Pletcher to have no horses in the Travers

[Merlinsky]

It just sort of sounds like everyone's playing the 'avoid Street Sense until the Breeders' Cup' game. I mean everyone with SS is obviously not afraid to enter him in the races they wanted to enter him in regardless of who else is there and originally there was buzz of SS, Curlin, and Rags all going--an amazing prospect that will clearly be denied us--now even AGS has pulled back. I don't think it's that Carl's just old school and wants the Travers when nobody else does. I think the others don't wanna have to mess with SS until they have to and why bother if there's a G1 somewhere else to run in or a fat check in a stakes at another. Even if they had the horse to get the Travers over SS now, they might get knocked out so badly it messes them up for the bigger prize.

I'm sure things can change in the division as the fall approaches and horses mature but I'm not so sure Todd wouldn't be going if there were no SS or Curlin and come to think of it, I don't think he'd send AGS. He'd go with Rags if it came up that light. A Belmont/Travers double would be too much for them to resist if the right situation came up. Of course she's not ready for the likes of Street Sense now and apparently wouldn't have been back in June either according to Todd's late decision to go to the Belmont.

[Danzig]

ahem...i told you so.

no reason he couldn't run in the travers with ags, certainly a tough race wouldn't hinder him in the bcc several months later. but, who am i to say.

oh, and great idea about moving the races to belmont there cannon. no doubt todd would appreciate that. hey, why not have todd in on the race scheduling, then he could map out the entire year to his benefit...

[boswd]

yeah you don't get that unbeatable feel with Street Sense, yes he's a fantastic horse but not like what you felt with Point Given or a Bernardini last year. I don't think they are in fear of Street Sense.


It's time for The Travers to adapt to this new day of age. It's time to either increase the purse in the Jim Dandy to lure horses away from The Haskell or move The Travers to the last weekend. The BC has just taken over and no one cares anymore about the prestige of these races. They want 4 to 6 weeks between races and if The Travers doesnt' adapt it's only going to get worse. The Haskell has caught up in a big way and for the past few years has had better fields.

Now Zito isn't 100% about CP West, says it's a maybe now. This is going to be a huge bust for Travers Day. Well they only thing we can do is enjoy the public workout from Street Sense.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

We saw a public workout from Bernardini last year. No one seemed to care. The fans will come out to see Street Sense, I have no doubt there.

Here's my issue. Pletcher was one of the big supporters of moving the Jim Dandy back a week to give more time in between that race and the Travers. So NYRA does it. He runs Cowtown Cat, his 5th string maybe and runs his #1 in the Haskell. Okay, and now he is skipping the Travers because it doesn't fit. Please. I think if anything increase the purse of the Travers. Make it 1.5 million, because really, it's all about money.

Like I said earlier they might not be scared, but they are in no big hurry to face him.

l like the idea of raising the purse of either the Jim Dandy to $750,00 or The Travers to $1,500,000. If the Travers had that purse all of a sudden that 3 weeks wouldn't seem so short.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by boswd

l like the idea of raising the purse of either the Jim Dandy to $750,00 or The Travers to $1,500,000. If the Travers had that purse all of a sudden that 3 weeks wouldn't seem so short.

What about an appearance fee? $100,000 to the winner of the Dandy for running in the Travers and $200,000 to the winner of the Haskell for running in the Travers. That way they wouldn't get totally burnt with paying out an extra $500,000 in purse money and still not drawing the winner of the Haskell.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

It's not a bad idea, but it rubs me the wrong way. Now we pay these connections just to run? I'm not slamming the idea, I'm just sick of the state of this game right now.

Ditto

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

It's not a bad idea, but it rubs me the wrong way. Now we pay these connections just to run? I'm not slamming the idea, I'm just sick of the state of this game right now.

Yeah, it doesn't thrill me either. Just makes more financial sense than throwing an extra $500,000 into the purse without having any idea if it will impact the field.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Oh, I think that if I weren't driving that wagon, I was certainly riding shotgun. Mostly, I thought it wrongheaded to consider the Travers more important than the Belmont. I'm not rehashing.

Interesting to read one of the above posts that states that the Travers is becoming an afterthought in light of the narrow, narrow focus trainers and owners place on the Breeders' Cup.

Round and round we go.

Yup besides the Triple Crown every race is now a prep race and with every honky tonk track waving a million plus dollars the options are wide open. Just look at the JCGC last year, arguably THE most prestigious handicap race, had 4 entries, We might see the same for The Travers this year But hey the following week I bet we see 10 for the PA Derby. It's disgusting.
Time to suck it up swallow the pride and be proactive, If NYRA or whoever thinks the The Travers is still going to attract all the top 3 yr olds based on its name and reputation, is making a huge mistake.
In fact the past few years The Whitney has been a much much better race competitve wise in terms of the Big races for The Saratog Meet.
Times have changed and it's time to adapt.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

I really don't want to rehash either, but I don't believe it was putting more importance on one race or the other. Nafzger had always said the Derby was the goal. After that there was no script.

So I ask, is the Brooklyn, or whatever race Pletcher is aiming AGS for more important than the Travers?

Doesnt' matter after the TC races prestige is being thrown out the window. Now all the trainers want is the easiest route to BC. I love and HATE the Breeders Cup.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

So I ask, is the Brooklyn, or whatever race Pletcher is aiming AGS for more important than the Travers?

Nope, he's blatantly said that he simply feels the Brooklyn fits better with the BC goal. He said the same thing with Rags, that she would be ready to go in the Alabama but he would rather just have one prep going into the BC. His emphasis (along with others) on bringing "fresh" horses into the BC is really ruining the fall racing calendar. I hope it backfires and he gets shut out at the BC again. This sport desperately needs a points system to stop this "BC or bust" mentality.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

Nope, he's blatantly said that he simply feels the Brooklyn fits better with the BC goal. He said the same thing with Rags, that she would be ready to go in the Alabama but he would rather just have one prep going into the BC. His emphasis (along with others) on bringing "fresh" horses into the BC is really ruining the fall racing calendar. I hope it backfires and he gets shut out at the BC again. This sport desperately needs a points system to stop this "BC or bust" mentality.

going with a winning formula, no doubt trying to duplicate his success in the bc races last year.

[outofthebox]

Scrap the Jim Dandy. Have Monmouth move up the Haskell a week or even two weekends. Then there should be no excuse about not showing up for the "midsummer" Derby...

[The Indomitable DrugS]

That idea would make both big 3-year-old races better.....

With that said, it will never happen.

[my miss storm cat]

Travers update.....

DRF...

Travers gets Tiz Wonderful instead of Curlin
By DAVID GRENING
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Steve Asmussen said he was never planning to run Curlin in the Travers. But on Monday, he removed all doubt saying that the Preakness winner will make his next start in the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont on Sept. 30.

After watching Tiz Wonderful breeze six furlongs in 1:14.22 Monday morning, Asmussen said that horse would run in the Travers.

Asmussen is of the belief that Saratoga's main track does not fit Curlin's style. Also, after running Curlin in all three Triple Crown races, he doesn't want to overrace him in the second half of the year. He chose to run Curlin in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth - where he finished third behind Any Given Saturday - because that's where the Breeders' Cup Classic will be run on Oct. 27. In his one start at Belmont, Curlin was beaten a head by Rags to Riches in the Belmont Stakes.

"The reason the Jockey Club is a lot more attractive to me than the Travers is how well he ran at Belmont,'' Asmussen said Monday morning. "Even without having success, the fact that he ran well over it, he came out of it good and he hasn't run at Saratoga, which isn't exactly kind to most racehorses. I've had horses run down up here that have run several times and never run down, and horses that have bled up here that don't even work on Lasix. That's not an area I'm looking to go into with what I have planned for him at the end of the year.''

Asmussen said Curlin was expected to return to the work tab this week.

Meanwhile, Asmussen was very happy with what he saw from Tiz Wonderful on Monday. Over the Oklahoma training track, Tiz Wonderful came home his last quarter in 23.79 seconds during his six-furlong workout.

"He was sharp and fast; came home beautifully,'' Asmussen said.

Tiz Wonderful suffered his first defeat when he finished last in the Jim Dandy here July 29. He had won all three of his starts at 2, but was sidelined earlier this year with a tendon injury. In the Jim Dandy, he was a bit rank early, throwing his head up in the air three times in the first quarter-mile. He was in the race till the quarter pole when he began to back up.

"He got all wound up before the race," Asmussen said. "C P West broke great and kind of into him, hit his ass, and his head came up a couple of times. None of it was right, but he needed it badly. He came out of it a little feet sensitive and a little body sore, but he worked right on out of it.''

A total of 24 horses were nominated to the Travers. As of Monday, those expected to run included Street Sense, C P West, Sightseeing, Loose Leaf, and Tiz Wonderful. Todd Pletcher nominated seven horses to the Travers, though has said it is "doubtful'' he would run anything.

[ArlJim78]

its not about which race is more important than another, or being somehow afraid of Street Sense. I'm pretty sure he is simply looking for the best timing to lead up to the BC. AGS ran with Street Sense way back at Tampa, and has improved a bunch since that time. my guess is that right at this moment Pletcher feels confident he has the better horse.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

So wouldn't the time to strike be now then?

no, not if you think the timing of the race if wrong, and/or if AGS has not bounced back fully from the last race. perhaps he feels that another big effort right now will leave AGS out of position to recover and peak on the day he wants, BC day. getting a win in the travers would be great but if it comes at the expense of having his horse ready for the classic maybe thats not a risk he wants to take.

i don't know, I'm just trying to put myself in his shoes and try to imagine why he is skipping the travers. if the travers was the endgame he would run.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

no, not if you think the timing of the race if wrong, and/or if AGS has not bounced back fully from the last race. perhaps he feels that another big effort right now will leave AGS out of position to recover and peak on the day he wants, BC day. getting a win in the travers would be great but if it comes at the expense of having his horse ready for the classic maybe thats not a risk he wants to take.

i don't know, I'm just trying to put myself in his shoes and try to imagine why he is skipping the travers. if the travers was the endgame he would run.

The problem is too many people are taking the attitude that running 2nd in the Travers is worse than skipping the Travers altogether. Everyone is way too afraid to lose with their stallion prospects.

[Sightseek]

Just a month or so ago, it looked like the Travers could be loaded...now it's the Jim Dandy all over again.

I like Street Sense, but there are just too many options for horses to be able to duck one another now.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

Just a month or so ago, it looked like the Travers could be loaded...now it's the Jim Dandy all over again.

I like Street Sense, but there are just too many options for horses to be able to duck one another now.

The options are the same but nowdays the elite choose not to participate. Though the "he may bleed" excuse was original. It is funny how the media portrayed the Curlin connections to be such sportsmen for running in the Belmont. Now we dont want to overrace him has led to conceding the Travers to Street Sense. Pipe up now Bill Finley. Or are you too busy spending your blood money from the TRF?

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

The options are the same but nowdays the elite choose not to participate. Though the "he may bleed" excuse was original. It is funny how the media portrayed the Curlin connections to be such sportsmen for running in the Belmont. Now we dont want to overrace him has led to conceding the Travers to Street Sense. Pipe up now Bill Finley. Or are you too busy spending your blood money from the TRF?

I was thinking the same about their 'sporting' behavior...I guess since half the ownership isn't available for bail anyway they don't need the money.