Catholic Boy turns in 'maintenance work' ahead of 2018 Travers

With four graded stakes wins on his resume and more than $1 million in his bankroll, Robert LaPenta's Catholic Boy is shaping up as one of the more intriguing contenders in what looks to be a wide-open Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

The son of More Than Ready turned in his final move on Sunday morning after the renovation break on the main track for the 1 ¼-mile race at the Spa, cruising a half-mile in 49.44 seconds, with NYRA clockers catching the gallop-out in 1:02 3/5 under Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano.

"I liked the way he worked today," said Castellano, who holds the record for most Travers wins by a jockey with five, including Bernardini (2006), Afleet Alex (2010), Stay Thirsty (2011), V. E. Day (2014), and Keen Ice (2015). "He's happy. It was just a maintenance work. We're not looking for a fancy work. Our target is next week. Two weeks before we had a real solid work. Today we were looking for something just to stretch him out before the race."

Catholic Boy had three previous works over the main track, breezing a half-mile on July 29 in :48.68, five furlongs in a bullet :59.66 on August 6, and a half in :48.59 on August 13.

"We were doing it more for us than him," said trainer Jonathan Thomas. "I asked Javier to let him gallop out a little piece, and he jumped right onto the bridle and showed he was there for him, and then he slowed him down a little to show he was there. It wasn't exciting, but we weren't looking for exciting."

Catholic Boy, who won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge and the Grade 3 With Anticipation on the turf, has made three starts on dirt, winning the Grade 3 Remsen as a 2-year-old and finishing second in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs and fourth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

"Initially we ran him on the turf because it was the only opportunity to run him around two turns," said Thomas. "After the Breeders' Cup [fourth in the Juvenile Turf], there was nothing of note left on the turf. We thought it was a great time to try the dirt and he handled it great in the Remsen. Things didn't work out in the Sam Davis and he [bled] in the Florida Derby, so you have to draw a line through that."

This will be the first Travers starter for Thomas, 38, who was an assistant to Todd Pletcher before going out on his own.

"We bought this horse as a yearling, broke him, so he's got a special place on our team," he said. "He's a 3-year-old, but we have people who've literally been around him for 2 ½ years. Win, lose, or draw, we've very proud of him and what he means to us."