edged the 4-5 favorite, Klaravich Stables'Idea Generation, and Irad Ortiz Jr. After a 30-minute delay, track announcer John Imbriale told the crowd that the race was deemed a no contest. "Ensuring a safe racing environment for jockeys and horses is paramount," Pat McKenna, vice president of communications for the New York Racing Association, said in a statement. "Our outriders are highly skilled and experienced professionals who made a swift decision based on concern for the safety of the jockeys and horses." All wagers placed starting in the seventh race were refunded. Pick 3, Pick 5, Pick 6, and Grand Slam wagers were considered an "all" for the corresponding leg of the wager. For the double that started in the sixth race, consolation payouts were given. According to McKenna, each owner with an entry in the seventh race will receive $3,150. The race carried a purse of $105,000. Blazing Debut for Brown Trainee The first race at Saratoga Sunday had special meaning for trainer Chad Brown. He watched as his 2-year-old colt Blazing Sevens romped to win the six-furlong race by 6 1/4 lengths. What made it even better is that Blazing Sevens, owned by Rodeo Creek Racing, is a son of Good Magic, a horse Brown trained. "I have a few of them in my barn, so to have a winner this early in the meet in his freshman crop is extra special, for sure," Brown said. "He is a big horse and he acts like a true two-turn horse, so I was not sure he was a first win out candidate." Brown said that Blazing Sevens, who was bred in Kentucky by Tracy Farmer, has shown him ability in the mornings. In Sunday's opener, Manny Franco and Blazing Sevens went past the finish line in a time of 1:13.34. "I don't know what to make of the final time because the track has been so demanding the last couple days," Brown said. "He handled it fine. He is not a sprinter. The longer, the better with this guy. He did what he needed to do and Manny gave him a terrific ride." Good Magic, a son of Curlin, had a nine-race career for Brown. He won the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) for his first career win in 2017 after a second-place finish in the Champagne Stakes (G1). As a 3-year-old, he raced six times, all in stakes. He finished second to eventual Triple Crown winner Justify in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and then was fourth in the Preakness Stakes (G1). After a win in the betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park, his final start was a ninth-place finish in the Runhappy Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1). Blazing Sevens was purchased for $225,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. "You think you have something," Brown said when asked about Blazing Sevens' margin of victory. "You also don't know what was behind him. We will just see as more maidens get written and there are more graduates. We'll see what we got when all the winners meet." NYRA Honors Longtime Employee Friends and former colleagues of Eddie Brown will remember him Aug. 4 when a race is named for him at Saratoga Race Course. Brown, 85, who passed away in March, spent more than 65 years working for NYRA at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Saratoga in some capacity. His most recent job was as assistant clerk of scales, a position he held until he left NYRA in 2019. He began his career as an exercise rider and was an assistant to trainers Frank Wright and Lefty Nickerson. He joined NYRA in 1972 as a valet and worked with such notable jockeys as Hall of Famers Jerry Bailey, Steve Cauthen, Pat Day, and Jose Santos. "Eddie was a true gentleman," said current NYRA valet Harry Rice, who worked alongside Brown. "He was liked by everyone who knew him." [replay date="7/24/2022" country="USA" trackid="SAR" racenumber="1"