SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The two occasions in the last 40 years that the Travers Stakes brought together the three separate winners of the Triple Crown races, none of those horses won. In 1982, Runaway Groom pulled off a 12-1 upset. In 2017, it was West Coast, at 6-1. Saturday, the 154th Travers Stakes at Saratoga will include Kentucky Derby winner Mage, Preakness winner National Treasure, and Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo. Despite their talent, it may not be a surprise if none of those horses win. Forte, the champion 2-year-old of 2022 who missed the Kentucky Derby and Preakness due to a bruised foot, is the morning-line favorite in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers. His résumé – seven first-place finishes from nine starts – warrants respect. While he may not tower over the field on speed figures, his will to win is something that may just separate him from the rest. “You can’t coach that, that’s just him being competitive,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Forte for Mike Repole and Vinnie and Teresa Viola. In both the Florida Derby in April and the Jim Dandy in July, Forte looked in trouble turning for home. Yet in the Florida Derby he got up to beat Mage by a length. In the Jim Dandy, he nailed pacesetting Saudi Crown on the wire by a nose. Forte wore blinkers for the first time in the Jim Dandy. Pletcher felt they helped him get engaged early in the race. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. “I thought the first sixteenth of a mile he showed a little more initiative, he jumped into the bridle, he broke sharper, and he was traveling well while bottled up the whole way,” said Pletcher, who has won the Travers twice. “He was able to push his way through a little bit, was able to get there.” One of the few times Forte didn’t get there was in the Belmont Stakes, where, after dropping back on the far turn, he was forced to rally widest of all and fell 1 1/2 lengths short of Arcangelo. Forte came into the Belmont off a 10-week layoff. Arcangelo is coming into the Travers having not raced in 11 weeks. While that may be a big deal to some, it is not to trainer Jena Antonucci, who spaced out her ridgling’s races to allow Arcangelo time to continue to develop. “He’s grown up more mentally; physically he’s gotten taller, put more body on him, more strength,” said Antonucci, who trains Arcangelo for owner Jon Ebbert. “Just really respecting the fact that he’s immature and starting to find that level of maturity mentally and physically. That gap was an easy decision for him, especially since we stretched him out in all of his training really since we started him.” The way Arcangelo has trained in Saratoga gives Antonucci confidence going into Saturday. “I’m confident in our preparation, I’m confident in how he’s grown through this time,” Antonucci said. “When he’s pulling up every day there’s no blow in this horse. The wind is there, his desire to win is there; as long as I can get the saddle on him on Saturday, we’re going to enjoy a great race.” Javier Castellano, who won his first Belmont Stakes on Arcangelo, will seek to win his record-extending seventh Travers on Arcangelo, the son of 2016 Travers Stakes winner Arrogate. Castellano won his first Kentucky Derby on Mage in May. Mage was scheduled to be ridden by Luis Saez in the Travers. However, Saez suffered a dislocated collarbone and fractured wrist in a spill here Wednesday. On Thursday, Flavien Prat was named to ride Mage. Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant trainer to his father, Gustavo Delgado, said that part-owner Sam Herzberg, who races under the Sterling Racing banner, mentioned that he had success with Prat with other horses and recommended him. Prat has won three Grade 1 stakes at this meet. :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  Since the Derby, Mage has finished third in the Preakness and second in the Haskell Stakes, the latter a race his connections felt he needed. “I honestly think we’ve not seen the best of him yet,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr. “He’s getting more mature, he’s got the experience now that he lacked at the beginning of his experiences. He’s getting better, and we are getting better knowing him. The key for this race is that we came here early and he’s got enough time to settle in and acclimate.” Bob Baffert, a three-time Travers-winning trainer, sends in the front-running Preakness winner National Treasure. After running a hard race in the Preakness, National Treasure finished sixth in the Belmont Stakes. “He ran a big race in the Preakness,” Baffert said. “He’s a horse that can be a little bit high strung, I think maybe he needed a little bit more time. He’s been doing really well, starting to mature. I can tell he’s changed. I think he’s a better horse than the Preakness, and he’s going to have to be a better horse.” Baffert is taking the blinkers off of National Treasure on Saturday though he still figures to be on or near the lead under John Velazquez. The other potential speed horse is Scotland, who is coming off a front-running victory in the Curlin Stakes here July 21, his third victory in four career starts. “He couldn’t be doing any better, he’s training good, he looks good, his works have been impressive enough to me,” Mott said. “He’s going to get battle-tested, right.” Disarm finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby and won the Matt Winn Stakes at Ellis Park before finishing a disappointing fourth in the Jim Dandy. Trainer Steve Asmussen, who won the Travers last year with Epicenter, is adding blinkers to the colt’s equipment. Disarm had a sensational work in the blinkers on Aug. 14. :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. Pletcher also will run Tapit Trice, the Grade 1 Blue Grass winner who is coming off a third in the Belmont Stakes and a fifth in the Haskell. Pletcher is adding blinkers to his equipment. “He’s historically not a real good gate horse, he reacts to the doors fine, then he doesn’t really accelerate quickly away from there,” said Pletcher, who has Jose Ortiz to ride. “I’m hoping that [the blinkers] will maybe help him get out of there a little quicker. Then from there, you got to get into a comfortable rhythm and I’m thinking the blinkers will keep him a little more dialed in.” The Travers goes as race 12 on a 13-race card that includes four other Grade 1 stakes – the Ballerina, Forego, Sword Dancer, and H. Allen Jerkens. The Travers will be televised on national Fox during a 3 1/2-hour broadcast beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.