Travers Field Taking Shape

Good Samaritan (Harlan's Holiday), runaway winner of Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga, appeared no worse for wear Sunday morning and appears on course to make his next appearance in the GI Travers S. Aug. 26.

“He confirmed our belief that he is a very good horse, probably the best 2-year-old grass horse in the country last year,” Mott said. “We went into this year thinking maybe he was the best grass 3-year-old, now, I guess, his future for the present times will be on the dirt. I was uncertain what was going to happen. I had to wait and see…I don't think anyone knows for sure what was going to happen. You know, if that was the case, he would not have been 8-1. I thought he might be a bigger price than that. He ran well.”

Heading into the Jim Dandy, Good Samaritan started on six occasions-all on the turf-including a pair of victories. Chief among the wins was a come-from-behind score in the GII Summer S. at Woodbine before rounding out the season with a third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita in November. The bay marked his 2017 return with a pair of seconds–the May 6 GII American Turf followed by the GIII Pennine Ridge S. June 3-followed by a fourth most recently in the 10-furlong GI Belmont Derby July 8.

“If we would have had the opportunity, we would have tried the dirt last fall, but he got banged up in the Breeders' Cup and we didn't get the chance,” explained Mott. “I was thinking about bringing him back in the Remsen last fall after the Breeders' Cup, so we could find out. Then he got banged up and we had to give him time and he wasn't ready to go.”

Mossarosa's Giuseppe the Great (Lookin At Lucky), runner up behind Good Samaritan in the Jim Dandy, also appears headed to the 10-furlong Midsummer Derby, according to Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito Sunday.

“The only thing I was a little concerned with is that I removed the blinkers, but it didn't matter.” explained Zito. “He was consistent, and the reason I did that was he was keen leaving the gate. [Jockey] Luis [Saez] did a great job. He was keen when he left the gate. Then, he put him behind horses, but he could've moved forward, so I was happy. One thing is he's a fighter. He will run. He will get the distance. He'll get the mile and a quarter. If he has a couple of great weeks, he's in the Travers. Period.”

Unraced at two, the bay broke his maiden in his third career try at Keeneland in April before finishing second in the seven-furlong GII Woody Stephens at Belmont June 10.

“He's a very intriguing horse,” he added. “[He's run] six, six and a half, seven eighths, a mile, now a mile and an eighth. He's just improving with everything you do. He's very consistent. If you say you're going to be second in the Travers, where do we sign, right?”

Also possible for the Travers four weeks hence is Jim Dandy third-place finisher Always Dreaming (Bodemeister), who exited Saturday's race in good shape, according to trainer Todd Pletcher.

“He was very sound and seemed to be in good order,” said Pletcher of the GI Kentucky Derby winner. Also victorious in the GI Florida Derby in April, the colt was making his first start since finishing eighth in the GI Preakness May 20 at Pimlico.

“He broke brilliantly and was about a half a length in front immediately and kind of took the lead from there,” said Pletcher. “[Rider] Johnny [Velazquez] said even though the fractions were pretty reasonable, he felt like he was just a little bit keen. He hadn't run in over two months and I think that was probably part of it. The racetrack is playing pretty demanding right now, especially in two-turn races, so I think that might have contributed a little bit. I was proud of him from the quarter pole to the wire, he kept digging in and kept fighting and he actually galloped out pretty well back in front after the wire. We'll see how he trains and take it from there.”

Pletcher indicated GI Belmont S. winner and third-place finisher Tapwrit (Tapit) and Patch (Union Rags) are also possible for the Travers. The latter is expected to make his next start in the GIII West Virginia Derby Aug. 5. Rounding out Pletcher's list of Travers hopefuls is Outplay (Bernardini), impressive winner in the July 28 Curlin S. at Saratoga.

“We have some decisions to make and plenty of time to figure it out and see how they're training,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully, we have the same problem four weeks from now.”

According to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, he may take another look at the Travers with  Shadwell Stable's Fayeq (Malibu Moon) following the Jim Dandy's result. The half brother to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro), Fayeq broke his maiden June 11 at Belmont before following up with an easy score at the Spa July 26.

“We are going to look at it,” offered McLaughlin Sunday morning. “We haven't gotten the OK from the boss, but we're sure going to look at it strong.”

In addition to the Jim Dandy's top three finishers, GI Preakness S. winner Cloud Computing (Mclean's Music) finished fourth, beaten 5 ½ lengths.

“The winner was impressive, first time dirt,” said McLaughlin of the Jim dandy winner. “And the other four were within a half a length of each other, so it gives hope to everybody. The Travers might have gone from a nine-horse field to a 14-horse field.”