DraftKings Travers Stakes (Grade 1)

THE 2024 Travers Stakes was the much anticipated race that rolled back the years to a more enthusiastic period in American racing. Fourteen years ago, it was two fillies who fought out the Horse of the Year awards and last Saturday’s contest put a filly centre stage again.

Thorpedo Anna failed to make it four Grade 1s in a row and match those female greats but she went down fighting, emerging with as much credit as the winning colt, Fierceness, with whom she was given the same Beyer Speed Figure of 111.

The 2023 two-year-old champion, Fierceness had been accused of being unable to put together two good performances in a row. But Todd Pletcher’s colt moved himself back to the top of the division with this victory.

In an electrifying stretch battle with Thorpedo Anna, Fierceness held her off in the final strides to win the $1.25 million Travers Stakes by a head in a time of in 2m 01.79secs for the 10 furlongs.

Owned and bred by Mike Repole, the son of City Of Light recorded back-to-back wins for the first time in eight career starts.

Pretty special

“This is the best three-year-old in the country right now. I don’t think anyone can deny it. He’s pretty special and he’s going to be pretty tough in the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” Repole said afterwards.

Favourite in the Kentucky Derby off a 13 and a half-length win in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, drawn wide, he never figured there, finishing 15th, but had stepped up with a length win in a high-class Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, beating Sierra Leone.

Surprisingly, it was the latter, beaten a nose in the Kentucky Derby but winless since the Blue Grass in May, who started favourite on Saturday as Fierceness drifted out in the betting.

The early pace was expected to be lively and Thorpedo Anna broke well from stall one and settled off the pace as Batten Down made the running. But the fractions were not as fast as expected in 48.10secs for a half mile and 1m11.62secs for the mile. Belmont and Haskell Stakes winner Dornoch raced second with Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna vying for third and Sierra Leone sixth in the field of eight.

On the final turn, Batten Down and surprisingly, Dornoch, tired. Fierceness swept past them on the outside into the straight and led by a length with two furlongs to go.

It looked as though Fierceness had it wrapped up for a convincing win as he led by two lengths at the furlong pole, but Thorpedo Anna, switched out from the rail to challenge, really hit her stride and made for a dramatic finish with a final charge that fell just short.

“Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna in an absolutely dramatic conclusion,” called the commentator, “The champ is back!“ as the colt just held the filly’s run.

“He kind of waited at the eighth pole. I had to get after him when the filly started coming. I was very proud of him, because when it was time to fight, he put in a really good fight,” jockey John Velazquez said.

Thorpedo Anna was a length and three-quarters ahead of Sierra Leone, who again made some late ground but his image of the season is the late unavailing challenge and covered in dirt. He has now finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Jim Dandy and third in the Belmont and Travers. Dornoch was the disappointment, finding none of his fighting spirit and was another six and a half lengths back in fourth.

Pletcher, who was training his 200th Grade 1 win, said: “I was amazed the day after the Jim Dandy. When he came out, he was full of himself. Everything was giving me confidence to run him back in four weeks.

“For whatever reason, the Derby was really hard on him. We worked him one time and he was not himself.”

For a few strides, it appeared that jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and Thorpedo Anna were going to catch Fierceness.

“We just got nosed out. She ran a fantastic race. She ran a winning race. I am very proud of her,” said trainer Kenny McPeek.

McPeek plans to run the filly in the $1 million Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing in mid-September before the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Fierceness is likely to now be trained for the Breeders’ Cup, meaning both the top three-year-olds on each side of the Atlantic are absent from the track until November.

The attendance on Travers Day was 47,844 and all-sources handle was a record $63 million.

Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Stakes (Grade 1)

THE Grade 1 on the turf, the Sword Dancer, provided a surprise win with the two Godolphin runners Measured Time and Silver Knott heading the market, but neither could get to grips on this occasion with the Christophe Clement-trained Far Bridge.

Under Joel Rosario, the four-year-old was pressed under two out by the two Godolphin runners but, ridden and kicked over a length clear and though pressed again entering final furlong, he stayed on best under pressure to hold a length advantage at the line.

This was a change in run style, when he won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes last season, it had been with a late run from the back.

It was a return to that form from last season, he had been well beaten behind Mearured Time and Nations Pride in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes here in June and down the field in the Grade 2 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park in July.

Ballerina Stakes (Grade 1)

THE Peter E Blum Thoroughbreds-owned and bred Society always promised a big win and got her day again when betting the two more favoured fillies in the Grade 1 Ballerina over seven furlongs.

Without a big win since the 2022 Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx, where she had Secret Oath back in third, this was only her second start since last year’s Breeders’ Cup and she had been beaten by Vahva last time.

The daughter of Gun Runner sat off the leader Munny’s Gold up the backstretch, sailing past her rival heading into the far turn and hitting the lead as she hit the quarter pole.

Vahva, another Gun Runner filly, was the short-priced favourite of two wins and a Churchill Downs Grade 1.

Vahva and Scylla sat three lengths off the lead and came at the leader in the straight but Society had too much for them and she never looked like being overhauled. Scylla took second from Vahva.

“We wanted the Breeders’ Cup to be her third race, and we planned her schedule with these three races in mind,” the winner’s trainer Steve Asmussen said.

Forego Stakes (Grade 1)

H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (Grade 1)

THERE were two seven furlongs Grade 1 dirt contests on the card, for older horses and for three-year-olds. In the Forego, for older horses, the four-year-old Violence colt Mullikin gave trainer Rodolphe Brisset is first Grade 1 winner, in the colours of WinStar Farm and Siena Farm (who also won Canada’s King’s Plate).

The four-year-old sprinter improved to four wins in 2024 with a gate-to-wire, five and three quarter-length romp from Gun Pilot second.

Flavien Prat was aboard the winner, who set fractions of 22.46secs and 44.88secs for a half mile, finishing seven furlongs in 1m21.75secs on the fast track.

“He broke like a rocket; everything went our way, and he was pretty impressive,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset said as Prat added: “I thought last time was good, but today was something else.”

Classy field

The Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes for three-year-olds had a classy looking field, Book’em Danno, Prince Of Monaco, Timberlake were Grade 1 winners and with some colts dropping back in distance to the seven furlongs from the classic campaign earlier in the season. One such colt was Klaravich Stables’ Domestic Product who had finished 13th in the Kentucky Derby.

World Record led through early fractions of 22.04secs and 44.28secs. Bob Baffert’s Prince Of Monaco nabbed the front-runner at the two furlong mark but favourite Book’em Danno was coming up to his inside while Flavien Prat had Domestic Product coming from off the pace and the pair came on the outside turning for home.

Domestic Product got it by a neck, stopping the clock in 1m21.71secs, a shade faster than the older horses ran on a fast main track. Favourite Prince Of Monaco was a length ahead of Book’em Danno in third. The winner is a homebred by Klaravich by Practical Joke who had also won this in 2017.

At Del Mar, the feature was the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien Stakes, reduced to a Grade 2 this year. It proved a shock result when the winning run of The Chosen Vron came to an end when he went down by neck to the Doug O’Neill-trained three-year-old Raging Torrent.

The race also contained Senor Buscador, making his first start since winning the Saudi Cup, but he only managed fourth.

Raging Torrent and Antonio Fresu made most and when the favourite came at him on the bend, he fought back valiantly, head and head to the wire, with Raging Torrent edging The Chosen Vron by a neck.

Saratoga Friday

The top Juddmonte filly Idiomatic survived a pace battle with her old rival Randomized and seemed on her way to another victory in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Friday at Saratoga. But she had used too much energy to do it and despite fighting valiantly to the line, she was touched-off in the last strides by a late-charging Raging Sea and Flavien Prat, who captured her first Grade 1 stakes win for Chad Brown by a head. It was over 10 lengths back to the third.

King’s Plate

At Woodbine, the delayed $1 million King’s Plate was run last Friday and victory went to a filly, Caitlinhergrtness. The Kevin Attard-trained daughter of Omaha Beach, held off My Boy Prince by three-quarters of a length to make it a second win in three years for a filly.