The Saratoga card is absolutely loaded for Saturday, but the Grade 1 Travers Stakes is the main event of the day. This is the 157th running of the race with $1.25 million in the purse and it is a field befitting that kind of money.
This is a spectacular field of 10, including Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Golden Tempo and Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo.
This is Race 13 on the Saturday Saratoga card, with post time expected to be at 3:35 p.m. PT on Fox.
This field boasts over $13 million in collective earnings, as we have some horses that have accomplished a lot in their young careers. The pacesetter with earnings is obviously Golden Tempo, having won two Triple Crown races, but Renegade also boasts over $2.5 million, including the runner-up finish at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
Here are some thoughts on the four horses I like the most in the Travers Stakes field:
4. The Puma (8-1; Castellano/Delgado): The Puma was scratched from the Kentucky Derby after winning the G3 Tampa Bay Derby and finishing second in the Florida Derby. Coming off the shelf after about 2½ months, he ran fourth in the muck at the Haskell. Seven-time Travers winner Javier Castellano is back aboard after running those two Sunshine State races, but missing the last one at Monmouth. This was a buzz horse heading into the Kentucky Derby, but the scratch and some missed time may have put him on the backburner for some. At this kind of price, the son of Essential Quality and Eve of War is very intriguing. His father won the Jim Dandy Stakes and Travers Stakes back-to-back in 2021 right here at Saratoga.
5. Renegade (3-1; Gaffalione/Pletcher): This three-time winner has been a factor in every race he’s ever run. The son of Into Mischief and Spice Is Nice is coming off of a win right here in the Jim Dandy. He was third here in the Belmont and second at the Kentucky Derby. It’s been a really strong 3-year-old campaign for Renegade, who won the Sam F. Davis Stakes and Arkansas Derby during the Road to the Kentucky Derby slate. Will the rider change from Irad Ortiz Jr. to Tyler Gaffalione keep some people from backing this Bay? It’s possible, as Gaffalione will need to know just when to put the throttle down with one of the race’s more accomplished closers.
8. Baby Vino (10-1; Lopez/Schultz): It seems only fitting that Baby Vino for trainer Lindsay Schultz would be right next to Cherie DeVaux’s Golden Tempo. Schultz became the first female trainer to win the Haskell last time out. The son of Vino Rosso and Discreetly Mine was 28-1 in that race at Monmouth Park and faces a much shorter price here as a result. Paco Lopez is back aboard. He won with Baby Vino in the Pegasus, but rode Napoleon Solo to second in the Haskell. It took Baby Vino five tries to break his maiden and he’s won two stakes races since. His last Saratoga workout was stellar, breezing four furlongs over 47.31. Going 1¼ for the first time, is there enough gas in the tank with some other closers that have that experience?
9. Golden Tempo (5/2; J. Ortiz/DeVaux): As you would expect, Jose Ortiz is in the teal silks of Golden Tempo here from the No. 9 post. The son of Curlin and Carrumba was a shocking winner with one of the best closing stretches we have ever seen in the Kentucky Derby and proved it wasn’t a fluke by also triumphing in the Belmont. Both of those races were at this distance, so we know he can do it. This race sets up similarly to those. Some pacesetters that will set a good tempo, other closers to fend off, Ortiz in the mount, and 10 furlongs. However, DeVaux made the right call skipping the Preakness to come back five weeks later. This time, Golden Tempo hasn’t raced since June 6.
Travers Stakes Picks
4 The Puma
9 Golden Tempo
5 Renegade
8 Baby Vino
