TRAVERS DRAW THEY SAID IT
AUGUST 22, 2012
“I’m very happy with the draw. I’m not happy with the loading process. I
was hoping No. 6 would be the last one in, but No. 11 is the last one in. With
the double load, it’s 1 and 5, 2 and 6, but it’s great to be in the middle of
the field.”
trainer
Kiaran McLaughlin after receiving post 5 with Alpha, the 5-2 morning-line
favorite for the 143rd edition of the Midsummer Derby; Alpha has had issues with the starting gate in
the past
“I’m sorry Hansen’s out for (his) connections. It’s tough; those bad news
items aren’t fun for a trainer, owner, or connections, but it does help us on
the front end, I think, and now we’ll probably be a lot closer (to the pace),
even on the lead.”
—McLaughlin
on the pace scenario following the defection of speedball Hansen; Alpha led wire
to wire when recording a two-length decision in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 28
“The minute he walked into the back walking ring (at the sales), he just
had a presence that was amazing, and I knew I had to have him. I think we lost a
little ground at one point (in the Haskell), but he ran a great race, and he
came out of it really well and he’s improving.”
—Christina Jelm,
bloodstock advisor to owner Green B. Smith Jr., on Nonios, who listed as the 4-1
second choice on the Travers morning line; the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational
runner-up was purchased for $73,000 at the 2011 OBS April two-year-old sale
“I know Kiaran (McLaughlin) is going out there (on the lead with Alpha).
Like Questing, he is going to put a lot of speed out there. The rider has to
judge his race. He’s got to judge the pace and ride his race. I would like to
see a dry track, to be honest. There were no excuses the last time. He handled
it (the off track), but we were second best. Ramon (Dominguez, aboard Alpha)
rode a good race. So, you have to give them all of the accolades. I’d like to
see a fast track (for the Travers). He has done very well since the Jim Dandy.
I’m very pleased with him. He hasn’t missed a beat.”
—trainer Ian
Wilkes, trainer of Jim Dandy runner-up Neck n’ Neck, discussing the Travers pace
scenario; McLaughlin saddled Questing to a wire-to-wire triumph in last
Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama and has the likely Travers speed in Alpha
“It’s maturity. He’s just grown up. If you watched him early on, he was
playing around like he was a teenager. He thought it was time to go out and
party and have a good time. It’s like the light bulb has gone on and he has put
everything together.”
—Wilkes on Neck
‘n Neck’s improvement over the last few months; non-competitive against stakes
rivals earlier this year, Neck ‘n Neck recorded two convincing wins, including
the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes, prior to the Jim Dandy and is the 9-2 third choice
on the Travers morning line
“I drew in the middle, which is fine by me. I’m happy to be in the
middle. At the end of the day, it will all be up to Jose (Lezcano). Hopefully,
we’ll get some pace to run it. We’re taking the same approach we’ve taken all
meet with all of our horses — keep them happy, healthy and sound and try to run
them in the right spot. The Travers is the right spot for this horse.”
—Chad Brown,
trainer of Street Life, who will enter the Travers off an encouraging 1
3/4-length score in the July 27 Curlin Stakes at Saratoga
“They went 1:14 (in the Jim Dandy). The track was sloppy, there was no
pace to run at at all, and considering that he finished very well. They walked
around and he finished. There should be more speed in the race, so it should be
a different scenario.”
—Jim Barnes,
assistant to Bob Baffert, on Liaison’s chances; the late-running colt rallied
belatedly for third in the Jim Dandy
“The Belmont (Stakes) was a really good race for him at a mile and a half. He
needs every inch of ground he can get, and he needs pace in the race, which he
didn’t get in the Jim Dandy at all. We’re going to give Mike Smith a test drive
on him and see if we can get a piece of it. I thought he should have been a lot
closer (to the pace) last time (in the Jim Dandy), but there were seven horses
in the race that probably could have been closer to Alpha, but all of that is
out of our hands once we leg ’em up.”
—Ken McPeek on
Atigun, who will attempt to rebound from a disappointing sixth in the Jim Dandy
“After the Haskell, he’s trained extremely well. We worked him twice over the
main track and couldn’t have been happier with those two works. Two weeks ago,
we put a real big work into him. I’ve probably never been as happy as I was for
that work. We decided to run in the Travers after it was official Paynter was
out. Had we broke better (in the Haskell) we would have been more forwardly
placed going into the first turn, which would have been quite significant. I
don’t want to say we could have finished second, but we do feel we would have
run a much better race in the Haskell. We are excited about going a mile and a
quarter.”
—Norman
Casse, assistant to Mark Casse, trainer of Stealcase, who will enter the Travers
off a third in the Haskell Invitational
“Since the Belmont, and then the Curlin, his races are getting better and
better, number-wise. I think he’s coming into his own right now. He’s getting
better and better each day and on Travers Day, he’s going to be all right. I’m
going to let Rosie (Napravnik) ride her race, because when the gates open,
everything changes. I’m hoping she breaks good, breaks sharp. He can be in
front, he can be behind. He’s a horse that whatever it is, he can run his race
for you, whatever he wants to do.”
—Anthony Bonomo
Jr., assistant to trainer Dominick Schettino, discussing Five Sixteen; the
maiden winner exits a runner-up in the Curlin Stakes
“Golden Ticket is a very fast horse. He’s thrown out down a bunch of bullet
works in a row, and I’ve never seen him better physically. He ran well in the
Tampa Bay Derby, and it’s a bit of a flyer, but we entered him in an allowance
race the week before last and they had only two entries, and then we had him
geared up for the Bernardini and it only had three, so that race died on the
vine. So we were kind of stuck. We’ve got a horse sitting on tilt, and we kind
of feel like there’s a chance for him.”
—McPeek
on 20-1 outsider Golden Ticket, who will make his first start since a second in a May 5 allowance/optional claiming event at Churchill Downs
“He’s going to be coming from behind anyway, so I hope it works out (leaving
from the far outside post). Normally you like to save ground. Alpha ran a nice
race last time (to win the Jim Dandy). We think we fit pretty well, so we’re
going to give it a whirl.”
—Nick
Zito on Fast Falcon, who will look to improve upon a disappointing seventh in
the Jim Dandy
“We’re a long shot, but we got the rail. Most trainers don’t want the rail. I
don’t really want the rail, but it was the hand I was dealt, and we’re going to
the lead. Hansen’s not in here. I was kind of thinking about whether I wanted to
go the lead or not, or whether I wanted to go head-and-head with Hansen or not,
but from the rail, if all goes well, we will be on the lead. And he won here
last year at two turns at a mile and an eighth.”
—Gary
Contessa on 30-1 longshot Speightscity, who will make his first start since a
second in the Grade 3 Withers in early February
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