Farish takes another shot at Travers with Gift Box

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – If nothing else, the Travers has not lacked for drama over the last decade. In seven of the last 10 runnings, the margin of victory has been less than a length.

Longtime owner and breeder William S. Farish has been on the wrong end of two close Travers finishes with Grasshopper, who fell a half-length short to Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense in 2007, and Mambo in Seattle, who got beat a nose by Colonel John in 2008.

“I remember them very well,” Farish said this week. “I wasn’t happy at the time, but I’m certainly over them and pushing forward.”

On Saturday, Farish will take another crack at the Travers with Gift Box, one of many contenders in a 14-horse Travers that equals the largest field since 1977. Gift Box, who drew post 9, is listed at 12-1 on the morning line in a field that includes Preakness winner Exaggerator and Belmont Stakes winner Creator.

“My gosh, this is a tough spot,” Farish said. “Everybody’s turning up, it looks like.”

In 2007, Grasshopper was 9-1 in a seven-horse field. Under Robby Albarado, he made the lead around the clubhouse turn and held it until the field turned for home. Grasshopper was confronted on the outside by Street Sense and fought with him until deep stretch before Street Sense edged clear to win by a half-length.

In 2008, Mambo in Seattle was a 5-1 shot coming off a neck victory in the Henry Walton Stakes (now known as the Curlin) here. In the Travers, Mambo in Seattle came from well off the pace, rallied seven wide in the stretch, and came to the wire in tandem with Colonel John, who had split horses. Though Albarado, aboard Mambo in Seattle, raised his whip in victory, the photo showed Colonel John’s nose on the wire first.

“I think the emotions you go through from the eighth pole to the wire, throughout the year it all blends in, but I think that’s part of this wonderful sport,” said Farish, a two-time Eclipse Award-winning breeder.

Farish did fall on the right side of last year’s Grade 1 Whitney photo, with Honor Code besting Liam’s Map.

Farish purchased Gift Box for $135,000 as a weanling in part to support the stallion Twirling Candy, who stands at the Farish-owned Lane’s End Farm.

Gift Box, trained by Chad Brown, has a similar profile to Mambo in Seattle and Grasshopper entering the Travers. Like those two horses, Gift Box won his second start at age 2 after getting beat sprinting in his debut. Unlike Mambo in Seattle and Grasshopper, Gift Box ran in a stakes at 2, finishing third in the Grade 2 Remsen behind Mohaymen at Aqueduct.

Gift Box went to Florida for the winter, but it became apparent early to Brown that the horse didn’t train well over the surface at Palm Meadows. In February, the decision was made to send Gift Box back to Belmont Park, where he had thrived.

After some time off, Gift Box returned to the work tab in March and trained for two months before winning an allowance race at Belmont Park by 4 1/2 lengths. Sensing that Gift Box does well with plenty of time between starts, Brown targeted the $100,000 Curlin Stakes at Saratoga on July 29 as a steppingstone to the Travers.

Gift Box was beaten a length by Connect, another Brown horse, who got loose on the lead. Gift Box challenged Connect but was repelled.

Though Gift Box is coming back in four weeks, Brown said that is necessary for a race like the Travers.

“I like the fact he has some recency now,” Brown said. “I’ve always said he’s a horse that appreciates time in between races, but at the same time, now we’re going 1 1/4 miles in the Travers, you got to be pretty fit for that. I think having a recent race here tightened him down all the way for a race of this magnitude.”

Javier Castellano had been the regular rider of Gift Box but is committed to ride Belmont Stakes runner-up Destin in the Travers. Junior Alvarado has picked up the mount on Gift Box.

In Gift Box, Farish sees a horse who may actually be better as a 4-year-old.

“I think really we’ll probably see the best of him as a 4-year-old, as tends to happen with a lot of my horses,” Farish said. “He’s got a lot of ability, and I think this is the spot we sort of have been pointing for, so we’re going to take a shot, knowing it couldn’t be a tougher spot. But, of course, we had a similar situation last year with Honor Code going into the Whitney. These races don’t come up easy, but Chad has felt very, very good about him and the way it sort of sets up for him, so we’ll give it a try.”