Ny Traffic, Willy Boi will take on Jackie's Warrior in Vanderbilt
SARATOGA, N.Y. - The imposing presence of Jackie’s Warrior made it a formidable task for the racing office to fill Saturday’s Grade 1 Vanderbilt. But a couple of horses with South Florida ties, Ny Traffic and Willy Boi, came to the rescue, their connections looking forward to the challenge while acknowledging that defeating the reigning sprint champion over a track he’s so relished in the past would be considered an upset of major proportions.
Considered strictly a two-turn horse throughout a 3-year-old campaign during which he finished second in the Grade 1 Haskell and competed in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, as well as for much of last season, Ny Traffic has seemed to found his niche sprinting. The New York-bred son of Cross Traffic has won lesser stakes going six furlongs in his two most recent starts while having captured each of his last four outings at distances ranging from six to seven furlongs dating back to the spring of 2021.
“I think he’s probably shown us now he’s best sprinting, and that’s where we’re going to keep him,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Wednesday. “The plan was to turn him back in distance against weaker company, he responded running solid numbers in his last two starts, so now we’ll take a chance and run him in a race like this.
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“Realistically, Jackie’s Warrior is champion and in a league of his own. But it’s a horse race and even if he could run second, there would be no disgrace in that.”
Willy Boi has improved dramatically since joining trainer Jorge Delgado’s stable prior to the beginning of his 2022 campaign, winning all three starts this season, including the Grade 3 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park on July 2 with a career best 98 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We acknowledge Jackie’s Warrior is in the race, but we felt it was time to find out how this horse does again that kind of competition,” Delgado said. “He couldn’t be doing better, and if he’s as good as we think, he should at least be in the money. Although to be honest, we never run for second money, we always feel like we have a chance to win every time we enter a race.”
Willy Boi will be just Delgado’s second starter at Saratoga. His first, Kitodan, finished ninth in the 2021 Hopeful. Like Kitodan, Willy Boi will be ridden Saturday by Chantal Sutherland.
Delgado also entered Doc Amster, who is stabled at Monmouth Park, in the Vanderbilt, but said he would run him only if the race went with five horses or less. If Doc Amster doesn’t run in the Vanderbilt, Delgado plans to bring him here for the Tale of the Cat on Aug. 10, a race restricted to horses who have never won a graded stakes.