**Video of Travers contenders working out Saturday morning at
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Contact: NYRA Press Office
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- Travers Watch: Super Saver, Friend Or Foe, Fly Down, A Little Warm, Afleet Express work at Spa; Trappe Shot breezes, still on fence; First Dude works in Kentucky
- Quality Road to return to track Sunday; Life At Ten will work for Personal Ensign
- Personal Ensign contender Miss Singhsix to breeze Sunday in Florida
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On a gorgeous Saturday morning at the Spa, six contenders for what appears will be a big field for the 141st running of the Grade 1, $1 million Travers had their final works for the 1 ¼ mile race.
With jockey Calvin Borel aboard, Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver breezed five furlongs in 1:01.13 in company with The Roundhouse on the main track.
"I wanted to keep him focused down the lane, and having a target early on kept him focused," said trainer Todd Pletcher of the WinStar Farm color-bearer. "Calvin [asked him] at the top of the lane, and he really lengthened out."
While Super Saver normally goes out later in the morning, Pletcher sent him out early because he wanted Borel, who was flying to
"Calvin was going to leave last night, but he rearranged his schedule so he could be on the horse this morning," said Pletcher. "I wanted Calvin to have a feel for him and he seemed to be pleased with the way he was going."
The trainer said he expected an improved performance in the Travers from Super Saver, who following his Derby win was eighth in the Preakness and then fourth, beaten 4 ¾ lengths, by Lookin At Lucky in the Haskell on August 1.
"I think he's going to run an improved race from the Haskell," he said. "Having that race under his belt has helped him. If you look at his form this year, he ran decently in
With as many as 14 under consideration for the Travers – in addition to those named in the first bullet point above, Trickmeister, Miner's Reserve, Ice Box, Admiral Alex, Pleasant Prince, Afleet Again and Steinbeck are potential starters – Pletcher said he felt that could benefit Super Saver, who outran 19 in the Derby.
"He's maneuvered through a big field before," said Pletcher. "An honest pace allows him to settle the way he did at Churchill, and it looks as if there should be plenty of pace early."
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Also turning in his final breeze for the Travers on Saturday was the New York-bred Friend Or Foe, who covered five furlongs over the main track in 1:00.60, according to the NYRA clockers.
Sent out shortly after 6 a.m., Chester Broman Sr.'s colt was piloted by jockey Rajiv Maragh, who will ride him in the Travers and who guided him to a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy here on July 31, Friend Or Foe's first start around two turns.
"I told I told Rajiv we were trying to shoot for around a minute," said trainer John Kimmel. "The track was a little bit on the dry side this morning, and I got him in a 1:00.53, out in 1:13 and 4/5. He actually picked up a horse in the middle of the breeze and used him as a target maybe for an eighth of a mile until he passed him. Rajiv said he felt absolutely great underneath him and he came back and was cooled off in a matter of just minutes. It was about as comfortable a breeze as you could want."
With the breeze behind him, Friend Or Foe's major preparations for the race are now complete.
"I think that's really all we're going to do," Kimmel said. "We'll school a little bit in the paddock this week and stand him at the gate. Maybe on Thursday I'll let him go through the lane a little bit with his regular exercise rider. We'll let the cards fall where they may as far as the draw is concerned. I'm excited about the fact that we've got a horse who has two-turn experience under his belt, I think he's got a legitimate chance to improve off the [Jim Dandy]. We just have to see what happens as far as the race next Saturday, but he's coming in as well as I could expect him to."
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After taking to the Oklahoma Training Track at 7:30 this morning with Jose Lezcano aboard, Travers prospect Fly Down drilled four furlongs in 48.40 seconds, handily, fourth-fastest of 26 workouts at the distance.
"There were a lot of horses working over there this morning, so we went over earlier," said his trainer, Nick Zito.
The Hall of Famer hopes Fly Down, winner of the Grade 2 Dwyer and runner-up in the Grade 1 Belmont, will have a cleaner trip than the one he experienced in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy, in which he finished fifth.
"He's a terrific, consistent horse," said Zito. "I don't think he had a good post last time. A mile and a quarter is different, but that mile and eighth last time when he had post nine Jose did a good job of getting him over. But the next thing you know, nothing worked out for him."
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Grade 2 Jim Dandy winner A Little Warm, with exercise rider Tess Bischa up, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.58.
"I am super-duper happy with him," said Tony Dutrow of A Little Warm, whom he trains for Edward P. Evans. "My horse went around excellently. It's so rare and so special to feel this good about a horse with such a big race in front of him."
The homebred son of Stormin Fever goes into the Travers off winning efforts following a three-month break, having taken an optional claimer at
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With exercise rider Kelvin Pahal aboard, Gainesway Farm's Afleet Express breezed six furlongs in 1:13.06. He started the first three furlongs in 36 seconds before galloping out seven furlongs in 1:26 4/5 and a mile in 1:42 4/5.
"We're satisfied with the work. That's all we wanted from him," said trainer James Jerkens, who will saddle his first Travers starter in Afleet Express. "He came back to the barn in great shape. He wasn't blowing hard. Since he has shipped up here, he has been doing well."
Afleet Express made two allowance starts at
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First Dude, third in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5, worked over the sloppy main track at Churchill Downs on Saturday morning, negotiating five furlongs in 1:01.40 in his final move for the Travers.
"He worked well this morning – the track was sloppy, but he seemed to handle it fine," trainer Dale Romans said by phone from
First Dude is expected to arrive at Romans'
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Mill House's Trappe Shot breezed five furlongs over the main track this morning in preparation for next Saturday's Grade 1, 1 ¼-mile Travers or Grade 1, seven-furlong King's Bishop.
Working with stablemate Yankee Fourtune, Trappe Shot traveled the distance in 1:01.92, ranked 14th among 29 moves.
"Alan Garcia felt like the track was a little dull and deep, so he had him out in the four path," said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. "He galloped out strong in 1:14 4/5, and we're happy. We just have to figure out which race we're going to enter."
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Quality Road will return to the track tomorrow for the first time since his upset at the hands of Blame in the Grade 1 Whitney, trainer Todd Pletcher said Saturday.
"I am not sure what time he will go out, we'll keep on eye on the weather," said Pletcher, who is pointing the 4-year-old Elusive Quality colt toward the Grade 1 Woodward on Saturday, September 4.
The trainer added that Life At Ten, who will carry a six-race winning streak into her meeting with reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in next Sunday's Grade 1 Personal Ensign Invitational, will also work tomorrow in preparation for the 1 ¼ mile race.
"Both horses are doing well," he said.
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Miss Singhsix will have her last workout from the gate at Calder tomorrow morning before shipping to
In five starts this year, Miss Singhsix has finished no worse than third. She exits a second-place finish to Life At Ten in the Delaware Handicap and a win in the Grade 3 Obeah, where she broke slowly.
"I'm going to continue working her from the gate as I had done with her prior to the Delaware Handicap and Obeah," said trainer Marty Wolfson. "Even though she did win the Obeah, she still broke slow, and that's something I want to work on."
Miss Singhsix is following a similar route to the Wolfson-trained Icon Project, who last year finished second in the Delaware Handicap, then prepared for the Personal Ensign at Calder, which she won by 13½ lengths.
With reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and the streaking Life At Ten in the race this year, Wolfson knows the Personal Ensign will be a test for his entrant.
"It's going to be a tough race, but anything can happen," Wolfson said. "We came here last year and had a horse that won by 13½ lengths."
Wolfson will fly four horses to
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