Game Winner 'popped a little temp,' to miss Travers Stakes

Trainer Bob Baffert said Thursday that Game Winner, the reigning champion 2-year-old who won the Los Alamitos Derby (G3) in his most-recent start, will miss the Aug. 24 Travers Stakes.

“He popped a little temp today, and there’s a virus going around,” Baffert said. “I’m pretty upset about it. It’s not bad, but he’s got enough that he’s going to miss to the Travers.”

Game Winner, a son of Candy Ride campaigned by Gary and Mary West, showed no signs of sickness earlier this week in a major six-furlong work for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Mid-Summer Derby. It wasn’t until Thursday morning, Baffert said, that it became apparent.

“We’re just going to have to regroup,” the trainer said. “I’ve got nothing planned. It just happened.”

A winner of five starts in eight races, Game Winner had the Travers as his summer goal after going unbeaten at 2, then opening the year with a trio of defeats on the Kentucky Derby trail and first Saturday in May. He now becomes a logical contender for the Sept. 21 Pennsylvania Derby (G1), a race Baffert and the Wests teamed up to take in 2017 with West Coast.

Later Thursday, Jason Servis, who trains the recent Haskell Invitational (G1) winner Maximum Security for the Wests, announced that colt will also bypass the Travers.

2019 Travers Stakes (G1)