Photo by Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher
Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, seeking his six consecutive grade I victory, has drawn post position two in a field of ten for the $1,600,000 Travers Stakes (gr. I) on August 29th at Saratoga.
Trained by Bob Baffert, the son of Pioneerof the Nile most recently scored an incredibly easy win in the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) on August 2nd, winning by 2 1/4 lengths while eased up at the finish. Thanks to his impressive string of dominating victories, he has been made the 1-5 morning line favorite for the Travers, with Wood Memorial (gr. I) winner Frosted the second choice at 6-1. Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner Texas Red, coming off a win in the Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) at Saratoga, is the third choice at 8-1.
Upstart, who finished third in the Haskell Invitational, has been entered in the Travers but is not expected to run unless American Pharoah scratches.
The complete entries for the Travers are as follows:
Travers Stakes (gr. I)
PP, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Morning Line Odds
1 Upstart, Irad Ortiz Jr., Richard Violette Jr., 15-1
2 American Pharoah, Victor Espinoza, Bob Baffert, 1-5
3 Mid Ocean, Manny Franco, George Weaver, 50-1
4 Texas Red, Kent Desormeaux, Keith Desormeaux, 8-1
5 Frammento, Jose Ortiz, Nick Zito, 30-1
6 Frosted, Joel Rosario, Kiaran McLaughlin, 6-1
7 Keen Ice, Javier Castellano, Dale Romans, 12-1
8 Tale of Verve, Gary Stevens, Dallas Stewart, 30-1
9 King of New York, Julien Leparoux, Kenny McPeek, 50-1
10 Smart Transition, John Velazquez, John Shirreffs, 20-1
