Travers Feature

TRAVERS FEATURE

AUGUST 25, 2011

Championship implications abound in Travers

by James Scully

A chaotic divisional race promises to come into focus in Saturday's $1

million Travers S. (G1).

The 1 1/4-mile event at Saratoga has serious championship implications for

the top four contenders in the field -- COIL (Point Given), STAY THIRSTY

(Bernardini), SHACKLEFORD (Forestry) and RULER ON ICE (Roman Ruler). Barring an

upset, one of them will emerge in the driver's seat for the Eclipse award for

three-year-old male honors as well as gaining valuable momentum for a Horse of

the Year bid.

It's been an unsettled 2011 season for three-year-old males, with no horse

posting multiple Grade 1 wins, and the Horse of the Year picture is also

blurred. The Travers winner can set himself up as a serious contender for the

Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) on November 5.

Coil and Stay Thirsty put themselves in the conversation four weeks ago by

virtue of impressive wins in the Haskell Invitational (G1) and Jim Dandy S. (G2),

respectively. They're essentially late-comers to the championship party,

attempting to become the first horse since Tiznow in 2000 to win champion

three-year-old without capturing a Triple Crown race.

Preakness S. (G1) winner Shackleford and Belmont S. (G1) hero Ruler on Ice own

proper credentials, but both will be attempting to regain a little luster

following the Haskell, where they finished second and third, respectively.

What makes Coil so exciting is that there's no telling how high his ceiling

is. Trained by Bob Baffert, who also orchestrated the 2001 Horse of the Year

campaign of sire Point Given, the chestnut Coil missed this year's

Triple Crown events after making a belated sophomore debut on May 6. After

winning his first two starts back, including his stakes bow in the Affirmed

H. (G3) on June 11, Coil recorded a head second in the July 9 Swaps S. (G2).

Coil shrugged off the narrow setback in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell on July 31,

overcoming a slow start to win in last-to-first fashion, and netted a

commendable 106 BRIS Speed rating while displaying admirable versatility, racing

from off the pace for the first time. Jockey Martin Garcia felt the improving

colt should have won by considerably more than a neck margin.

"He wanted to look at the other horse," Garcia said after the Haskell,

explaining how his mount waited on Shackleford after overhauling his rival in

the final eighth of a mile. "I must have switched sticks five times (to keep him

focused)."

Baffert is hoping for another jump forward from the maturing three-year-old.

"This horse doesn't have that foundation (of Preakness, Belmont, Haskell and

Travers winner Point Given). He is doing things right now because of raw

talent," Baffert told reporters on Tuesday morning. "I think that if your horse

is doing well you have to give him a chance to run in the Travers, it is such a

prestigious race. His daddy won it, I don't know why he can't."

Stay Thirsty will be looking to emulate his papa, Bernardini, who swept the Jim Dandy and

Travers during his championship campaign in 2006. After opening 2011 with an

encouraging win in the March 5 Gotham S. (G3) at Aqueduct, Stay Thirsty went off

the rails in his next couple of outings, flopping badly in the Florida Derby

(G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1), but he turned things around with a game runner-up

effort in the Belmont, finishing less than a length back of the winner.

Stay Thirsty continued to blossom in the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy on July 30,

netting a 107 BRIS Speed rating for a dominant four-length decision, and has a

home-court advantage at the Spa, winning two-of-three starts at Saratoga, the

lone defeat a respectable second in the 2010 Hopeful S. (G1). Trainer Todd

Pletcher recently expressed satisfaction with his colt's preparations.

"Based on the work this morning, I would say he is as good as he was (going

into the Jim Dandy), if not better going into (the Travers)," Pletcher commented

Sunday following Stay Thirsty's pre-race workout. "He has always run well here

and seems to have really flourished since we have been up here."

Coil and Stay Thirsty likely will be one-two in the Travers wagering, in

either order.

Shackleford dances every dance. After finishing a head second in the Florida

Derby (G1), the Dale Romans-trained colt recorded a fourth in the Kentucky

Derby, a half-length score in the Preakness and a fifth in the Belmont. The

latter can be excused due to the 1 1/2-mile distance, and Shackleford showed no

signs of wear and tear when returning seven weeks later with a good second in

the Haskell.

Romans loves his colt's warrior attitude.

"He seems to improve after every race that he's run; he just keeps getting

better," Romans stated last weekend. "He's one of the few horses that I've ever

had that the more work he does the better he gets. He came out of the Haskell in

great shape."

The 1 1/4-mile distance is a potential drawback for the tough competitor, but

Shackleford's speed provides him a tactical advantage in a 10-horse Travers

field that lacks front runners. As the possible lone speed, Shackleford figures

to receive a favorable trip on a moderate pace and his rivals will have to come

and get him in the stretch.

Ruler on Ice doesn't have the resume of a Shackleford, or the flashy

last-race qualifications of a Coil or Stay Thirsty, but a Belmont-Travers sweep

will put him squarely on top of the division. He's looking to follow in the

footsteps of 2009 champion Summer Bird, who notched his first major victory in

the Belmont, placed in the Haskell and then rebounded with a victory in the

"Midsummer Derby" at Saratoga.

After a couple of undistinguished efforts against stakes rivals, Ruler on Ice

thrived at the extended Belmont distance, notching a 107 BRIS Speed rating over

the sloppy track. He also received an important equipment switch from Kelly

Breen that afternoon, adding blinkers.

Ruler on Ice came running too late in the Haskell, rallying past horses in

the stretch for third-place honors, but it was a solid race to build upon. The

chestnut gelding prefers more ground and his connections are expecting an

improved showing in the 10-furlong Travers.

The rest of the Travers field appears up against it -- none of the remaining

six challengers has a graded stakes win to their credit -- and an upset would

only cast the three-year-old division into further disarray.