Lady Traveler back on short rest for allowance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lady Traveler wheels back in two weeks after making a rare drop into the allowance ranks on closing weekend of the Saratoga meet. It’s not like Dale Romans is intentionally reverting to his old-school roots.

“She came out of her last race in great shape, and this looked like the right opportunity,” Romans said. “Back in two weeks is no big deal, if they act and train a certain way out of it.”

Lady Traveler, with Joe Talamo riding, will stretch out to a one-turn mile when breaking from post 1 in the Sunday feature at Churchill Downs, a $127,000, first-level allowance. Off a runner-up finish as the favorite in a six-furlong race for these same conditions Sept. 5 at Saratoga, Lady Traveler figures to be favored again Sunday after earning a career-best 80 Beyer Speed Figure in her first start since she faded to third as the pacesetter in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on the May 14 Preakness eve card at Pimlico.

“We’ve always liked her,” Romans said. “That last race, the winner [Song River] got loose on an early lead and we never really had much chance to catch up. It was a good tightener, though, and she ought to be tough in this one.”

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Lady Traveler, a 3-year-old Quality Road filly, won a maiden sprint at the 2020 September meet at Churchill before racing in stakes in five of her next six starts, all on dirt, with a failed experiment in a turf allowance mixed in there, too. Among her better efforts were runner-up finishes in the Rags to Riches at Churchill and the Forward Gal at Gulfstream Park, not to mention the graded-placed black type she earned behind the highly regarded Army Wife in the Black-Eyed Susan.

“She’s got some class,” Romans said.

The chief opposition for Lady Traveler in the ninth of 10 races figures to be Trumpet Lilly (post 2, James Graham) and Mucho Macho Momma (post 5, Tyler Gaffalione), both looking to regain form following atypical efforts, and Town Avenger (post 7, Julien Leparoux), an interesting turf-to-dirt candidate for Brian Lynch.

First post Sunday is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-80s in the local forecast. The feature goes at 4:55. Three maiden-specials (races 4, 8, 10) with $120,000 purses also are on tap.

Purses listed here are the maximum, given that non-claiming/starter races at Churchill include sizable bonuses for registered Kentucky-breds only.

After Sunday, Churchill goes dark for three days before another four-day race week resumes Thursday with an eight-race twilight card. The 12-day meet runs through Oct. 3.