Travers Stakes Day: The Stars Will Come Out to Shine

The Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes is clearly the headliner of the day, but sleeping on the supporting card Saturday afternoon at Saratoga would be a big mistake. While this year's Mid-Summer Derby features a deep field of sophomore males looking to stake their claim for a championship, it will be the other races on the card which bring out the even bigger stars. Champions and fan favorites litter the Travers Day card, none of whom are more noteworthy than a winner of 13-of-14 lifetime. 

Songbird is the current Queen of American Racing, but after after a 'tougher than it should have been' victory last time in the Delaware Handicap, the two-time champion daughter of Medaglia d'Oro will once again be out to prove her greatness in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign. The Fox Hill Farm star knows this track, and has not disappointed in past visitis. She has twice before run at Saratoga, and both times she came home a powerful winner of Grade 1 races.

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Both of those starts came last summer, when she snatched the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama trophies in breathtaking style. This Grade 1 might not come as easy for the now four-year-old future Hall of Famer, though. That's because of the presence of another of the top older females in the land, Forever Unbridled. The daughter of a Kentucky Oaks winner, and granddaughter of a Kentucky Derby winner, came up a little short in this race last year, but she has only gotten better since.

Like Songbird, she has not lost yet this year, although for the five-year-old mare, it's only been one start so far in 2017. That lone race was a strong victory at Churchill Downs in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis in June. Songbird will likely have the tactical advantage in Saturday's showdown, but Forever Unbridled seems to be thriving this summer, and should be ready to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the favorite.

Despite neither winning that day, let's not forget just how well both Songbird and Forever Unbridled performed in a classic edition of the Breeders' Cup Distaff last fall.

If Songbird is queen, than Lady Eli is racing's darling. Much like what Songbird has done on dirt, this pretty daughter of Divine Park has captured the imaginations of racing fans with sustained excellence on the turf. About one-length total from being undefeated in 12 starts, the Chad Brown trainee will put a two-race winning streak on the line in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa.

An undefeated and untested Breeders' Cup winner before being struck down by laminitis, Lady Eli not only battled for her life to overcome the killer disease, but she has returned to become as good as any turf horse based in the United States. After a pair of razor thin defeats to close 2016, and to begin this year, the five-year-old mare has thrilled fans with back-to-back, hard-fought victories in Grade 1 races on both coasts.

It was announced this week that the excellent turf mare will be up for auction after the Breeders' Cup this year, meaning this will likely be her swan song at the Spa. Hopefully, she will go out on a similar high note that she found while fighting it out all the way to the wire, in adding another Grade 1 victory to her resume, last time in the Diana.

Drefong has only had one race this year, and it was weird. Dropping Hall of Fame rider, Mike Smith, soon after the start, the Champion Sprinter of 2016 proceeded to battle it out all the wire, while riderless in the recent Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar. After that strange seasonal debut, the speedy son of Gio Ponti will return to the site of one of his biggest victories.

His win in the King's Bishop last year legitimized his claim as the best sprinter in the land, which, of course, was proven one start later when he rolled home a winner of the Breeders' Cup Sprint. The bizarre beginning to his four-year-old season should have him tightened and ready to roll in his return to Saratoga, but Saturday's Grade 1 Forego does not figure to be easy.

While Drefong was best last year, a familiar foe, Mind Your Biscuits, has moved to the head of the class in 2017. The New York-bred has continued to run big on both coasts, as well as Dubai, since last year's numero uno got the best of him in two big races in 2016. Ready for a rematch, the challenger should give the champ all he wants in a strong edition of the Forego.

Practical Joke may not be able to get over the hump against the very best around two-turns, but there can be little doubt that the two-time Grade 1 winner is oozing with class. He has yet to be beaten in four starts around one-turn, but Saturday's Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (formerly the King's Bishop) promises to be his toughest sprint yet.

Seven furlongs should be right up his alley, though, as the son of Into Mischief loves to rally into a race with some pace. The winner of the Hopeful, at Saratoga, and the Champagne and Dwyer at Belmont Park, has been tough in several big, longer races this year, including the Kentucky Derby and Haskell, but back around one-turn, he should be ready to return to his winning ways.

If he is to prove himself as the top one-turn sophomore in the country, it will come at the direct expense of a very talented field, which also includes the likes of American Anthem, Coal Front, and Takaful.

And that's not all ... How about we throw in the top female sprinter in the nation, Paulassilverlining, as she puts her winning streak on the line in the Grade 1 Ballerina, or Group 1 winners from Europe, Idaho and Erupt, who will look to make a name for themselves in America with a win in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. Top to bottom, a race card just doesn't get much better than Saturday at Saratoga. Enjoy it, racefans!