Keen Ice, Upstart among Travers workers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – As New York Racing Association officials Saturday morning were surveying the landscape at Barn 25 – where Triple Crown winner American Pharoah would be housed should he come for next Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers – seven of his 10 potential challengers were back in their stalls after putting in final workouts in preparation for the marquee race of the Saratoga meet.

Jim Dandy Stakes winner Texas Red and Haskell Invitational second- and third-place finishers Keen Ice and Upstart topped the busy work tab and breezed within minutes of each other over a lightning-fast main track following the renovation break.

Upstart put in a very fast work, going five furlongs in 58.71 seconds by himself, a move that trainer Rick Violette called “scary good.”

“It’s almost identical to his breeze before [winning] the Holy Bull, and I had a prompter that day; I had him work behind a horse,” Violette said.

Upstart finished last to American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby and third, 5 1/4 lengths back, in the Haskell. Violette doesn’t really want to run Upstart against American Pharoah again, but he might not be able to help himself.

“There’s a little part of me that maybe foolhardily [wants to] take him on again,” Violette said. “We’re a better horse than we were a month ago – we’re fitter. He didn’t have a real race since March – you can’t count the Derby as a real race – so he needed that race” in the Haskell.

Violette said that if trainer Bob Baffert decides to send American Pharoah here from Southern California, “he has to feel he’s on his A-plus game again, and he’s a good horse. And running for second money here, you could be fourth.”

With entries for the Travers taken and post positions drawn Tuesday night and American Pharoah not scheduled to ship until Wednesday, if he comes, Violette said he probably will enter Upstart in the Travers. He has Irad Ortiz Jr. to ride.

Should he elect not to run in the Travers, Upstart would be pointed to the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Sept. 19.

Working about a sixteenth of a mile behind Upstart was Keen Ice, who has finished seventh, third, and second to American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Haskell.

Keen Ice, who was reluctant to go for several minutes before his work, ended up drilling a half-mile in 47.55 seconds under jockey Mike Luzzi, in part because he was chasing Upstart. Keen Ice went his first quarter in 23.69 seconds and his second quarter in 23.86.

“He can be a little quirky,” trainer Dale Romans said. “He’s never gone that fast by himself, but you couldn’t tell he did anything when he came back. He’s doing good; he keeps improving. He seems to like the track – that’s the key.”

Romans said he doesn’t mind facing American Pharoah, adding, “It’s a good race either way.”

Javier Castellano rides Keen Ice in the Travers.

Texas Red hasn’t faced American Pharoah since last September, when he finished third to him in the Grade 1 FrontRunner at Santa Anita. Texas Red won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and recorded his first win since then in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy here Aug. 1.

On Saturday, Texas Red worked six furlongs in 1:13.22, galloping out seven furlongs in 1:26.89. He went by himself under jockey Corey Lanerie and got his final quarter in 24.11 seconds.

Trainer Keith Desormeaux said he doesn’t typically work horses six furlongs before a race, “but we’re not running in a typical race. I wanted to add a little bit more fuel to the fire.”

Desormeaux, who has a string in Southern California, hadn’t seen Texas Red since July 26. He said the biggest change he’s noticed is the colt’s demeanor.

“He’s more laid-back,” Desormeaux said.

Also working Saturday for the Travers were Preakness runner-up Tale of Verve (four furlongs in 48.55 seconds), Frammento (four furlongs in 49.03), and Mid Ocean (five furlongs in 59.43).

Madefromlucky, the West Virginia Derby winner, worked four furlongs in 48.72 in company with Competitive Edge, who is being pointed to the Grade 1 King’s Bishop on Saturday. Trainer Todd Pletcher said he would prefer to run Madefromlucky in the Pennsylvania Derby rather than the Travers but would talk it over with the owners.

The breeze by Mid Ocean, a recent 6 1/2-length maiden winner at Delaware Park, convinced trainer George Weaver to take a shot in the Travers. If American Pharoah comes, the purse of the race is increased to $1.6 million from $1.25 million, and even the eighth-place finisher gets $45,000.

“He worked great and couldn’t blow out a match when he was done with it,” Weaver said of the work. “It’s a big step up. I’m not saying we’re likely to win, but the horse still has some improvement in him. He’s just now learning how to run. We’ll look at the purse structure and see what our chances are of getting a share of the purse, but the way he worked this morning, I think we’re just going to run him.”

Manny Franco worked Mid Ocean and would ride him in the Travers.

Dallas Stewart, the trainer of Tale of Verve, said Gary Stevens would ride him in the Travers.

Frosted, the Jim Dandy runner-up who worked Friday, and Smart Transition, the Curlin Stakes winner, are the other two confirmed runners for the Travers. King of New York is possible.

– additional reporting by Mike Welsch