Masqueparade 'a possibility' for Stall's first Travers

Grade 3 winner Masqueparade, third by less than three lengths to champion Essential Quality in the Jim Dandy (G2) on Saturday, remains under consideration for the 152nd running of the $1.25 million Travers (G1) on Aug. 28 at Saratoga.

Trainer Al Stall Jr. said the sophomore son of Upstart continues to do well after his effort in the Jim Dandy, which snapped a three-race win streak that included the Ohio Derby (G3) on June 26 at Thistledown.

The Travers "is a possibility, yes. Most importantly I’m happy with the horse post-race, and I’ve picked him over pretty closely to make sure nothing was biting him,” Stall said. “We’re here and we’re happy with the way the horse came out of the race. That’s the most important thing. We won’t do anything different with him. We’ll just play around for a couple weeks to his next breeze and just decide what we want to do. But everything’s on the table.”

Sent off as the second choice in a field of five, Masqueparade pressed the pace of long shot Dr Jack for a half-mile through sharp fractions of 23.81 and 47.41 seconds before forging a short lead after running six furlongs in 1:11.13. The bay colt was third by a half-length at the top of the stretch behind Essential Quality and Keepmeinmind, who battled through the lane.

“He got a little tired in that race. I worked him twice, just due to shipping. He went up and back to Ohio and then he came up here,” Stall said. “He got a hair short the other day, but I thought he ran well, dueling with (Dr Jack. He) backed up pretty readily and I thought we fought on. The race was good and maybe he needed it a hair because of the surface and what he did in between. He’s rock-hard fit now, and I’m anxious to see how he trains.”

Sold for $180,000 as a yearling at Keeneland to FTGGG Racing in September 2018, Masqueparade took four tries to break his maiden and then rattled off two more wins capped by the Ohio Derby, the second of three consecutive races at 1 1/8 miles. The Travers is contested at the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles.

The prospective Travers field could include Essential Quality, Keepmeinmind and the top two finishers from the Curlin, also for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on July 30 at Saratoga, Dynamic One and Miles D. King Fury, winner of the Lexington (G3) on April 23 at Keeneland and second to Masqueparade in the Ohio Derby, also is possible.

Stall, a winner of more than 1,700 career races, including Blame’s upset of eventual Hall of Fame mare Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2010, never has had a Travers starter.

“We’ll take a long look at it. We haven’t had a chance to really assess the competition. I assume the first two from the Curlin, the first two from the Jim Dandy. We were third in the Jim Dandy. King Fury is there. I think everything from out west is on R and R,” Stall said. “We’ll just kind of watch all those things. It’s fun, though. It’s fun to check things out like that. When you read the paper, it means something as opposed to just killing time.”