Dornoch Looks to Become Eighth to Win Haskell, Travers

“It’s hard to win three grade 1s in a row, and it’s a really tough race,” said Gargan. “I thought this year’s colts were really strong. The filly is special, and she’s as good as anybody. Sierra Leone is as good as any horse in ten years, it’s just unfortunate he’s found a year where there’s a lot of horses who are good. And Fierceness, if he shows up, he’s spectacular. If he shows up, we’re all in trouble.

“If he (Dornoch) can win this race, it would be a big deal,” Gargan added. “We just want him to have as big of a resume as he can get before he retires.”

“If you look him in the eye, you’ve got to pass him,” said Gargan. “My only concern is someone getting by him at the last second and beating him at the wire. But if they range up on him too early, they’ll have a hard time because he’ll come back at them.”

Incredibly, the Haskell would produce a near identical result to the Belmont as Mindframe  would once again edge Dornoch in upper stretch before the latter came back and drew off to a 1 1/4-length score. 

“If you watch the race, he looks beat because he’s sitting there on the inside and two or three horses passed him,” Gargan said. “Not many horses can get passed like that. It’s kind of crazy to watch. He fools you, and the same thing happened in the Remsen. He got passed in the Belmont. I would like to be on the outside and not be beat up the whole way. He’s tough, and he’s a warrior.”

Bred in Kentucky by Grandview Equine, Dornoch was a $325,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Jockey Luis Saez returns to the irons from post 7 (5-2 morning line). 

“I’ve always thought he was this horse, and we’ve always expected this from him,” said Gargan. “We’re just blessed that we were lucky enough to have him and to be on this journey and this ride with him. We’re just enjoying it.” 

Dornoch faces two returning rivals from the Belmont Stakes in the Travers, with a major threat from Blue Grass winner Sierra Leone (post 2, Flavien Prat, 7-2 morning line) as he re-opposes off a strong runner-up finish to Fierceness in the Jim Dandy (G2) July 27. 

Sierra Leone, trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown for owners Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, and Peter Brant, is regarded as one of the top contenders in the division after two near-misses in two-thirds of the Triple Crown. 

Brown, who has frequently expressed his desire to win a Travers, said his faith in Sierra Leone has never wavered. 

“I’ve felt good every time I’ve run him. With his running style, he’ll have to work out a trip. He’s consistently getting faster with his numbers,” said Brown. “It seems he runs into a horse on their best day every time, but that’s horse racing. Often times it’s been his best number, too. These are high-level races. He’s just going to have to come with another career number and race and effort and hopefully work a trip out.”

Brown expressed confidence in the colt’s versatility after winning his first two starts with a stalking trip ahead of the pacesetting Curlin win. 

“He’s got very good positional speed. If nobody goes, he can go,” Brown said. “If he has a target, he’s fine—maybe better. Hopefully, he breaks clean and can be very forward in this race.” 

While Dornoch attempts the rare Haskell/Travers double and Sierra Leone looks to provide a sentimental victory for his conditioner, perhaps the most compelling storyline in this year’s Travers lies with the filly Thorpedo Anna, whose very presence in the starting gate will be historic as only the fifth filly to contest a Travers since 1962. A win would make the regal daughter of Fast Anna the eighth filly to capture a Travers, and the first to do so since Lady Rotha in 1915. 

“I enjoy sharing her,” said McPeek. “I think access to good horses is what this is all about. People love seeing her and she’s had a lot of visitors.”

“I don’t know that I’ve had a horse that was one of the lower betting choices before,” said McPeek. “I don’t think too much about it. I think she’s perfectly capable and she’s doing super.”

McPeek has previously characterized Thorpedo Anna as a “grizzly bear,” and often notes the filly’s ease in which she does everything that is asked of her. With a tremendous amount of press coverage leading up to the Travers, McPeek has decided words are no longer sufficient to describe America’s darling filly. 

“We’ll let her do the talking Saturday,” McPeek concluded. 

Regular pilot Brian Hernandez, Jr. has the call from the inside post (3-1 morning line) with Thorpedo Anna assigned 121 pounds, five less than each of her rivals.

The depth of this year’s Travers field is only increased by the presence of reigning champion 2-year-old colt Fierceness (post 8, John Velazquez, 3-1 morning line), who rematches with Sierra Leone off his tenacious one-length coup of the Jim Dandy. 

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for owner and breeder Repole Stable, Fierceness is yet to string together back-to-back victories, but appears the most prepared in his career to do so after showing good energy to battle back and win the Jim Dandy with a smart stalking trip engineered by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. 

“I hope he’s getting tired of it. That’s what I need. I need him to step up,” Pletcher said. “I think the Holy Bull is a little overly criticized. If you don’t count that one as a bad effort… I don’t have a great explanation other than most of his races he hasn’t gotten off to a good start, so hopefully he will get a clean start here.”

The Travers also features a group of up-and-coming challengers with a chance to shake up the sophomore picture, including grade 3 winner Batten Down (post 5, Junior Alvarado, 20-1 morning line) for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. 

Like Dornoch, Batten Down already boasts a win at 10 furlongs, and like Unmatched Wisdom, he has also bested elders. Unlike his two rivals, he has achieved both feats at once when annexing a 1 1/4-mile maiden for 3-year-olds and up in April at Churchill Downs. He followed with a successful stakes debut with a wire-to-wire victory in the Ohio Derby (G3) June 22 at Thistledown, one start before an even third to Fierceness in the Jim Dandy. 

Also looking for a breakout win is Ribble Farms, Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein, and Dave Fishbein’s grade 2 winner Honor Marie  (post 6, Tyler Gaffalione, 20-1 morning line), who adds blinkers as he enters off a rallying fourth in the Belmont Stakes for trainer Whit Beckman. 

Beckman, who chases his first grade 1, said racing fresh can be tricky business. 

“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Beckman. “In some ways, you’d like them to have that race cycle going into it but he’s not a really big horse, and he’s pretty easy to keep fit. The best thing we could get is a strong pace ahead of us and a fair track.”

“I thought he ran pretty good in the Curlin, I thought he improved,” McGaughey said. “I think he came out of it to where he will improve some more. Whether it’s good enough, who knows? It’s a pretty solid bunch.”

The Travers is one of five grade 1s scheduled for Saturday’s lucrative 14-race program, which also features two Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” qualifiers with the $750,000 Sword Dancer (G1T) in race 9 and the $500,000 Ballerina (G1) in race 10; as well as the $500,000 Forego (G1) in race 11 and the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) in race 12. 

Note: The original headline of this story has been edited to fix a mistake.

This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.