Why Diodoro is confident with Keepmeinmind in the Travers

Keepmeinmind battled Essential Quality to the wire in the Jim Dandy (G1) but came up a half-length short. Will Saturday's Travers (G1) be the opportunity for Robertino Diodoro's colt to catch him?

Diodoro told Horse Racing Nation Monday that everything seems to be coming together for the son of Laoban, whose only win in seven career starts came in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last November.

Indeed, in his last three starts, he finished fourth in the Preakness Stakes, third in the Ohio Derby (G3) and then second in the Jim Dandy.

"He ran probably one of his best races," in the Jim Dandy, Diodoro said. "He had to step it up to run the race, and I think he did. His last two races have been among his better races. Hopefully, things are falling into place."

Diodoro said he expected that Keepmeinmind would improve with age. "I thought that this horse would be better the later part of the year and into his 4-year-old year, just the way he's built. And he's finally starting to fill out on us, really look the part. And like I said, he's going to have to step it up another notch on Saturday, but with everything he's shown us since the Jim Dandy, it's definitely, definitely possible."

And what has Keepmeinmind shown lately? "His works have been just unbelievable."

His last five works at Saratoga have been at four furlongs, with the slowest being 47.55 seconds. He had two bullets in those works, at 46.01 and 46.03.

"His last couple of works, he worked in 47," Diodoro said. "He was literally under a stranglehold, never really turned loose until the wire. Very strong gallop outs."

Another factor is his attitude. "The 20-some years I've been training, he's probably the strongest horse I've had, training-wise. Not quirky or crazy. He just loves to train. And he is as tough as they come. He just pulls and pulls and pulls. Same with his works, he's just a horse that likes his job. He's a very strong workhorse too."

On Saturday, Keepmeinmind will have something going for him that he has not had before: the return of Joel Rosario in the saddle.

The Jim Dandy "was the first time that Rosario was on him," Diodoro said. "And he even said that if he would have known the horse, he would have done a couple of things differently. So I think that's another plus, having Joel back on him for the second time."

For the Travers, Diodoro said, "I'm hoping he plays closer. Close like he did in the Jim Dandy. We'll see what happens."