Travers Stakes 2024:
We’ve been waiting to see how Thorpedo Anna can do running with the boys. It seemed like we had a chance in the Preakness Stakes, but trainer Kenny McPeek didn’t want to put her up against Mystik Dan. Well, Mystik Dan is not in the Travers Stakes, but Thorpedo Anna is and she’ll go up against a formidable crop of 3-year-olds this weekend at Saratoga.
A really big prize is on the line with $1.25 million in the purse and NYRA’s morning line maestro David Aragona installed Dornoch as the favorite from Post 7. Four horses are coming off of wins and seven of the eight horses are coming off of top-three finishes, so this looks like a star-studded event in Race 13 with a post time of 6:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 24.
Here are the Travers Stakes entries, odds, jockeys, and trainers:
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Thorpedo Anna | K. McPeek | B. Hernandez Jr. | 3-1 |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | C. Brown | F. Prat | 7-2 |
| 3 | Unmatched Wisdom | C. Brown | I. Ortiz Jr. | 8-1 |
| 4 | Corporate Power | C. McGaughey | J. Castellano | 15-1 |
| 5 | Batten Down | W. Mott | J. Alvarado | 20-1 |
| 6 | Honor Marie | D. Beckman | T. Gaffalione | 20-1 |
| 7 | Dornoch | D. Gargan | L. Saez | 5-2 |
| 8 | Fierceness | T. Pletcher | J. Velazquez | 3-1 |
Top trainers and top riders are some of the big takeaways from this field, as the connections across the map are really solid. Honor Marie at 20-1 hasn’t run since the Belmont Stakes. All eight horses have won a stakes race, but the 1 ¼-mile distance could be a compromising factor for some in the field.
Will we see history on Saturday with Thorpedo Anna? You have to go back to Lady Rotha for the last filly to win the Travers and that happened in 1915!
Or will we see history with Dornoch? Point Given is the only horse ever to win the Belmont, Haskell, and Travers back in 2001. Dornoch would be the second with a win here.
Here are some notes on the horses:
1. Thorpedo Anna (3-1; McPeek/Hernandez): Kenny McPeek said he had “a million and two” reasons to put Thorpedo Anna up against the boys. She was beaten by Intricate in the Golden Rod last year at Churchill, but she’s 4-for-4 this year, including romps in the Acorn Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks on this very track.
She is unquestionably the best 3-year-old filly in the nation and rider Brian Hernandez Jr. has a great feel for when to hit the gas and get her going. She does draw the rail post here with some strong speed from pace setters like Dornoch and Fierceness on the outside. How much ground will she have to cover if she gets caught in traffic early? Furthermore, she is the only one among the favorites to have never gone a mile and a quarter. But, we know she’s a special horse.
2. Sierra Leone (7-2; Brown/Prat): Chad Brown has two entries side-by-side and Sierra Leone looks like the more dangerous contender by a good amount. The horses that Sierra Leone has finished behind in the last three races? Mystik Dan, Dornoch, Mindframe, and Fierceness. Two of them are in this field. He also lost to Dornoch last year in the Remsen at Aqueduct.
But, this is still a strong horse. He ran a really good second in the Jim Dandy and hit the board in both Triple Crown races. The son of Gun Runner and Heavenly Love has had some good workouts at Saratoga over the last few months. He’ll like the pace and he’s a closer, but how much closing will he have to do against some elite thoroughbreds?
3. Unmatched Wisdom (8-1; Brown/Ortiz Jr.): This is quite a step up for the son of Cairo Prince and Glide On By. He won his stakes debut in the Curlin last month and is undefeated in three efforts, holding off neighbor Corporate Power in that Curlin run. This will be his first race with the extra quarter, as he’s gone 1 ⅛ on three different occasions.
Prat switches to Sierra Leone after winning on Unmatched Wisdom last time out, but Irad Ortiz Jr. is hardly a consolation rider. The distance and the bloodline are concerns here relative to the rest of the field, but this might just be a late-bloomer, who broke his maiden on May 10.
4. Corporate Power (15-1; McGaughey/Castellano): The Curlin Stakes runner-up won the Sir Barton at Pimlico during Preakness weekend in the mud and muck, but he’s never run more than 1 ⅛ and has never run in a field of this caliber. Stranger things have happened and his two best Equibase Speed Figures have come in his last two starts, but the level of competition feels too big here for a horse that is likely to pick up a nice win or two in the fall.
5. Batten Down (20-1; Mott/Alvarado): The Ohio Derby winner followed up his first stakes victory with a pretty distant third to Fierceness and Sierra Leone in the G2 Jim Dandy. The Ohio Derby was chock full of scratches, but at least Batten Down has a win at 1 ¼, which, coincidentally, was his maiden after three previous tries.
The son of Tapit and Close Hatches is very well-bred and I’d argue the most compelling long shot in the field. Junior Alvarado is a strong rider, but Batten Down didn’t have the distance against the stronger field in the Jim Dandy and probably won’t here either.
6. Honor Marie (20-1; Beckman/Gaffalione): Honor Marie might be the most frustrating horse in this race. He’ll put on blinkers for this one in hopes of snapping a four-race losing streak, finishing 4th, 8th, 2nd, and 5th after two wins and a second as a 2-year-old. The well-bred colt from Honor Code and Dame Marie has yet to crack 100 with an Equibase Speed Figure.
Tyler Gaffalione gets the ride here after Florent Geroux rode in the Belmont and Ben Curtis took the mount in the Kentucky Derby. The two-month layoff for Honor Marie is the longest since wintering down south, but the running style just isn’t conducive here as a horse that wants to close, but lacks the gas tank to close against elite runners.
7. Dornoch (5-2; Gargan/Saez): Who knows how Dornoch would be viewed if it weren’t for drawing the dreaded rail post in the Kentucky Derby. All he’s done since then is win the Belmont Stakes and the Haskell Stakes in impressive fashion. This is undoubtedly a stronger field than what he experienced in the Haskell, but he probably would have beaten anybody in this field that day with huge speed numbers.
The outside post for Dornoch, as well as neighbor Fierceness, means that the two should be able to get out front and dictate the speed and that is a very favorable position for rider Luis Saez. Saratoga seems to have had a lot of speed bias throughout the summer and that bodes well for Dornoch.
8. Fierceness (3-1; Pletcher/Velazquez): That may also bode well for Fierceness and John Velazquez, who draws the mount for Todd Pletcher from the outside. The Kentucky Derby is obviously a signature race and a major measuring stick, but there are 20 horses in the field, so a bad start or a bad trip is an outlier, but maybe not something to be overly concerned about.
Otherwise, Fierceness secured a Jim Dandy win over Sierra Leone and Batten Down. He won the Florida Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile running away. If there had been another quarter mile, would Fierceness have held off Sierra Leone? Maybe it’s a fair question to ask going a mile and a quarter here with closers and similar or better pace setters.
That’s the other thing – while Fierceness has gone 1 ¼, it happened in the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 15th and really didn’t have to push it for the entire final stretch. He is 2-for-2 at 1 ⅛, but that extra quarter is demanding against this type of field.
Travers Stakes Picks
All in all, I like Dornoch here. Luis Saez is likely to get the trip he wants starting on the outside. He can jet to the front and ask Dornoch for more when he feels like he needs to later in the race. Meanwhile, Thorpedo Anna and Sierra Leone are more likely to have tough starts. Even though Fierceness can also get a favorable trip, I don’t think he’s better than Dornoch and could be caught by the closers.
I do think Thorpedo Anna is a special horse and more than good enough to run in this event. I’ll have her in exotics, including a small piece in an Exacta Box, partially for FOMO purposes if she does make history.
Using a hypothetical $50 bankroll:
$20 Win ($20)
7 Dornoch
$4 Trifecta Part-Wheel ($24)
7 / 1,2,8 / 1,2,8
$3 Exacta Box ($6)
1/7
