Favorite Travers Race..

[ryanxpress]

Ok cappers favorite Travers....It being travers week lets start with my all time favorite,,,,,,,,,,
Durkin calling the 94 travers as Holy Bull turning for home has a 2 length lead..and Durkin saying "The bull in front but THERES REASON FOR CONCERN AS HE STARTS TO GATHER MOMENTUM" DOESNT GET BETTER THEN THAT..

[sonnyp]

i was 12 years old, the 1962 travers. fred capposella said, on many occassions, it was the greatest horse race he ever called. jaipur hooked up with ridan, nose to nose from start to finish.

jaipur won, but the race , certainly, took its toll. neither horse saw the winners circle again.

[tzipi]

The Holy Bull Travers. OH YEAH!

"AND MIKE SMITH IS ASKING HOLY BULL FOR EVERYTHING HE HAS!" Wooo gives me the chills. Great race and one of the first I saw as a kid.

Had to come back and add that Smith and Bailey gave great rides.

[bobbyt62]

one of my old racetrack buddies and i used to chant "jaipur..ridan..jaipur...ridan.."' when we'd see twp horses hook up in what looked like a stretch long duel. neither of us had seen the race, but the form ran the chart one year, and i only wish i had seen the race. two horses on the engine the whole way, through 47-2, 1:11-, 1:35-2, and the 10 furlongs in 2:01-3.

[bobbyt62]

everybody else probably knows this (except me) but you can go to youtube, search for travers stakes, and get a lot of them...including native dancer (no sound, though)

[nijinski]

1982 Derby winner Gato del Sol , Preakness winner Alomas Ruler and the
Belmont winner and just syndicated 36 Million $$ colt Conquistador Cielo.
The race set up perfectly for Runaway Groom with Jeff Fell .

CC had a bad ankle and this was to be his last race before retirement , but he ran very bravely considering.

[Java Gold@TFT]

Obviously -1987 - Java Gold wins easily in the slop (it rained all day) and beats Alysheba, Bet Twice, Cryptoclearence, Polish Navy and Gulch. One of the best fields ever assembled from top to bottom.

Lousy video but still worth 2 minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNJyvOjGOFk&feature=related

[Bobzilla]

Was anyone else here in attandence for the Birdstone Travers in 2004?

Not what I would call my favorite Travers, which would probably be 1994, but definitely one of the more memorable. With about 5 minutes to go before the scheduled start of the race the track was made aware of an intense looming storm cell which was right at the doorstep. The start of the race was hastened as the field immediately made its way to the starting gate. From my vantage point the rain had not begun to fall at the start and I was able to clearly make out the runners, but just a short minute later by the time the field was on the backstretch the storm had hit. The skies immediately darkened and there were what appeared to be ground to cloud strikes in close proximity, it was like a scene from Macbeth, rather surreal. By the time the field was coming around the second turn I could barely make out the dark figures who were bearing down for their stretch run.

The last race was cancelled after the runners had already been brought over to the paddock. The rain was coming down so hard many among the large crowd waited it out inside for maybe an hour before heading out. Puddles had become roadside ponds and streams. The timing of the storm could not have been worse but it did add an element of drama to the race.

[jognlope]

Point Given. The excitement for the horse was palpable, extreme. Tom Durkins said "the rafters were shaking."

People lined up at the paddock two races before. I held onto the fence. Then I saw him be led in, two policeman in front and two policeman behind him. All heads turning to watch his ever move as he was saddled up. In the winner's circle he and Gary Stevens were all lit up by TV cameras.
Lemon Drop Kid, just because he was so commanding, great to look at. His expression was "I can do this in my sleep." There was never any limelight for him, yet he won over $3 million.

[cdax]

Hey, was there. Very memorable. The 4 hour ride back home while soaking wet kinda sucked tho.

[W2G]

Was anyone else here in attandence for the Birdstone Travers in 2004?

Easily my favorite Travers, for all the reasons you described. Very memorable too having crushed the race at the windows. Durkin's flub saying Birdstone wins the Belmont only added to the surreal feel.

Birdstone was a tough customer who seemed to put it all together late in his three-year-old season. Flash forward a few years and we have two Birdstones in this year's Travers, one a Derby winner and the other a Belmont winner. Which son might make Dad proud on Saturday?

[Java Gold@TFT]

The funny thing about the Birdstone Travers was that the weather was actually very nice all day. The real clouds didn't roll in until they were in the paddock but then they hit with a vengence. NYRA lost a lot of money that day because they pushed up the post time to beat the storm and anyone who wanted to bet big money late was shut out. Surreal watching Marylou that day.

P.S. for those who don't think Quality Road isn't good enough to get 10F off of a 6.5F prep - Birdstone went into the Travers without a race since the Belmont. Not every horse needs a 9F prep race to be ready for the big one.

[eclecticapper]

A personal favorite was the 1998 Travers with Coronado's Quest winning by a nose. Early in his 3 year old season, it seemed he was destined to be known more for his attitude than his ability but by the Travers he'd matured considerably and showed he was a pretty game horse.

[GaryG]

1982 Derby winner Gato del Sol , Preakness winner Alomas Ruler and the
Belmont winner and just syndicated 36 Million $$ colt Conquistador Cielo.
The race set up perfectly for Runaway Groom with Jeff Fell .

CC had a bad ankle and this was to be his last race before retirement , but he ran very bravely considering.I believe CC was coming back on 5 days rest after winning the Met Mile on Memorial Day. Nice job by Woody.

[jognlope]

eclecticapper, I remember exactly Coronado's Quest in the post parade, kept nosing and playing with the pony and then was all the man and won. He was a cute horse.

[thespaah]

Ok cappers favorite Travers....It being travers week lets start with my all time favorite,,,,,,,,,,
Durkin calling the 94 travers as Holy Bull turning for home has a 2 length lead..and Durkin saying "The bull in front but THERES REASON FOR CONCERN AS HE STARTS TO GATHER MOMENTUM" DOESNT GET BETTER THEN THAT..
Yes that was one of the better ones.

Of course I go back to just 1977. My first Travers.
Unfortunately I won't be making it to Saratoga this Saturday.

[thespaah]

1982 Derby winner Gato del Sol , Preakness winner Alomas Ruler and the
Belmont winner and just syndicated 36 Million $$ colt Conquistador Cielo.
The race set up perfectly for Runaway Groom with Jeff Fell .

CC had a bad ankle and this was to be his last race before retirement , but he ran very bravely considering.
I was there....I have Paddock photos of all contestants in that race.
I wish I could post them. These are print photos.

[SaratogaSteve]

Favorite overall - Java Gold ran a stirring race over one of the best fields to go to post...

Favorite in person - Deputy Commander/Behrens - thrilling finish, and i had the exacta, straight up... :D

[nijinski]

I believe CC was coming back on 5 days rest after winning the Met Mile on Memorial Day. Nice job by Woody.

Yep , he certainly was one of the finest trainers of all time.