Jaxon Traveler gives Asmussen seventh Bachelor triumph

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Jaxon Traveler darted home by 2 1/2 lengths over over stablemate Cazadero to give trainer Steve Asmussen a one-two finish in the $200,000 Bachelor at Oaklawn Park on Saturday.

It was the seventh time Asmussen has won the Bachelor.

Jaxon Traveler ($5.40) broke on top and ran the opening quarter of the six-furlong race for 3-year-olds in 22.41 seconds, pushed along by Sea to Success and Sir Wellington. Jaxon Traveler continued to lead through a half-mile in 45.89 and separated himself from his rivals in the stretch, while going on to cover the distance on a fast track in 1:10.07.

“He’s a nice horse,” jockey Francisco Arrieta said in a post-race interview broadcast by Oaklawn. “He had a little trouble last time. This time, he broke clean. He’s fast so I let him run.”

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Cazadero rallied for second in the Bachelor, while it was another half-length back in third to Bob’s Edge.

Jaxon Traveler has now won 4 of 5 starts, for earnings of $270,762. His lone loss came last month, when he was second by a head in the Gazebo at Oaklawn. The son of Munnings races for West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner.

Asmussen’s other Bachelor winners are Nitrous in 2019; Mitole (2018); Counterforce (2016); Holy Boss (2015); Lantana Mob (2008) and Valid Expectations (1996).

Valid Expectations was Asmussen’s first “big” horse as a trainer, with the multiple Grade 3 winner earning nearly $600,000.