Travers Stakes (Grade 1)

STEVE Asmussen whirled from a front-row box, threw his hands in the air, hugged his wife and each of his sons, two, three at a time.

“Oh man, that was beautiful,” Asmussen said. “Let’s go paint that canoe, baby.”

The Hall of Fame trainer had just earned his first win in one of the biggest of them all, the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga, as Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Epicenter and jockey Joel Rosario dominated seven rivals in the one-and-a-quarter-mile stakes on August 27th.

The Travers pivots the division; there are the precocious spring stars of the Triple Crown and then there are the established fall stars.

The Travers see-saws those two, win it and you’re looking at the older horse division and Horse of the Year possibilities. Lose it and you’re relegated to the confines of the three-year-old class. As a bonus, yeah, your silks get painted on the Travers Canoe in the infield lake at the greatest of them all.

Epicenter did all that with a facile win in the $1.25 million stakes, storming to a five-and-a-quarter-length win over Haskell winner Cyberknife, Blue Grass winner Zandon and Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike.

And, no, they didn’t allow Asmussen to roll maroon and white paint on the floating icon.

Confidence

“Talent to confidence, that’s the difference between him from the spring to the Jim Dandy. Talent became confidence,” Asmussen said. “His ability. His ability. ‘I can do this. I can do this.’ What you’re trying to create with him and with Joel is wherever you’re at is exactly the pace you ought to be at. I’ve always thought races are from Point A to Point B.

“If you can keep your breathing and your rhythm. We train for the middle of a race, covering ground, taking as little energy out of you as possible and getting there, whether it’s in front or behind.”

In 10 starts, Epicenter has won from the front, from a stalking spot, from midpack and from last. Since a sixth on his debut at Churchill Downs in September, the $260,000 yearling has won or finished second in every start.

He’s two lengths and a head from being nine-for-nine in that skein.

Most importantly, Epicenter provided Asmussen and owner Ron Winchell with their first Travers win after finishing third with Gun Runner in 2016 and second with Midnight Bourbon last year. The win also helped ease the pain of two gallant tries by Epicenter in Triple Crown races this spring.

“It’s good redemption on finishing second in the Derby and the Preakness and running second last year. It hurts when you run second and you lose by a neck,” Winchell said.

Try harder

“Losing makes you want to try harder. Try harder. Find the next one. I don’t know if I learned it, it’s just the way it is, it’s in your blood.

“You’re not going to win them all, when you lose a big one, you just want to come back for the next one and try harder.”

It wasn’t certain if Winchell was speaking for himself, a dedicated owner who plays the long game or his horse, a hard-trying colt who shrugged off tough losses in the Derby and the Preakness to reclaim his perch at the top of the division. Asmussen knew it was both.

“Ron’s done it. The consistency of his plan, the direction and attitude is second to none. Never wavers. Emotionally, I’m all over the map.

“He is steady as a rock, follows the plan, stays in the plan,” Asmussen said.

“My confidence in Epicenter was the same as it was in Jackie, in all of them. We love who we have and we always believe they’re going to get it done.

“We’re always like that. He ran so hard and he got it done.”