Saratoga: Alpha, Golden Ticket still going

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Alpha and Golden Ticket, who dead-heated for win in last year's Travers Stakes, are still in training as 4-year-olds, with mixed results.

Alpha has lost all six of his starts since the Travers, most recently finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Whitney Invitational. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he didn't think the Whitney was that bad a race for Alpha, who was compromised by a slower-than-expected pace.

"We thought there'd be a faster pace, so we asked him to settle back and make a run," McLaughlin said. "The pace never materialized. He ran very well, and he equaled his lifetime best number."

McLaughlin said he is considering the Grade 1 Woodward for Alpha.
Meanwhile, Golden Ticket has won 3 of 6 starts this year and finished second to Fort Larned in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster. Golden Ticket is coming off an eight-length victory in the Prairie Meadows Handicap on July 27 and is being pointed to the Breeders' Cup Classic. He will start next in either the Homecoming Classic, a new race scheduled for Sept. 28 at Churchill Downs, or the Grade 1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita. Both races are run Sept. 28.