Golden Tempo Heads Stellar Field in Travers Stakes

For decades, the Travers Stakes (G1) has been known as the Midsummer Derby. On Aug. 29 at iconic Saratoga Race Course, the 157th edition of the $1.25 million Travers will richly deserve that nickname with a deeply talented field not seen in quite a while. Saturday's 3-year-old showdown at the Spa will feature the top three finishers from the Run for the Roses. Golden Tempo, who won the Kentucky Derby at 23-1 odds then proved his quality with a 1 1/4-length win in the Belmont Stakes (G1) at the Spa, heads that cast. It also includes Derby runner-up Renegade, who is exiting a win in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at the Spa, and the winless Ocelli, who belied the maiden tag with a third in the Run for Roses and has earned more money than any maiden in racing history. The other classic winner, Preakness Stakes (G1) victor Napoleon Solo will be there, along with the colt who beat him by a half-length in the subsequent Haskell Stakes (G1), Baby Vino. Also in the field are late bloomers like undefeated Indiana Derby (G3) winner Leading Change and Sea Strike, who captured the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga. Plus grade 1-placed The Puma and Silent Tactic, both of whom missed the Triple Crown due to injury, all in a stellar 10-horse field for the mile-and-a-quarter Midsummer Derby or Run for the Roses 2.0. "This is the deepest Travers we've had in years," said Chad Summers, who trains Espoir USA's Napoleon Solo. "It's the best 3-year-olds in the crop right now. Obviously, it's a good field." Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stables' homebred Golden Tempo had doubters after his upset win by a neck at Churchill Downs, but after taking the Belmont by an even larger margin, his 6-1 odds seen in the final leg of the Triple Crown are a thing of the past. The son of Curlin was pegged as the 5-2 morning-line favorite from post 9, even though he has not raced since the June 6 Belmont. "This wasn't by design," trainer Cherie DeVaux said about the lack of racing. "He got sick, so we really had to let him dictate his schedule. Luckily, he only missed about 10 days of training altogether and when he started training, he picked it right up. He didn't lose a lot of fitness. You want them tight, which is what you get from prep races. But I am really confident with the way he is training. He's picking it up each week. He looks great. All the markers we are looking for, he's hitting. I can't say enough for the way he's training and acting." The mile-and-a-quarter surely favors Golden Tempo as he is 2-for-2 at the distance and no one else in the field owns a victory at 10 furlongs or more. "It's his ideal distance," DeVaux said. "That's been his strength and others' weakness. This should be a true test for the others who are coming back into form or trying the distance for the first time." Repole Stable and breeders Robert and Lawana Low's Renegade was passed by Golden Tempo in the final strides of the Derby, then finished third by 5 1/4 lengths in the Belmont. The son of Into Mischief rebounded in the Aug. 1 Jim Dandy, rallying from nearly 12 lengths back to score by a half-length over Commandment, who was second in the Belmont. "He's shown good energy and his appetite has been great," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "He's been training enthusiastically and it seems like he's thriving. I'm very happy with him." With Golden Tempo coming off a pair of last-to-first wins and Renegade relying on late speed, the pace will be crucial in the Travers, and that's where Napoleon Solo comes into the picture. The son of Liam's Map should be in front early, and he has the kind of blazing speed that should make rivals wary of running with him early. He won the Champagne Stakes (G1) last year after clicking off 6 furlongs in a dazzling 1:07.88 and coasted along just behind a :46.66 half-mile in his 1 1/4-length win in the 1 3/16-mile classic. Napoleon Solo ran on the front end in the July 18 Haskell over a sealed, sloppy track but could not fend off Baby Vino, who rallied inside of him. "He's doing super," Summers said. "His works have been super. His gallops have been super. We know our horse pretty well. We know what happened in the races he got beat and made corrections to win the next race." With a Preakness win to his credit, a victory Saturday in his first meeting with Golden Tempo could make the battle for 3-year-old championship honors interesting. "Everything is obviously on the table," Summers said. "The biggest thing for us is to have any chance of being the 3-year-old champ, you have to beat the champ. Golden Tempo is the leader in the clubhouse right now. We haven't had a chance to run against him, so we look forward to the challenge." Paco Lopez was aboard Napoleon Solo in the Preakness but will be replaced by Hall of Famer John Velazquez on Saturday. "Nobody has won more races at Saratoga than John Velazquez. He's won the Travers three times. He's a big-time money rider," Summers said. "Paco gave the horse a great ride in the Preakness, and we are thankful for the job he's done for us, but at this moment in time with this race, the team decided Johnny was the direction we wanted to go." Delta Squad Racing, HRH Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and Cosmo Stables' Baby Vino joined Golden Tempo in the "20-1 Grade 1 Upset Club" after the son of Vino Rosso scored at 28-1 in the Haskell. "He showed another level, really," trainer Lindsay Schultz said about the Haskell. "We thought he belonged, but he'd never been tested anywhere close to a group like that. We talked about the possibility of a wet track that none of them had really run on before. Maybe he liked it more than some of the others, but it was a solid field, and he ran right with them. When he got down to running, he wasn't going to stop even if it wasn't the perfect circumstance." Lopez, who rode Baby Vino before the Haskell, will be back aboard Saturday, While others like The Puma, Silent Tactic, Ocelli, and Emerging Market have grade 1 experience and will be looking to regain their top form, Leading Change and Sea Strike will be making their grade 1 debut. Wathnan Racing's Leading Change is coming off a narrow win in the Indiana Derby in the son of Gun Runner's first try at two turns. "We think he's a big-time horse," trainer Brad Cox said about the winner of both career starts. "Obviously, he lacks seasoning, but is a very talented horse with a great mind. Big-time pedigree. We are excited about what he's shown us. He's always acted like a good horse and hopefully we can be a player in the Travers." Flanagan Racing's Sea Strike, a son of Midshipman, posted an impressive 8 1/4-length win in the Curlin Stakes at the Spa, which was restricted to non-stakes winners. "He is a lightly raced horse, and we'll see if we can get another eighth of a mile out of him at the mile and a quarter and see how he does. On figures, it looks like he fits," said five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, who will also send out Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Emerging Market in a bid for his first Travers victory.