Tapwrit 7-2 morning-line favorite in 12-horse Travers field

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Though Tapwrit hasn’t run in 11 weeks, he was installed as the 7-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga, which for the first time since 1982 includes all three separate winners of the Triple Crown races.

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Tapwrit will try to duplicate the feat of Birdstone, who in 2004 won the Travers after not having run since winning the Belmont Stakes 12 weeks earlier. In the last 16 runnings of the Travers, six horses have run coming off layoffs of 10 weeks or more, and all six have finished in the top three, including Golden Ticket, who dead-heated for win in 2012 after not having run since May 5.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said the plan to skip a prep race with Tapwrit was done in consultation with the owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta, Bridlewood Farm, Gainesway Farm, and Whisper Hill Farm.

“Everyone was in sort of agreement that the Travers is the race for him,” Pletcher said. “We felt like if we ran in him in the Jim Dandy or Haskell we might leave a little bit on the table that we’d like to have for the Travers.”

Tapwrit drew post 4 and will be ridden by Jose Ortiz, the leading rider at this meet who on Monday won five races.

Tapwrit will be joined in the starting gate by his stablemate Always Dreaming, who despite being the Kentucky Derby winner was made the 6-1 fourth choice behind Tapwrit, West Coast (4-1), and Jim Dandy winner Good Samaritan (5-1).

Always Dreaming finished third in the Jim Dandy, a result Pletcher attributes in part to a deep, demanding surface early in the meet.

Always Dreaming drew post 7 and could play out as the primary speed under John Velazquez.

Trainer Chad Brown also believed the main track on Jim Dandy Day compromised Preakness winner Cloud Computing, who finished last in the Jim Dandy, but only two heads behind Always Dreaming. Brown has been pleased with Cloud Computing’s training since the race, which is why he entered him.

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Cloud Computing drew the rail and will be ridden by Javier Castellano.

“You really need to break well,” Brown said. “So as long as he breaks well and gets a nice spot inside, I’m fine with it. Javier and I spoke about it this week and we really wanted to be inside. Hopefully, it’ll work out from there.”

The Travers field, in post order and with riders and morning-line odds, is: Cloud Computing (Castellano, 8-1), Giuseppe the Great (Tyler Gaffalione, 20-1), West Coast (Mike Smith, 4-1), Tapwrit (Jose Ortiz, 7-2), Good Samaritan (Joel Rosario, 5-1), Girvin (Robby Albarado, 10-1), Always Dreaming (John Velazquez, 6-1), Lookin At Lee (Ricardo Santana Jr., 30-1), McCraken (Brian Hernandez Jr., 12-1), Irap (Mario Gutierrez, 8-1), Gunnevera (Edgard Zayas, 20-1), and Fayeq (Luis Saez, 30-1).

The Travers will go as race 11 on a 13-race card that begins at 11:35 a.m. Eastern and will be aired live on NBC during a 90-minute broadcast that begins at 4:30 p.m.

The long-range forecast for Travers Day calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70s.