Friday, August 18, 2017

The Travers and the Triple Crown

The Travers and the Triple Crown
Joseph Di Rienzi
August 14, 2017

The Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, renewed for the 148th time on August 26, 2017, has been called “The Mid-Summer Derby” in that it is the most significant prize for classic aged horses (three years-old) after the spring Triple Crown series of races (Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes). Over the years, horses that have triumphed in one or more of the classics have confirmed their top form in the Travers. Racing exemplars such as Man O’War, Whirlaway, Native Dancer, Damascus, Arts and Letters and Easy Goer have all won the Travers after capturing one of more of the Triple Crown races. However, in the last 70 years, there has been a curious oddity that when the Travers field includes winners of all three classics (note, this can be one, two or three horses), none of them are able to win the Travers Stakes.

Starting from 1957, the first opportunity to see this apparent anomaly was in 1963 when Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, Darby Dan Farm’s Chateaugay faced Preakness Stakes victor Candy Spots owned by Rex C. Ellsworth in the Travers. Both classic winners came into the Travers off defeats after their Triple Crown races. Candy Spots had won the Arlington Classic and American Derby but then finished second in the Chicagoan at Arlington Park while Chateaugay finished third in the Dwyer Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. Also, in the Travers field was the previous year’s two year-old champion, Never Bend, who had finished second in the Derby and third in the Preakness. The three had their reunion in the Midsummer Derby, and it was anticipated that the Travers would settle the three-year old championship. However, the result was anything but conclusive. At 20-1 odds, George D. Widener’s Crewman found the top level form that had produced a victory in the previous year’s Garden State Stakes. He defeated similar longshot Hot Dust by 1½ lengths with Chateaugay another length back in third, Candy Spots finished fourth and Never Bend was sixth and last.
                                                             
                                                               
1963 Travers Stakes
(Associated Press photo)

                                                                 
It was not until 1978 that the next opportunity for winners of all three classic races to run in the Travers, and this was the year of Triple Crown winner, Harbor View Farm’s Affirmed. This was the 10th and what would be the final meeting of Affirmed and Calumet Farm’s Alydar, his vaunted rival in all three classics. Despite Affirmed’s decided win margin (7 to 2) over his rival, Alydar’s connections were optimistic since the latter seemed to be coming into the race sharper than the former. In addition, Affirmed’s rider, Steve Cauthen, was injured and was replaced by Laffit Pincay. There were only two other horses entered, major stakes winner Nasty and Bold and Shake Shake Shake, a rank outsider, who nonetheless played a role in the Travers’ controversial result. Under Angel Cordero, Shake Shake Shake took the early lead with Affirmed directly to his outside. Alydar settled initially in fourth, just to the flank of Nasty and Bold. Down the backstretch, jockey Jorge Velasquez seized the initiative by moving Alydar abruptly to the rail, coming up the inside of Shake Shake Shake. As the pace setter faltered, Pincay on Affirmed angled his mount toward the rail, squeezing the oncoming Alydar and forcing him to lose his action and drop back suddenly. For a moment, it appeared, Alydar had broken down, but showing extraordinary courage he came back and made a valiant effort to catch Affirmed who had vaulted to a clear lead. At the finish, Affirmed was 1¾ lengths ahead of Alydar with Nasty and Bold some 3¾ lengths further back in third. The blinking lights on the tote board started flashing “Inquiry”, and after some deliberation, the stewards rightly disqualified Affirmed for interference and made Alydar the official Travers winner.
                                                                                                                                                                   
1978 Travers Stakes
(CBS-TV photo)

                                                                      
The 1980’s had three Travers renewals where all the year’s classic winners were entered. In 1981, Derby-Preakness winner Pleasant Colony was the favorite over his Belmont Stakes conqueror, Charles T. Wilson, Jr.’s Summing. A very sloppy oval on Travers Day may have played a significant part in the outcome as Mrs. Marcia W. Schott’s Willow Hour, by mud loving sire Bold Hour, raced just off the pace and took command as they approached the far turn. Pleasant Colony, in fifth place in the early running made a concerted run around the far turn to challenge Willow Hour at the top of the stretch. The Buckland Farm runner appeared able to go right by the Schott horse, but either Willow Hour found more, or Pleasant Colony was not quite fit enough having not run since the Belmont Stakes. Willow Hour maintained a narrow margin throughout the stretch, though at the finish it was a desperate head as Pleasant Colony lunged forward. The 1980 Two Year-old Champion Lord Avie, closed resolutely to finish third, 1¾ lengths back of Pleasant Colony with Summing finishing ninth. At 24-1, Willow Hour joined the long list of upset winners of major races at Saratoga.
                                                       
1981 Travers Stakes
(Associated Press photo)
 In 1982, Henyrk de Kwiatkowski’s brilliant Belmont Stakes winner Conquistador Cielo would be facing the two other classic winners – Arthur B. Hancock and Leone J. Peter’s Gato Del Sol (Kentucky Derby victor) and Preakness Stakes winning Aloma’s Ruler owned by Baltimorean Nathan Scherr. Saratoga in August has many traditions, one of which is that it becomes a vortex of rumors in the close-knit horse community. The top story this year was that all was not well with Conquistador Cielo in the days leading up to the Travers. His win in the Jim Dandy was not overwhelming, and he had been sporting front bandages in his workouts that he also wore to the post in the Travers. Nevertheless, he was the prohibitive favorite in the five horse field, that, in addition to Aloma’s Ruler and Gato Del Sol, included, Lejoli and Canadian invader Albert P. Coppola’s Runaway Groom.

Race strategy may have played a significant part in the result. Angel Cordero on Aloma’s Ruler was not about to let Conquistador Cielo have the race his own way on the front end so he spurred his mount to contest the lead, and the two classic winners dueled head and head. Gato Del Sol, racing in third place, was closer than usual, but Runaway Groom was biding his time in a distant fifth position. As the two leaders battled back and forth, exchanging the lead, Jeffery Fell aboard Runaway Groom mounted his rally. Many race viewers were so intent on the stretch duel between Conquistador Cielo and Aloma’s Ruler, they did not see the upset coming until just before the finish when Runaway Groom swept past the embattled leaders to win by a ½ length. Aloma’s Ruler won the race inside the race by ¾ length over Conquistador Cielo, who racing on the inside may have been compromised by the track bias. Gato Del Sol flattened out badly to finish fifth and last. As the longest shot in the race, Runaway Groom and his connections added their name to the list that give further substance to the “Graveyard of Favorites” attribution to Saratoga.

                                                      
1982 Travers Stakes
(NYRA photo)

                                                                                         
In 1987, not only were the Derby-Preakness winner Dorothy and Pamela Scharbauer’s Alysheba and his Triple Crown denier Cisley Stable and Blanche Levy’s Bet Twice in the Travers field, but it also included major sophomore stakes winners Java Gold, Gulch, Polish Navy, Temperate Sil and Cryptoclearance. Bet Twice had just narrowly defeated Alysheba in the Haskell Invitational Stakes at Monmouth Park in their respective first race after the Belmont Stakes. The question surrounding Alysheba, and it would shadow him for over a year, was whether he could run his best without the administration of Lasix which was prohibited at that time in New York. This talk, as the time for the race drew near, subsided, and the prevailing discussion centered on the condition of the racetrack which had been drenched by heavy morning rains. Alysheba and Bet Twice’s respective form on sloppy tracks was uncertain, but Gulch, Java Gold and Cryptoclearance all had won stake races on off tracks. The public settled on the Derby winner as the slight favorite over Java Gold and Bet Twice.

As the race unfolded, Bet Twice was close to the lead while Alysheba was in mid-pack with Java Gold and Cryptoclearance occupying the two rear positions. As the field headed for the far turn, the complexion of the race changed dramatically. Bet Twice briefly seized the lead, but in the stretch drive, he was quickly passed by Cryptoclearance who making a bold bid surged into the lead looking like a clear winner. However, Pat Day aboard Java Gold had been drafting behind “Crypto’s” wake and in mid-stretch, he asked the Rokeby Stable colt for his run, and the response was immediate. In deep stretch, Java Gold caught and drew past Cryptoclearance for a 2 length victory. The two classic winners, Bet Twice and Alysheba, finished back in fifth and sixth place respectively, and both horses’ connections blamed the track condition for their defeats.

                                                       
Java Gold,winner of 1987 Travers Stakes
(NYRA photo)

                                                                  
In the next decade, 1991 was the only year that winners of the three classics met in the Travers. Kentucky Derby winner Strike the Gold, owned by the partnership of Brophy, Condren and Cornacchia, was coming off a third place finish in the Jim Dandy Stakes, his first start after his narrow Belmont Stakes loss to Preakness winner Lazy Lane Farms’ Hansel. The dual classic winner had also finished third in his previous race, the Haskell Invitational. The Travers was basically a two horse contest between Overbrook Farm’s Corporate Report and Hansel who raced first and second almost the entire 1¼ mile distance. Corporate Report had a daylight lead until Hansel went up to challenge towards the end of the backstretch. At the top of the stretch, it looked like Hansel was going the strongest and seemed ready to pull away from Corporate Report. However, he did not, and Corporate Report regained the lead and held it to the finish for a neck victory. Last year’s two year-old champion Fly So Free was 2½ lengths back in third. He did, however, finish 3 lengths ahead of Strike the Gold whose brief rally around the far turn failed to be sustained.

The reason for Hansel’s inability to draw away in the stretch became apparent when jockey Jerry Bailey, sensing distress, jumped off after pulling up his mount. Examination revealed that Hansel had partially torn a tendon in his front left ankle in the stretch. Fortunately, the injury was not life threatening, but it forced the son of Woodman’s retirement. The Travers victor, Corporate Report, a son of Private Account, who had placed in several major stakes races this year was winning his first stakes race, and his first race of any kind beyond 6 furlongs. The Travers would be his one moment of glory for Corporate Report fractured a coffin bone in his foot training for his next start and also was forced into retirement.
                                                  
1991 Travers Stakes
(NYRA photo)

The next and last (to date) occurrence of this relativity rare circumstance was in 2015. (However, when entries were drawn for the 2003 Travers Stakes, both Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Funny Cide and the Belmont Stakes victor, Empire Maker, were in the field. Alas, both did not run due to reported illnesses.) In 2015, American Pharoah owned by Zayat Stable and trained by Bob Baffert was the singular Travers attraction. He was the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed, and his presence in the Travers field drew almost rock star hysteria. American Pharoah had just won the Haskell Invitational Stakes by an eased down 2¼ lengths in his first start since his Belmont Stakes triumph. Despite “Pharoah’s” towering reputation, the Travers drew a field of ten with Texas Red and Frosted, who had finished first and second in the Jim Dandy Stakes, the second and third betting choices, respectively. Overlooked at 16-1 was Donegal Racing’s Keen Ice, although beaten three times previously by American Pharoah, had shown an improved effort in closing ground in the 9 furlong Haskell to finish second. The extra furlong of the Travers Stakes could only benefit this come from behind runner who coming into the Travers had only a single victory in his resume.

At the start of the Travers, American Pharoah jumped out to the lead and appeared to be controlling the pace. However, halfway down the backstretch, Frosted was sent up to confront American Pharoah, and both colts raced head and head around the far turn and into the stretch. Once the leaders straightened out, American Pharoah repulsed Frosted’s sustained run as the Triple Crown hero slowly drew clear. But the duel with Frosted had taken its toll as Keen Ice, who was rating some distance behind the embattled leaders, made his charge in the stretch. Closing steadily, Keen Ice caught American Pharoah about 1/16 of a mile before the finish and despite the latter’s best efforts, Keen Ice prevailed by ¾ of a length. Frosted, whose early challenge to American Pharoah was probably the reason for the latter’s defeat finished third, another 2¼ lengths back.
                                                 
2015 Travers Stakes
(Associated Press photo)

So the anomaly still holds that when winners of all three classics are entered in the Travers Stakes, none of them are victorious. However, since the opportunity has only presented itself seven times in seventy years, this is not a statistically valid conclusion. As of this writing, there is a possibility that Always Dreaming (Kentucky Derby winner), Cloud Computing (Preakness victor) and Tapwrit (Belmont Stakes hero) will all meet in the 2017 Travers. If they do, this will be a test of this anomaly; if there are not all present, we will have to wait for another year.


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