Travers Day can cap excellent Saratoga meet for McLaughlin
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Photo:
NYRA
Without the star power from previous years, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin has quietly enjoyed a strong summer at Saratoga. With 10 days remaining in the 40-day meet, he had 11 wins and purse earnings approaching $700,000 from 50 starts.
He has five horses entered on Saturday's Travers Day program led by late-developing Fayeq in the 'Mid-Summer Derby,' where he is an outsider both at 30-1 on the morning line and breaking from the far outside in a field of 12.
Fayeq, a half-brother to Hall of Fame mare Rachel Alexandra, galloped 1 3/8 miles over the main track Friday morning. His connections enter the centerpiece of the Saratoga summer with guarded optimism.
"Everything is great - with him," McLaughlin said. "We'd like him to be able to do well because he's got such a nice pedigree but it's a tough race. It's a big step up. He's a graded stakes horse at some point, but tomorrow is a tough place to get started."
The Travers attracted a competitive field with no clear-cut division leader, a factor that McLaughlin feels could change pending the outcome of Saturday's race.
"Yes, if the horse that wins it is one of the ones that won in the Triple Crown races," he said. "I think after the race I think we'll be able to look and say, 'Oh yeah, I could see that horse winning' easy enough. To me there's eight to 10 horses that can win it. We're happy to be in there with a chance.
"We've had a good meet," he added. "It would be nice to win a race like that. We'd take any of them."
Also on Saturday, McLaughlin will send out Takaful in the Grade 1 Forego and Dickinson in the Grade 2, $400,000 Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa. He will also saddle graded stakes winner Sticksstatelydude in a third-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going 6 ½ furlongs, the 4-year-old's first start since taking the Grade 3 Discovery November 12 at Aqueduct.
Sticksstatelydude is based at Churchill Downs with trainer Greg Burchell, McLaughlin's friend since childhood.
"He flew in a few days ago and he's here now. He looks great. I've been in touch with Greg. We talk every other day," McLaughlin said. "He's been working real well at Churchill and it just suits his issues better training there. He's had some things that have kept him away but he's doing great now."
Source: NYRA Communications
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