Travers 2022: Géroux hopes to keep flying with Cyberknife

Florent Géroux is no different from the rest of us when it comes to flying. Or in the most frustrating and all too common of circumstances, not flying.

“I’m supposed to take a red eye on Friday night from San Diego and get to Saratoga on Saturday morning,” Géroux said.

He described his weekend plans in a telephone call this week from Southern California, not far from his summer workplace at Del Mar. Géroux is due back east Saturday afternoon, when he tries to ride Cyberknife in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes.

There was a pause to consider the tenuous nature of any itinerary these days, what with airline staffing shortages and the endless cancellations that have become a common, conversational denominator in the COVID era.

“Definitely, it’s not the easiest way right now,” Géroux said in an interview for Horse Racing Nation’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. “I missed only one race day so far. I got stuck in Charlotte. I was supposed to go to Monmouth for a few horses, and the plane, it got canceled.”

Fortunately for Géroux, that was not the case July 23. That was the day he skillfully threaded Cyberknife from the rail post through a ground-saving ride at Monmouth to win the Haskell, one of two Grade 1 victories for the Gun Runner colt who is trained by Brad Cox.

“I had a very good draw that day,” Géroux said. “So I was able to save ground on the first turn and start creeping up a bit on the backside. I ended up on the far turn right behind the horse on the lead (Benevengo). From there I just took a shot on the inside and got through.”

It was easier said than done. Benevengo was regressing, and Jack Christopher took the lead. At the quarter pole Géroux had to weave Cyberknife around Benevengo and find a narrow seam along the rail while Jack Christopher was in the two path. Or maybe the 1 1/2 path.

“My horse was very brave to go in there and also kept on going all the way through the wire.”

Cyberknife held off Taiba’s late charge from the outside to win by a head, setting a track record of 1:46.24 for the 1 1/8 miles to earn a Beyer Speed Figure of 102, according to Daily Racing Form.

“It was a big effort and a great ride,” Cox said.

Géroux said it reminded him of Cyberknife’s other Grade 1 win. That was April 2 at Oaklawn.

“I did very similar in the Arkansas Derby,” he said. “He made a little move on the back side, came back and did another acceleration. He had actually two moves to make that day, and he responded. He was very brave. He reminds me of a tough horse.”

As fate and luck of the draw would have it, Cyberknife will start for the second race in a row from post No. 1 when the eight Travers horses are sent on their 1 1/4-mile way Saturday at 5:44 p.m. EDT at Saratoga. That is a furlong more than the Haskell.

“A mile-and-a-quarter, you have a longer run into the first turn,” Géroux said. “I don’t think the post position matters the most. I know at a mile-and-an-eighth, the turn comes fairly quickly. ... I see myself maybe stalking behind a few horses and going from there.”

Géroux was not alone in predicting that Preakness winner Early Voting, fourth last out in the Jim Dandy (G2), would be the one to catch early in the race. He also pointed out the gate issues of morning-line favorite Epicenter, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

“Early Voting looks like the one who may be the quickest,” he said. “He seems to always get away sharp. Epicenter the past few races looked like he would break a little bit sluggish, but he puts himself into the race right away. Epicenter is certainly capable of leading or stalking very close.”

Not that they will go out in 21.78 and 45.36 seconds as was the case in the Kentucky Derby, where Cyberknife withered to an 18th-place finish. Still, Géroux was hoping for an honest pace Saturday just like he saw in the Haskell.

“The faster the better, to be honest,” he said. “I think we’re going to be flying early on. I think I have a good post, and I don’t want to be strangling my horse. If my horse gets away clean, they’re going to have to put on the gas a little bit to get from him.”

No matter how the race turns out Saturday, it will be the first Travers victory for the winning rider. As DRF’s David Grening pointed out, none of the jockeys ever has finished first in the race. Among this year’s six trainers, Only Cox last year with Essential Quality has a Travers win to his credit.

Big names though they may be, Irad Ortiz Jr. and José Ortiz and Chad Brown and Bill Mott never have won the mid-summer derby. Nor has Géroux.

“It looks like everybody is looking for their first,” 36-year-old Géroux said. “I would love to win it. It’s a race you want to win as a jockey at least once in your career.”

So, too, would owner Al Gold, whose Gold Square Racing bought Cyberknife for $400,000 at a Fasig-Tipton yearling sale two years ago. Since Chace City and Little Miss Holly were Gold’s only other graded-stakes winners, the Haskell easily would be his biggest triumph.

An Eclipse Award might be in Cyberknife’s future, too. A win Saturday would be a big step in that direction. In the meantime, Géroux had no problem with conventional wisdom that said Epicenter is the best 3-year-old male in training this year, even if he does not have a Grade 1 win.

“Before Saturday, yes,” he said. “After Saturday, if my horse wins, then he should be No. 1.”