Bravazo's Travers 2018 start marks milestone for Lukas

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will hit a milestone on Saturday when Bravazo becomes his 20th horse to compete in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes.

Through the Triple Crown trail and beyond, Bravazo has remained sound through his 12 career starts. The Awesome Again colt - the only active 3-year-old to have started in all three legs of the Triple Crown - will make his sixth Grade 1 appearance on Saturday.

The 82-year-old Lukas has been impressed with his colt's physical and mental demeanor.

"Well, if you go back in history books and look at Sunny [Jim] Fitzsimmons, and Max Hirsch, and those people, what I do with my horses, and what [trainer Bob] Baffert does with his, it's common practice," Lukas said. "These things are bred to run. I mean the soundness issue is one thing, they have to be [sound]. Another really little-known fact is that we did a complete 100 percent ear-to-tail physical on [Bravazo] after the Triple Crown, and he was perfect. So, we were able to push right on to these next [races]."

Of the 4,807 lifetime victories that Lukas has enjoyed, nine of those were tallied by 1995 Travers winner and Eclipse Award Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Thunder Gulch, who rattled off seven wins from 10 starts at three.

Although Bravazo's lone graded stakes victory came in the Grade 2 Risen Star on February 17 at Fair Grounds Race Course, his ability to make it to the gate impresses Lukas, and reminds him of his former champ.

"The last one I did with that with was Thunder Gulch," he said. "That was an amazing run. The Fountain of Youth, the Florida Derby, win both, then run in the Blue Grass, [he] didn't win it, but won the Derby, then third in the Preakness, won the Belmont, goes to California, wins the Swaps, wins the Travers. Nobody even thinks about doing that.

"[Bravazo] had two or three strong preps then the Triple Crown, Haskell and now this. All bases go like planned here, he'll be in the Pennsylvania Derby, too. go to Kentucky, and then I'll follow him up myself."

Bravazo is a dark horse among the field of 11 set to run in the 149th running of the Travers. At 12-1 on the morning line, Bravazo has the chance to pull off an upset at Saratoga, known as the Graveyard of Favorites.

The Wisconsin-born Lukas thrives at the challenge, playing the spoiler twice before. He won with Corporate Report ($16.60) in 1991, beating Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner and eventual Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Hansel by a neck. Twenty-two years later, Lukas sent out Will Take Charge ($21.20) to a nose victory over Moreno in the 2013 Travers.

Jockey Luis Saez, who rode Will Take Charge to that closing finish, will be aboard Bravazo.

"Luis, I think is getting a little better feel for what he can do with him, and what he can't do with him, that's probably a better way to put it," said Lukas. "Like [retired NCAA basketball coach] Bob Knight said, 'It's always more important knowing what you can't do than knowing what you can do.'

"In the Haskell we shouldn't have let [Good Magic] get the first run. I'm not being overly critical, I just told Luis, you have one horse you had to worry about. In this race you've got to worry about five or six or seven. In the Haskell I felt comfortable that it was going to get down to [Bravazo and Good Magic]. [Good Magic] got the first run off the turn, and you've got to work for position. I'd rather go head to head with him at the eighth pole and let him beat us."