The stars aligned from the sky above, to the dirt and turf below, to create an absolutely spectacular Travers Day of racing and fun in the sun!
From the opening bell in the 1st Race, it was apparent that greatness was in the air, when a 2-year-old maiden son of War Front, Hazit, held off the late charge of a million-dollar baby and son of Curlin, Good Magic, to capture the 6-1/2-furlong maiden race for Todd Pletcher and Johnny Velazquez.
In the 2nd Race, Manny Franco, who has been extremely hot of late, brought home a $46.80 longshot, Marshall Eddy, for Michelle Nevin, in what would be his first of two straight wins, and Michelle's first of two big wins on the Travers card.
In the 3rd Race, Manny claimed foul against the young Florida star, Tyler Gaffalione, for interference in the stretch drive, and the Stewards agreed! Tyler's Empirically was moved down to 2nd, and Manny's Paradise Island was moved up to 1st, giving him his second double digit victory at $25.20!
In the 5th Race, Johnny V would pick up his second win on a son of War Front this day, on Stuart Janney's 3-year-old Profiteer, for Shug McGaughey, and it paid $19.20.
The 6th Race signaled the start of a ridiculous string of 6 straight Grade I races, and I, for one, am not thrilled with this saturation and overabundance of blessings crammed into a 3+ hour interval! I would much prefer that all of this greatness be spread out over a couple different cards, as in days of old, because I don't believe that this "Festival" style of writing cards is necessary at the Spa!
It's one thing to do this downstate, as a means of attracting a big crowd when they never have one, but we are blessed to have big crowds at Saratoga all the time, and it would be nice to share the Grade I wealth with more fans over a few days!
Not to take anything away from Chuck Fipke's fine homebred mare, Forever Unbridled, or Trainer Dallas Stewart, but many hearts were broken (including mine!) when she beat beloved champion Songbird in the $700K Personal Ensign, the first of the 6 Grade 1s!
In a short field of 4, Forever Unbridled broke well, dropped back to last, and rallied from 4 wide at the eighth pole, running past Songbird at the wire, to win by a neck, much to the dismay of Songbird's legion of fans, and to her rider, Hall of Famer Mike Smith!
Forever Unbridled came in 3rd behind Beholder and Songbird in last year's thrilling Breeders Cup Distaff, when Songbird was nosed out at the wire by the older champion Beholder, for her only other loss. Forever Unbridled is the full sister to Unbridled Forever, who won the 2015 Ballerina for Stewart, who keeps it all in the family, after training their mother/broodmare, Lemons Forever, to a huge upset victory in the 2004 Kentucky Oaks, and a place in the Alabama.
Under a masterful ride by Rajiv Maragh, By the Moon, the 5-year-old daughter of Indian Charlie, who won the Grade I Frizette for Michelle Nevin as a 2-year-old, gave Michelle her second win of the day in the Grade I Ballerina. It was such a gratifying victory for all of the connections, as it hasn't been the easiest return to the Spa this year for the always upbeat Raj and his Agent, Tony Micallef, following his painful 2-year absence because of serious injury.
Earlier in the Meet, By the Moon lost to her former stablemate, Paulassilverlining, who was previously trained by Michelle, in the Grade II Honorable Miss, so it was sweet revenge to beat her former charge, who was privately purchased as a broodmare prospect for Arrogate by Juddmonte Farms, and is currently trained by Chad Brown. Paula came in 5th this day.
Two races after upsetting Songbird aboard Forever Unbridled, Joel Rosario captured his second Grade 1 on the card with Practical Joke in the 7-furlong H. Allen Jerkens, previously The King's Bishop, for Chad Brown.
This long overdue renaming of the King's Bishop, who was a great sprinter for the dearly beloved new namesake, "The Chief", had a loaded field for its inaugural running with the new name. The winner of last year's Grade 1 Hopeful and Grade 1 Champagne as a juvenile, Practical Joke, is now 5 for 5 around one turn, and it's obvious that he's best suited as a sprinter. I'm not sure, however, that he wants any part of last year's winner of the King's Bishop and Breeders Cup Sprint, and the monster who won the next Grade I on Saturday's card in The Forego, at the same 7 furlongs, in Bob Baffert's Drefong.
After the fiasco that was Drefong's dumping of Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the Bing Crosby at Delmar July 29th, the defending BC Sprint Champ was all business, when he dominated the field in The Forego, which included Mind Your Biscuits, and recorded a 107 Beyer.
Biscuits had no business being in the same race with Drefong this day, as his Grade I Dubai Golden Shaheen, and Grade II Belmont Sprint seemed like distant memories.
It was wonderful to see good friends Carole Flanagan and husband Wayne Potter, and Maryrose & Danny Behan, in the Winner's Circle for both The Forego and The Travers. Carole & Wayne had two of Bob Baffert's sons, Canyon and Taylor, as houseguests this weekend, as Carole's niece Kirsten, who works in Washington, DC, is Canyon's girlfriend. It was certainly a thrill for these Saratogians, resplendent as always from head to toe, to stand with Bob Baffert's sons, while their Dad was tending to other horses in Cali at Delmar.
Although Mike Smith started the day off slowly for him, with his 2nd on Songbird, and 3rd on American Anthem behind Practical Joke and Takaful in the H. Allen Jerkens, he began to heat things up with Drefong, and continued his "Big $$ Mike" ways in The Travers. He made it two straight Travers victories for Bob Baffert on horses that did not debut until they were 3-year olds, after last year's record-breaking performance by Arrogate, and with West Coast this year.
The 3-year-old son of Flatter was gunned to the lead in a surprising change of tactics by his Hall of Fame rider, and never looked back, racing to a 108 Beyer, and leaving the wide open 3-year-old division in further disarray with his impressive win. A very game longshot, Gunnevera, placed and paid $18.40, while incredibly, a bet on a Baffert/Smith horse paid $14.20!
After easily defeating every winner of this year's previous big Grade I races in the Travers, one has to wonder if Baffert will bring West Coast back east to race against older males in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Super Saturday at Belmont October 7th, as a victory here could establish him as the clear-cut leader in his divided 3-year-old class heading into the Breeders Cup!
In the $1 Million Grade 1 Sword Dancer preceding The Travers, it was so nice to see Tom Albertrani get off the duck in a big way, with a much-deserved victory for his very talented 4-year-old son of Kitten's Joy, Sadler's Joy, following an up and down year. All the buzz surrounding the Euros, Idaho and Erupt, was much ado about nothing, as Sadler's Joy ran them down from last to first, under a savvy and patient ride by Frenchman Julien Leparoux. After recording a 105 Beyer, while paying $16 for the win, it appears that the equally firm turf at Delmar could bode well for Sadler's Joy's connections.
Saving the best for last, what a joy and thrill it was to see the magnificent performance turned in once again by the beloved Lady Eli. The Queen of the Turf, with her ears flattened and her teeth gritting the bit, while charging to a 103 Beyer, proved with yet another scintillating victory why she will go down in history as one of the best ever! As Chad Brown said following her win in the Grade II Ballston Spa, a race she lost in a heartbreaker at the wire last year after her 14-month layoff battling the often-fatal laminitis, "She's really a horse of a lifetime. Everything's she's overcome...her natural abilities are remarkable...she's just a rare, rare horse!"
While closely following the career of Irad Ortiz, Jr. ever since he arrived from Puerto Rico, I will never forget his first Breeders Cup victory aboard the amazing Lady Eli that Halloween at Santa Anita in 2014, or the great love he has for her and their special bond. "Juni" is the only Jockey Lady Eli has ever known, as he has ridden her from her very first maiden start, here at the Spa in 2014, through her 13th career start here last Saturday. I know that just as I've had tears in my eyes during her last 7 races, that Juni will have tears of his own when his beloved Lady retires, and when she enters the Hall of Fame, too.
As another wonderful season comes to a close, I'm reminded of all the special characters who play such a huge part in making the tradition that is Saratoga so uniquely irresistible, just like the "Boston 8"!
This diverse group of longtime friends, that actually includes two guys from the Bronx, have been renting the same house in Saratoga for 15 years, and proudly hitting Pick 4s with the best of them! Their chance meeting by the Paddock next to the Red Spring many years ago, and the lasting friendships that have evolved, can be directly traced to the inexplicable magnetism that draws so many back to the Spa, year after year!
From Jeff the Lawyer to Rick the Postal Worker, and from Greg the Bookie to Billy the Millionaire, to Steve who's been to 26 Travers, and George who has been bartending for almost half a century, these Beantown natives forged a lasting bond with their Bronx buddies, Sonny and Danny, and it is a thing to behold. Sonny, a 76-year-old retired Italian stallion, made Saratoga his permanent home, and is the official "Table Man" for the crew. He rises every morning at the crack of dawn throughout the Meet to secure their sacred spot on the hallowed grounds of the Spa, and for this alone, he deserves an Eclipse Award of Merit! The Irish charmer, Danny Boy, makes the trek up from his home in Florida, where he's lived since he retired, and every year I look forward to seeing his beautiful smile!
As I struggle to say farewell 'til next July, here's to camaraderie and incomparable horses and racing, and HERE'S TO SARATOGA! 'Til we meet again, my friends, "Same Time, Next Year!"
