Can Travers 2018 favorite Good Magic regain the mantle?

For the first time in the history of American racing, a horse has retired as an undefeated Triple Crown winner. The void left behind the early departure of Justify has been partially filled in recent weeks by big performances from the likes of Accelerate, Diversify, and Monomoy Girl, but now it is time for a horse from his own division to grab the baton and run. Enter Good Magic.

Saturday's Travers Stakes represents the opportunity for the biggest win of his career, and that's saying something considering that he is already a Breeders' Cup winner. Yes, we've known about the 3-year-old son of Curlin for some time. After all, he was able to finish runner-up in the Grade 1 Champagne in only his second career start, before romping home in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. That lone victory at 2 was enough to push him over the top in the voting as a champion. Still, the colt's 3-year-old season is what he'll be most judged on, and few races carry more importance than the "Mid-Summer Derby."

This season, the Chad Brown trainee has been quietly effective, but has fallen short of spectacular. That particular adjective can only be used to describe the remarkable season of Justify. A winner of two of five starts in 2018, Good Magic was not quite good enough to derail the shooting star that was the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes winner. On the other hand, he was far from embarrassed.

Owned by e Five Racing and Stonestreet Stables, Good Magic gave it his all in the first two legs of the Triple Crown. He was the one who asked Justify for his best at the top of the Churchill Downs stretch, and he was also the one who tested the unbeaten star nearly every step of the way in Baltimore. Second in the Run for the Roses, Good Magic was also arguably second best in the Preakness, even though he didn't get the placing.

To the winner go the spoils. Justify earned his spot as the headliner, while his competition, including the champion, Good Magic, became little more than bit players in a one man show. But then the retirement came, and suddenly the division was open again, ready for a supporting character to step up into the spotlight.

In truth, Good Magic never should have been too far from the spotlight. The decisive winner of the Blue Grass Stakes (G2) took his first step back toward center stage with a strong win in the Haskell Invitational (G1) last month at Monmouth Park. It was a deserving victory for a horse who has always been top class. It was also a win that demonstrated that he has not lost a step after his battles with Justify.

A big race in its own right, the Haskell was only step one for Good Magic. Taking complete control of the big race coming out of the turn reminded us all what kind of horse the Kentucky Derby runner-up is, and still can be. The Travers, though, and then later this year, the Breeders' Cup Classic, are the races that could really make his career.

The Travers will be a test, though, and it's anything but a one-horse race for Good Magic. Beaten (when second to Justify in the Kentucky Derby) in his only previous try at 1 1/4 miles, the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin still needs to prove that he can win at the classic distance. Ten furlongs at Saratoga is always a challenge, and so will be an eclectic field of challengers he will face in the $1.25 million dollar race.

His job became a little easier with Sunday's defection of Hofburg, who likely would have been the second choice in the Travers before he was sidelined by a fever. Still, Saturday's big one will have no shortage of interesting contenders.

Perhaps the most dangerous threat to Good Magic in his quest to regain his spot atop the division comes from within his own stable. Chad Brown is the man at the Spa, so it seems only fitting that he comes to the meet's biggest race with a pair of aces up his sleeve. The European import Gronkowski has made only one start in the United States so far, but it was a strong one as he ran up the rail to finish a closing second behind Justify in the Belmont Stakes. A similar type of performance in the Travers would make him very dangerous.

In addition to his stablemate, Good Magic will also tangle with a strong pair of colts who share his sire. In the Jim Dandy, the local prep for the Travers, two offspring of Curlin proved their readiness and ability to handle the main track at Saratoga. Tenfold, the Jim Dandy winner, and Vino Rosso, who previously accounted for the Wood Memorial, closed well. Both have the ability to make it a huge afternoon for the Hill 'n Dale sire.

And, of course, we cannot forget about the filly. A runner-up in the Kentucky Oaks, Wonder Gadot has turned things up a notch in her last two starts. Armed with blinkers and added distance, the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro made the first two legs of Canada's Triple Crown look way too easy. She'll be moving up in class again for the Travers, but is clearly a filly of high class.

Then you have Catholic Boy. A graded stakes winner on dirt, the son of More Than Ready has shined on the grass in his last two starts, winning both the Pennine Ridge (G3) and the rich Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) with a ferocious desire for the wire. His ability to perform as well on the dirt is in question, but his will to win at 10 furlongs is not. 

Finally, Bravazo also deserves consideration. He could not handle Good Magic in the Haskell, but he did finish the nine-furlong test well. The only horse other than Justify to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown, he seems to have a lot in common with the Travers winner of five years ago, Will Take Charge.

Both trained by the master, D. Wayne Lukas, Bravazo looks to be coming up to the race in fine fettle after his Triple Crown campaign, just like Will Take Charge did in 2013. And, in fact, with his strong second in the Preakness, this son of Awesome Again was a bigger factor in the spring classics than the most recent winner of the Travers was for the Hall of Fame trainer.

A legitimate test to be sure, but also an opportunity. Good Magic lost the mantle of best horse of his crop to an absolute star in Justify. With that one now retired, Good Magic has returned to center stage. The Travers is an ideal opportunity for him to once again prove why he's a champion.