Favored Epicenter Draws Post 6 in Upcoming Travers

In what has been an up-and-down year for several of the best 3-year-old males, it's the Midsummer Derby, not the one on the first Saturday in May, that may finally give the division a lasting dose of clarity. When a field of eight was drawn Aug. 23 for the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), the necessary ingredients came together to turn the highly anticipated Aug. 27 showdown at Saratoga Race Course into a 1 1/4-mile test with the potential to crown a champion a little more than two months before the Breeders' Cup. "The Travers should decide the champion," said Eric Reed, trainer of Rich Strike (post 2, 10-1) the 80-1 winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), a race whose top three finishers, in a rare occurrence, will clash once again in the Travers. "This race has a lot of things going on in it." There is indeed much to like about the way the Travers has taken shape in a year that has produced seven different winners of the eight two-turn grade 1 stakes. Aside from Rich Strike, the Travers features Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter (post 6), who has regained the acclaim that he enjoyed before finishing second as the betting favorite in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (G1). A decisive winner of the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at the Spa Last month, the son of Not This Time trained by all-time North American wins leader Steve Asmussen was pegged as the 7-5 morning line favorite for Saturday's rumble. Jeff Drown's Zandon (post 8, 5-1) was third in the Kentucky Derby, three-quarters of a length behind Epicenter, and was 1 1/2 lengths behind in second in the Jim Dandy for trainer Chad Brown. Gold Square's Cyberknife (post 1, 7-2) is the lone encore winner from those grade 1 races, taking the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) July 23 after capturing the Arkansas Derby (G1) in early April. Klaravich Stables' Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Early Voting (post 7, 8-1) returns after tiring and finishing fourth and last for Brown in the Jim Dandy. New faces belong to Juddmonte's Artorius (post 5, 9-2), the third starter for Brown, who was released on bail after he was arrested last week and faces a misdemeanor charge of criminal obstruction of breathing stemming from a domestic dispute; and Grandview Equine and Don Alberto Stable's Gilded Age (post 4, 30-1), who ran 1-2, respectively, in the restricted Curlin Stakes July 29 at the Spa. Finally, hoping to play the role of Rich Strike in the Kentucky Derby, is RPM Thoroughbreds' Ain't Life Grand (post 3, 20-1), an Iowa-bred who won the Iowa Derby for trainer Kelly Von Hemel. He figures to be a big price in a coveted race that has a huge meaning to all of the entrants. "It doesn't matter where you live. You could live on Mars and you would want to win the Travers," said Al Gold, a Saratoga Springs, N.Y., resident who owns Cyberknife. "What's bigger than winning this race at Saratoga? It's a very big deal. Getting your colors on the canoe in the infield would be tremendous." Aside from being the Travers favorite, Epicenter rates as the pro-tem leader in the chase for the 3-year-old title. He's 3-3-0 in six 2022 starts, capped by his victory in the Jim Dandy, in which the $2.2 million earner showed a new dimension by rallying strongly from last to win by 1 1/2 lengths. "Epicenter is doing extremely well now," Asmussen said of the $260,000 purchase from breeder Westwind Farms at the Keeneland September Sale. "I'm very proud of the way he ran in the Jim Dandy. It's the best he's looked. I thought it showed a lot of maturity. He seems to understand racing a lot better. It was great to see after what I thought were two tough races in the Derby and the Preakness. We're hoping he's getting better." The only things missing from Epicenter's record are wins at 10 furlongs and in grade 1 company, both of which can be scratched from his to-do list Saturday before a packed house at the Spa in a race won by three of the last six 3-year-old champs. "Somewhere there's a grade 1 with his name on it," said David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds. "Hopefully, he'll find it Saturday." Cyberknife is trained by Brad Cox, who won the Travers with 3-year-old champ Essential Quality last year. After beating Taiba by a head in the Haskell for his second grade 1 win of the year, a victory in the Midsummer Derby would atone for finishing 18th in the Kentucky Derby after being part of an incendiary pace. It also would give Cyberknife an extremely compelling resume for an Eclipse Award. "Cyberknife is doing well. He's impressive every morning. Brad likes what he sees and we're looking forward to the race," Gold said about the son of Gun Runner who was purchased for $400,000 from the Ramsey Farm consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. "His Ragozin speed figures have improved since the Arkansas Derby, so we're excited about that." Cox said drawing the rail should not pose a problem for the colt. "In both grade 1 wins he ran up inside of horses, so you know it won't bother him being on the inside." RED TR-Racing's Rich Strike is the enigma of the field. The $30,000 claim looked like he had jet propulsion in rallying from 18th to win the Kentucky Derby by three quarters of a length. Then his engines failed to fire when he was sixth in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1). The Travers promises to answer questions about which race was the fluke for the son of 2015 Travers winner Keen Ice. "He's about as good as I can get him," Reed said. "He loves this racetrack, so we don't have to worry about that. He's thriving right now, but he's got his work cut out for him in this race, so he needs to be that way." Early Voting, also a son of Gun Runner, beat Epicenter by 1 1/4 lengths in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness while chasing from second, then weakened in the stretch of the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy while setting the pace and wound up fourth. Off those two efforts, in a field without an abundance of early speed, it will be interesting to see what plays out in the early stages. Reed even hinted at Rich Strike being closer to the lead than usual. "In one of these races he's going to show the speed he shows us in the morning," Reed said. "I can't figure out why he always wants to give them a head start. He can go :22 or :34, and horses who close from last can't do that." Artorius gained valuable experience over the track when he beat the Bill Mott-trained Gilded Age by 4 1/4 lengths in the Curlin, a race captured by 2014 Travers winner V.E. Day. Yet it was just the third career start for the homebred son of Juddmonte's late Arrogate (who won the 2016 Travers in his fifth start) and leaves him well behind the others in terms of seasoning.