Orb takes on juggernaut Pletcher pair in Travers

Orb stamped himself as leader of the three-year-old division with an easy win

in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, but subsequent losses in the

Preakness and Belmont saw the Malibu Moon colt slip in the ranks as other

sophomores threw their hat in for an Eclipse Award.

On Saturday, the bay colt has the perfect opportunity to reassert his claim

on championship honors when facing eight rivals in the Grade 1, $1 million

Travers

going the Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga. Standing in Orb's way are

the Todd Pletcher-trained powerhouse duo of Palace Malice and Verrazano.

Orb drew post 2 in the Travers, and will have regular rider Joel Rosario

aboard as he seeks his first win since taking the Kentucky Derby.

"I'm going to sound a little bit like Todd (Pletcher)," McGaughey said

after the draw. "If I'd have had the six or seven or eight (post), I probably would have been a little bit more happy than the two,

but we've got a long way to go. We can save some ground and, hopefully, there

will be a pace where we can get out when the time comes."

Orb was unbeaten in 2013 entering the Run for the Roses, having broken his

maiden last November at Aqueduct and opening his sophomore season with a

one-length score against optional claiming rivals in January at Gulfstream Park.

Following that, the colt proceeded to take the Fountain of Youth, Florida Derby

and Kentucky Derby before dashing his connections' dreams of Triple Crown glory

when fourth in the Preakness.

While Palace Malice captured the Belmont Stakes and Jim Dandy in his past

two, the son of Curlin is currently playing second fiddle to stable star

Verrazano. That bay colt was a top contender for the Derby early in the season,

but lost some standing when just eking out the win in the Wood Memorial one race

prior. His naysayers were proved right in the Derby when the More Than Ready

sophomore tired to 14th in his first career loss.

Pletcher never lost a beat with Verrazano, though, sending him out to a 9

1/4-length victory in the Pegasus and a 9 3/4-length score in the Haskell

Invitational, both at Monmouth Park. John Velazquez, aboard for all of

Verrazano's seven races thus far, will hold the reins as the colt tries 10

furlongs for the second time.

"I thought (distance concerns) existed (for other people) until he won the

Haskell the way he did," Pletcher stated. "The track was very demanding that

day, probably the slowest Monmouth track I had ever seen. For him to draw away

like he did at the end of a mile and an eighth, to me, put away any concerns

about that. Just watching the horse train over the last year and a half, I never

thought he had any distance limitations.

"He's a tactical horse that can put himself in a good position, and,

obviously, Johnny knows him well. We'll see how the race unfolds

going into the first turn."

Pletcher will also saddle Palace Malice, who has a similar front-running

style as Verrazano, in the Travers. The Dogwood Stable colorbearer has utilized

it to good effect in his past two, and the improving colt keeps Mike Smith

aboard for Saturday.

"It's rare that you have horses go through a series of

Triple Crown prep races and then run in the Derby and the Belmont and seem like

they get stronger and better. In (Palace Malice's) case, he's gaining weight,

he's gotten bigger and stronger, more professional. He seems to be thriving on

it. Verrazano's constitution, he's very much the same kind of horse.

"They're both horses that carry their weight well and take their races well.

They're kind horses to train; they don't overdo it on a daily basis. When you

have them breeze, they're right there doing exactly what you want them to do.

"We're

concerned we're trying to match lifetime-best performances in four weeks," he

added about his pair's last races. "It's always a balancing act. We just hope

they can come over and run their races, and everything we have seen in their

training since the Jim Dandy and Haskell indicates to us they're still in peak

form. We hope it's still the case Saturday afternoon.

While most of the attention will be focused on the top trio, trainer D. Wayne

Lukas could provide an upset in the form of Will Take Charge. The veteran

conditioner did just that in the Preakness, saddling Oxbow to a 1 3/4-length

triumph at 15-1 in the Preakness. Will Take Charge sandwiched a seventh-place

effort in that race between an eighth in the Derby and a 10th-placing in the

Belmont.

"The Derby experience seemed to affect him mentally," Lukas explained. "He got

a little bit more involved than you may want to think. He came out of that a

little less focused than he should have been; then I kept the blinkers on him.

When I went into the Jim Dandy, I decided to do something different -- we pulled

the blinkers off. I thought that made a big difference. That let him see

everything.

"When Tom Durkin hollered, 'Palace Malice hits the front' right at

the top of the stretch, the crowd roared all the way to the quarter-pole. He

(Will Take Charge) gawked at that and ducked in, then he came back out and ran

at Palace Malice."

Will Take Charge gets a jockey switch to Luiz Saez for the Travers.

"It's not surprising for me. I think

that's the basketball coach (in me) coming out," Lukas said of rider change. "I get a gut feeling on who's

playing well and who isn't. I like to match them up a little bit. It's not to

say that Junior (Alvarado) didn't ride a real good race in the Jim Dandy. I

thought maybe Luis would fit this horse a little better, be a little more

aggressive. I made an executive decision."

Also exiting the Jim Dandy is Moreno, who finished third after leading in the

early going. The Eric Guillot-trained son of Ghostzapper brought a seven-length,

front-running victory in the Dwyer and a 6 1/4-length maiden score into that

race.

"My horse is going to have to run faster," Guillot said. "We're here to play. We're here for

fun. It's the Travers. Owner Michael Moreno and I, this is what we do. Like I

told him the other day, I'm not going to get up at 4:30 seven days a week and

not go to the big dance."

The trainer has been high on his colt for a while now and hopes he continues

to improve on Saturday.

"What I said was if he decided

to start running and show desire, he'll be the best three-year-old," Guillot

stated. "He was cooled out by the time I took the tongue tie off of him in the

Dandy.

"Exactly. They've still got holes in donuts," he quipped when asked if Moreno

would go to the front when the gates opened. "He's more efficient than Santa

Claus on Christmas Eve. How efficient is that?"

War Dancer and Golden Soul complete the field for the 144th running of the

Travers. The former, a last-out winner of the grassy Virginia Derby going 10

furlongs, will actually be trying dirt for only the second time in his career.

His prior effort on the main track resulted in a fourth-placing against maiden

rivals in February at Gulfstream.

"We kind of pigeon-holed him as a grass horse for

an extended period," trainer Ken McPeek explained. "He was winning and doing everything right, but he has been

doing everything right on the dirt as well. We probably had an opportunity to

run in the Secretariat (last Saturday at Arlington) with him, but I think you only get one shot at

(the

Travers), and I think he's deserving.

"That race didn't have much pace in

it," he added about War Dancer's previous dirt start. "I think we got a little

bit too far back and I know he didn't kick on like he had, but he did gallop out

really good in that race. I could have come back on the dirt, but the easier

thing was to get him back on the grass. Good horses will run over anything, and

he has shown he's a really good horse."

Golden Soul is still just a maiden winner, but did finish second to Orb in

the Kentucky Derby. Conditioner Dallas Stewart gave him some time off following

a subpar ninth in the Belmont Stakes, but the chestnut returned to be a

well-beaten last of seven in the Haskell. Despite all that, Stewart hasn't lost

faith in his colt.