Throwback Thursday - 2007 Travers Stakes

This weekend, the Travers Stakes will be contested at Saratoga for the 144th time.  Dubbed the "Midsummer Derby," this prestigious race is a place where Triple Crown feats are either solidified or quashed - more often than not, they are solidified.  In recent years, Bernardini, Summer Bird and his sire Birdstone, and Point Given have all come to Saratoga to prove their classic worth once again.  Last year's edition of the race, however, lost a little luster with the retirements of I'll Have Another, Union Rags and Bodemeister, as well as the illness of Paynter.  This year's edition has regained the Travers' sparkle of yore, drawing two classic winners in Orb and Palace Malice, plus a fast-improving powerhouse in Verrazano. 

2013's version of the race might become my favorite Travers memory.  For now, though, that honor goes to the nail-biting 2007 edition.  The three year-old crop of 2007 is my favorite three year-old crop since I've been a fan, no doubt about it.  They took the year by force and won so many prestigious races, culminating in the mighty Curlin running away in the slop to win the Breeders' Cup Classic.  There was the plucky Hard Spun, always on the lead in the hopes of making it to the wire first, which he sometimes did.  There was Rags to Riches, the beautiful chestnut filly who turned back the power of Curlin to win the Belmont Stakes.  Any Given Saturday, a regal WinStar colt who won the Haskell Invitational, and Tiago, Derby winner Giacomo's little brother, played strong supporting roles.

Then, there was Street Sense.  Jockey Calvin Borel earned his very first Kentucky Derby victory aboard the bay colt, who was clearly his pride and joy.  After a two year-old season which included a dramatic runaway victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Street Sense put together two gritty preps for the Run for the Roses before handily winning the event at his favorite track, Churchill Downs.  After finishing second to Curlin, who came with a dramatic rush, in the Preakness Stakes, Street Sense came back later to win the Jim Dandy Stakes, the local prep for Saratoga's prestigious Travers.

Street Sense would not face Curlin, Rags to Riches or Hard Spun in the Travers.  Hard Spun would, earlier on the card, sprint to victory in the King's Bishop Stakes.  Curlin had suffered defeat in the Haskell, and Rags to Riches would make only one more start before her retirement, in which she finished second.  With all that in mind, the bay Derby winner was sent off as the popular 1-4 Travers favorite. 

The gates opened, and immediately, a dark bay colt with a crooked stripe named Grasshopper seized the lead.  Grasshopper, who had yet to win a stakes race, was ridden by Robby Albarado, a fellow Cajun and contemporary of Borel's.  After him came Bob LaPenta's C P West, who had finished second in Street Sense's Jim Dandy.  The Derby winner lay third - much closer than his classic performances in the spring.  Borel must have sensed that Grasshopper was laying down a very even-keeled pace.  The fractions ticked by; :23.68, 48.18, 1:12.43...Grasshopper was slowing down, giving himself a breather for the long stretch drive to come.

After that slow six furlongs, it was time for Street Sense to move.  C P West also put in a bid on the turn, but his run was quickly engulfed by the great strides of the favorite.  The handsome Grasshopper soon found Street Sense glued to his side.  The Derby winner's bay coat was covered in dirt, as it had been in his other off-the-pace performances, and he came at Grasshopper with the strength of a champion.  Many people expected Grasshopper to fold under such a drive, from such a horse.  Much to their astonishment, he kept fighting.

Grasshopper was running the race of his life, and Street Sense was battling to get by on the outside!  The two Cajun jockeys begged their horses for more, more, more - surely one or the other would withdraw his challenge soon!  The colts battled nearly the entire length of the stretch, neither one of them giving an inch.  Finally, with the wire in sight, Street Sense stuck his head in front.  For several strides, Grasshopper fought this new challenge.  Under insistent left-handed urging from Borel, however, Street Sense finally got the better of this unexpected rival, and stubbornly pulled away to win by about a half-length.  They were well clear of the other competitors in the race.

If Street Sense had carried this momentum into his next two starts, he would have had won three year-old champion and even have had a shot at Horse of the Year.  After a loss to Hard Spun in the Kentucky Cup Classic and an off-the-board performance in the Breeders' Cup Classic, his chances of any year-end award were shot.  All accolades went to Curlin, and Street Sense was remembered only as the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to win the Kentucky Derby.

This crop showed their mettle on the racetrack, and now their influence is showing in bloodlines as well.  Street Sense has sired more than a few winners, among them the nice filly Unlimited Budget and Grade 1 winner Aubby K.  Hard Spun boasts a champion in Questing.  Curlin, who was the greatest of his contemporaries on the racetrack, is the sire of Belmont and Jim Dandy winner Palace Malice, who goes into this weekend's Travers Stakes as one of the favorites.  Yes, 2007's three year-old crop showcased some very talented Thoroughbreds.

I've been a racing fan for more than nine years, but it seems a lifetime.  Maybe the ninth running of the Travers Stakes will change my mind about personal favorites, but for now, Street Sense's gritty win against the pacesetter Grasshopper will be foremost in my brain when someone mentions the Travers Stakes to me.