Even without Justify, Travers shaping up just fine

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Triple Crown winner Justify won’t be running in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers, but the runners-up in all three Triple Crown races, the top 3-year-old turf horse in America, and a Canadian-bred filly who has twice defeated males will, making for an interesting 149th renewal of the Midsummer Derby, to be run Aug. 25 at Saratoga.

Last week’s announcement that Justify would be retired came as no surprise after he developed filling in an ankle that forced him out of training early in July. The results of the three stakes for 3-year-olds over the weekend also came as no surprise. Good Magic ($3) dominated Sunday’s Grade 1, $1 million Haskell at Monmouth Park, while at Saratoga Tenfold ($5.50) won Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Hofburg ($2.50) took Friday’s $100,000 Curlin Stakes.

The biggest surprise came when trainer Mark Casse announced that the filly Wonder Gadot would be pointed to the Travers. She will become the first filly to run in the Travers since Davona Dale ran fourth in 1979. Seven fillies have won the Travers, but none since Lady Rotha in 1915.

Casse said Wonder Gadot’s owner Gary Barber “is not worried about stepping out of the box a little bit.”

“He’s always looking at different things,” Casse said. “I think it’ll be fun. We know she likes the mile and quarter. I think it’s a good place to give it a try.

“Probably would be reconsidering if Justify was there, but he’s not. I think she has as good a shot as anybody. We’re going to give it a try.”

Wonder Gadot arrived at Saratoga on Monday, six days after she defeated males by 5 3/4 lengths in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie. She also defeated males in the Queen’s Plate over Woodbine’s synthetic surface.

Wonder Gadot’s presence in the race could create a dilemma for jockey John Velazquez, who has ridden her to victory her last two starts. Velazquez is also the regular rider of Vino Rosso, the Jim Dandy third-place finisher trained by Velazquez’s primary client Todd Pletcher.

Good Magic, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, arrived at Saratoga Monday following his three-length victory over Preakness runner-up Bravazo in the Haskell. In his first start since he was beaten one length by Justify when running fourth in the Preakness, Good Magic was a much-the-best winner and likely earned the favorite’s role in the Travers. Good Magic earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for his Haskell victory.

“As we know, there’s a lot of variables between now and then – the weather, the post, the health of the horse, and all that,” trainer Chad Brown said Monday morning as he awaited Good Magic to arrive from Monmouth. “Right now, though, I’m very fortunate to be in this position with this horse. I think he is the horse to beat.”

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Brown will also send out Belmont Stakes runner-up Gronkowski in the Travers. Following a setback in late June that prompted Brown to back off on his training, Gronkowski has worked the last two weeks.

On Sunday, Gronkowski breezed five furlongs in 1:00.55 in company with Timeline.

“Gronk’s now put himself very much on schedule for the Travers if he doesn’t have any setbacks,” Brown said. “I thought his work [Sunday] was particularly good. He just looked very fit and strong. I missed some time. I was curious to see how he would respond. I put a serious work in him, and he doesn’t look like he’s lost any fitness at all with that little setback I had with him.”

Also working Sunday was Catholic Boy, who went four furlongs in 48.80 seconds over the Saratoga main track. It was his first work since he won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby and first work on dirt in four months, or before he finished fourth in the Florida Derby.

Trainer Jonathan Thomas said the Travers has “got a big circle around it,” though he stopped just short of committing to the race. Still, Thomas was pleased with what he saw Sunday especially on the gallop-out when Catholic Boy, under exercise rider Tracey Price, went five furlongs in 1:01.61 and six furlongs in 1:15.69.

“My favorite part of it was when Tracey reached to grab him after galloping out an eighth, he put his head down and wanted to do more,” Thomas said. “That’s really not necessary at this point in time, but he looked like he definitely wanted to keep going.”

Hofburg, third in the Belmont Stakes, was a fairly easy five-length winner of Friday’s Curlin Stakes. Trained by Bill Mott, Hofburg beat up on a weak field, but did it the right way and earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Tenfold, despite drifting out in deep stretch, was able to catch Flameaway in the final yards to win the Jim Dandy by three-quarters of a length. Tenfold, trained by Steve Asmussen, earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

Flameaway will not run back in the Travers, Casse said.

Bravazo, second to Good Magic in Sunday’s Haskell, also returned to Saratoga on Monday and is being pointed to the Travers. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Bravazo lost a hind shoe in the Haskell.

Lukas said that the Grade 1 winner Sporting Chance, who was eased in the Jim Dandy, will get a complete physical and be turned out for several months with the idea of returning next year.

King Zachary, winner of the Grade 3 Matt Winn at Churchill, is pointing to the Travers, trainer Dale Romans said.