Beckman sending Honor Marie straight to Travers

Whit Beckman will have a 13-horse string at Saratoga this summer, one that includes the 3-year-old Honor Marie, who is targeting the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 24.

Honor Marie finished second in the Louisiana Derby, which helped get him into the Kentucky Derby, where he finished eighth. Most recently, he finished fourth in the Belmont Stakes here in June. Honor Marie returned to the work tab at Churchill Downs on Saturday, breezing a half-mile in 50.60 seconds.

“I gave him a couple of weeks off after the Belmont, sent him to the farm for a couple of days,” Beckman said. “He had his first work the other day. We’re going to point straight to the Travers. At this point, I don’t think a prep will serve him well.”

Among Beckman’s other horses in Saratoga are Sabalenka, who races in a tough second-level allowance scheduled for turf on Thursday, and Agoo, who is in tough against older in a Saturday allowance.

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