The 157th running of the $1.25 million DraftKings Travers Stakes Saturday at Saratoga drew a fantastic field of 10 colts. Eight of the 10 entrants in the 1 ¼-mile, Grade 1 stakes are prior graded stakes winners. Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets winner Golden Tempo is the 5-2 morning-line Travers favorite, while Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun winner Renegade is pegged as the 3-1 second betting choice. Since 1976, 11 Belmont Stakes winners went on to win the Travers, while in the same time frame 12 winners of the Jim Dandy went on to take the “Mid-Summer Derby.” This year’s edition brings together the top 3-year-olds in the nation for the last of five Grade 1 races on Saturday’s card at the Spa.
Here’s a look at the field from the inside (rail) post position out:
Emerging Market, the only horse in this field who has beaten Golden Tempo with a win in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, drew the inside post for trainer Chad Brown, who has two Travers entries. Emerging Market finished out of the money in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes before a runner-up finish last time out at the allowance optional claiming level at Saratoga. Ricardo Santana Jr. will be aboard for the first time and replaces regular rider Flavien Prat, who opts to ride the other Brown trainee. Leading Change, the most lightly raced colt in the field, is undefeated from two starts with a narrow win in the Indiana Derby last time out. The Gun Runner colt will have Manny Franco aboard for the first time, replacing regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Brad Cox. Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo is the lone true early speed in this race for trainer Chad Summers. The Liam’s Map colt is a two-time Grade 1 winner and finished runner-up last time out to fellow Travers contender Baby Vino in the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes. Napoleon Solo will have Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez aboard for the first time. The Puma, who was a late scratch from the Kentucky Derby, is making his second start off a long layoff and finished fourth last time out in the Haskell. Javier Castellano, who was not aboard in the Haskell due to an injury, will be back in the irons for trainer Gustavo Delgado. Renegade exits a brilliant performance in the Jim Dandy Stakes, rallying from well off the pace to post a half-length victory for trainer Todd Pletcher. Tyler Gaffalione replaces regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., who is still sidelined with a foot injury. Ocelli, who has the most North American earnings of any maiden (winless horse) in history, will be making his sixth consecutive graded stakes appearance. Edgard Zayas rides the Connect colt for trainer Whit Beckman. Sea Strike is fresh off a 8 ¼-length romp in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga, earning a career-best – and best in this field – 109 Equibase Speed Figure. The Midshipman colt and second Chad Brown entrant will be making his career graded stakes debut and first start at 1 ¼ miles. Regular rider Flavien Prat opts to stay aboard. Baby Vino upset the Haskell Stakes last time out at odds of 28-1, making Lindsay Schultz the first female trainer to win the prestigious race. The Vino Rosso colt has won his last three consecutive races including a 10 ¾-length romp in the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park in June. Paco Lopez will be in the irons. Dual classic winner Golden Tempo returns for the first time since winning the third leg of the Triple Crown for trainer Cherie DeVaux. The Curlin colt is 2-for-2 at this mile-and-a-quarter distance and will have Jose Ortiz aboard for the seventh consecutive time. Golden Tempo has been training at Saratoga since late July and skipped the Jim Dandy due to a brief illness. Silent Tactic rounds out the field with a tremendous 10-1 morning line value. The Tacitus colt trained by Mark Casse has never run out of the top three in seven career starts, with six of those races at the stakes or graded stakes level. Silent Tactic will be ridden by Luis Saez.
Analysis and main contenders:
With the presence of Renegade, Golden Tempo will most likely not be the 3-10 Travers favorite like last year’s winner Sovereignty was, who also won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont before unleashing a 10-length Travers romp. Golden Tempo has been impressive since the get-go in December and has kept the same running style since closing from ‘off the screen’ in his career debut to win a six-furlong maiden race at Fair Grounds. Golden Tempo followed that maiden win with another last-to-first score in the two-turn Lecomte Stakes, but then hit a minor slump when finishing third in the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes and Louisiana Derby. On the first Saturday, in May in his first start outside of Fair Grounds, Golden Tempo made a run for the ages, rallying from 18th and 13 lengths back at the third point of call and 11th by six lengths going into the stretch to win the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby by a neck over Renegade at odds of 23-1, making Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer in history to win the run for the roses. DeVaux opted to skip the Preakness Stakes and train up to the Belmont, and despite winning the Derby, there were still doubts about Golden Tempo’s ability among bettors. Those were reflected by his 6-1 closing odds in the Belmont, which was held for the final time at Saratoga and at 1 ¼ miles. Per usual, Golden Tempo dropped back to last early and then made a powerful move into the stretch to win the Belmont by 1 ¼ lengths over Commandment and Renegade, making Golden Tempo 2-for-2 at the distance. Following the Belmont, Golden Tempo had a brief illness and subsequently had to miss the Jim Dandy Stakes. While this can certainly be taken as a negative, Golden Tempo clearly performs best off a longer layoff and has been able to train up to the Travers, posting five published workouts over the Saratoga main track this summer including a bullet four furlongs in :47.46 on Aug. 15. Jose Ortiz, who has been aboard Golden Tempo for all six career starts, will be back in the Travers, which is a meaningful positive considering their affinity together. While he has not produced Equibase Speed Figures as high as Renegade or Sea Strike, Golden Tempo is at the top of his game and has a wonderful opportunity to become the third horse (Thunder Gulch in 1995 and Sovereignty in 2025) in the last 50 years to complete the Derby, Belmont and Travers trifecta.
Renegade is an incredibly talented Into Mischief colt and was thoroughly impressive last time out with a brilliant rally to win the Jim Dandy Stakes. Renegade earned his first official career win in his 3-year-old debut, when he took the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs by 3 ¾ lengths with The Puma finishing third. Renegade then really turned heads with a dominating four-length win in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park in March. Renegade was then dealt with a tough hand, drawing unlucky post position 1 in the Kentucky Derby, arguably the hardest post to exit from and win the Derby. Despite this, Renegade made a valiant effort and finished second by just a neck to Golden Tempo under a brilliant ride by Irad Ortiz Jr. While he did not win the Belmont Stakes, Renegade did not run poorly by any means and finished third, an impressive feat as he finished “in the money” (among the top three) in two legs of the Triple Crown. Last time out in the Jim Dandy and without the presence of Golden Tempo, Renegade was able to rally from 11 lengths off the pace, indicating that his best races are still yet to come. While he has not won at the Travers’ 1 ¼ mile distance, it is clear Renegade has the potential to do so as he has not finished out of the top three from three starts at Saratoga or in his career. Tyler Gaffalione, who is currently the fourth leading rider in the country by earnings, will replace regular rider Irad Ortiz Saturday while Ortiz continues his recovery. Gaffalione is a wonderful rider, but Renegade will miss Ortiz in the irons as the five-time Eclipse Award winner has been aboard for all but one of the colt’s eight prior races. Renegade should be on your ticket and will have a big opportunity to turn the tables on Golden Tempo.
Like Renegade, Silent Tactic has been a model of consistency throughout his career and has never finished worse than third from seven career starts, five of which were at the graded stakes level. Carrying a 10-1 morning line, Silent Tactic also brings a plethora of value to the table for a horse that has proven time and time again he can run with some of the best of this 3-year-old crop. Silent Tactic started his career on the all-weather track at Woodbine before shipping to Oaklawn Park as a 3-year-old, where he earned a second-place finish in the Smarty Jones Stakes in January, his dirt debut. A month later, Silent Tactic became a graded stakes winner with a 3 ¼ length dominant victory in the Southwest Stakes, earning a career-best 103 Equibase Speed Figure. Although Silent Tactic has yet to find the winner’s circle since the Southwest, he finished second in both the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby. Following a scratch from the Kentucky Derby, Silent Tactic was sidelined until Aug. 1 in the Jim Dandy when he finished third by 2 ½ lengths behind Renegade in first and notably finished 12 lengths ahead of the fourth-place finisher. Silent Tactic performed exceptionally well in the Jim Dandy considering he was coming off a more than four-month layoff, and he could massively improve yet again in his second start since the end of March. Trainer Mark Casse wins at a 24% clip in all races over the past year with horses making their second start off a two-to-six-month layoff, from 71 starts. Silent Tactic has been training forwardly at Saratoga all summer and could be a real surprise in this race; he is a formidable contender at 10-1 morning-line odds.
The rest of the field with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races is Emerging Market (98), Leading Change (101), Napoleon Solo (102), The Puma (97), Ocelli (99), Sea Strike (109), and Baby Vino (102).
Win contenders in preference order:
Golden Tempo
Renegade
Silent Tactic
