Sunday, August 25, 2002
Medaglia d'Oro holds off Repent to take Travers
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT
AP Racing Writer
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Bring on War Emblem, Medaglia d'Oro is ready to make a run at the 3-year-old championship.
Taking the lead with a half-mile to go, Medaglia d'Oro held off a determined late rally by Repent and won the $1 million Travers Stakes at soggy Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
Soundly beaten by War Emblem in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Medaglia d'Oro served notice he will be a more formidable foe when the colts hook up again, probably in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Arlington Park on Oct. 26.
“I got to give him No. 1 and us No. 2,” winning trainer Bobby Frankel said in ranking War Emblem ahead of his colt. “But they'll hook up eventually. Medaglia d'Oro can get a lot better.”
War Emblem was kept on the West Coast by trainer Bob Baffert and will run against older horses for the first time Sunday in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar.
Jerry Bailey, who was aboard Medaglia d'Oro, is looking forward to the showdown.
“They both have similar styles and one wouldn't have an advantage over the other,” Bailey said after winning his third Travers. “If they meet again, it would be a good horse race. Too bad it wasn't today. It was a better race than anyone could know.”
It sure was after Frankel said his colt cut his foot at the start.
“I know there was a significant amount of blood,” Frankel said. “Jerry said the inside horse (Repent) bumped him from behind. He definitely grabbed his quarter. I'm just hoping it is not too serious that we lose time with him.”
Unlike his 13 3/4-length romp in the Jim Dandy Stakes three weeks ago, the Travers was hard fought all the way.
Before a crowd 43,153, Medaglia d'Oro broke second behind Shah Jehan as a light rain fell after a daylong deluge. The leaders stayed that way, with Saint Marden a pressing third, through speedy fractions of 23.14 for the first quarter and 46.82 for a half-mile. With a half-mile remaining in the “Mid-Summer Derby,” Medaglia d'Oro shot into the lead. As the nine-horse field turned for home in the 1 1/4-mile race, Repent made his usual late run and was closing strong at the wire.
Despite Frankel's worries that a wet track could jeopardize his colt's chances, Medaglia d'Oro was superb in the slop.
“He was under pressure all the way, and horses weren't holding up today,” Frankel said. “So for that reason, you have to give Medaglia d'Oro a lot of credit. He never did get a breather.”
Trainer Ken McPeek promised Repent would be ready to run in his first race in 140 days. He was right. Even though his colt didn't win, McPeek was pleased with his one-time Kentucky Derby contender who was sidelined with an ankle chip.
“He's a fantastic horse, and deserves to be ranked with the top 3-year-olds,” McPeek said of his colt, who won the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby before finishing second to War Emblem in the Illinois Derby on April 6. “A jump or two, and maybe we get it. Maybe we'll sit until the Breeders' Cup.”
Sent off as the 3-5 favorite, Medaglia d'Oro returned $3.50, $2.60 and $2.40. Repent, with Saratoga's leading rider Edgar Prado aboard, paid $3.40 and $3.10, as the 7-2 second choice. Nothing Flat, trained by Nick Zito, was third and paid $6.
Time for the 1 1/4 miles was 2:02.53 over the gooey surface.
Like A Hero was fourth, followed by Puzzlement, Quest, Gold Dollar, Saint Marden and Shah Jehan.
Medaglia d'Oro earned $600,000 for the win, and increased his earnings to $1,464,720 with four wins and three seconds in eight career starts.
Large field could create traffic jam at Del Mar: War Emblem is expected to draw a record crowd to Del Mar on Sunday, but the freeway won't be the only place with traffic concerns.
The track will be jammed with 14 horses for the $1 million Pacific Classic, in which War Emblem will run against older horses for the first time. He's a 2-1 favorite.
“He's developed a following and I think he's probably the most popular horse in training right now,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “We should have a big crowd.”
The 14-horse field is a record for Del Mar's biggest race, which had never before drawn more than nine horses.
“That's too many horses for that racetrack,” said trainer Bobby Frankel, who has won the Classic six times.
Baffert sees it as a form of flattery.
“The reason all those other horses entered isn't because they didn't think War Emblem was going to run,” Baffert said. “It's because they thought he would run. There's a lot of prestige being in a race with him.”
Instead of being scared off by War Emblem, who's won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Haskell Invitational, some rivals expect the 3-year-old to fade if he's denied the early lead. War Emblem prefers to be the front runner, and Baffert said the key is for the colt to break out well.
“He's going to have to dig down deep, because there are a lot of speed horses in there and he's going to have to shake them off one by one and still have something left,” Baffert said.
“I kind of think he is one-dimensional,” Trudy McCaffery, who co-owns Came Home, said of War Emblem, “But honestly, I don't think we know that.”
Richard Mulhall, president of The Thoroughbred Corp., which owns War Emblem, was undaunted by the large field.
“We're going to be in front,” he said. “All the rest of them will be in traffic. That makes it harder on the horses that are coming from off the pace.”
Trainer Paco Gonzalez will saddle two horses: Santa Anita Derby winner Came Home and speedy Bosque Redondo.
It'll be Bosque Redondo's job to engage War Emblem up front early, possibly setting up a stretch run for stablemate Came Home.
“Everybody knows what's going to happen,” said David Flores, who rides Bosque Redondo. “I'll probably steal the race.”
Frankel will send Santa Anita Handicap winner Milwaukee Brew, the 3-1 second choice who'll be ridden by Kent Desormeaux.
“When you have a horse that closes (from behind) and you have a sizable field, you run the risk of traffic problems,” Desormeaux said.
In Milwaukee Brew's last start, the Hollywood Gold Cup on July 14, he lagged 11 lengths back and couldn't catch pacesetter Sky Jack, who is entered for Sunday's race. Frankel blamed himself for giving Desormeaux bad instructions.
“A static plan didn't work out last time,” Desormeaux said. “What I have to do is determine how far back I should be, and then come running in the last quarter of a mile.”
Post time is 5:42 p.m. EDT.
DEL MAR NOTES: The California Horse Racing Board will post security guards at the stalls of all 14 Pacific Classic entrants on Sunday morning. Because of the large field, Del Mar will provide security to work with CHRB investigators. ... Arbiter, who has five wins in seven starts this year, wasn't entered in the Classic because of a leg injury. ... Garrett Gomez, who rides Momentum, will be trying to win this event for the third straight year. He rode Skimming to victories in 2000 and 2001. ... Baffert has Vindication, a strong contender for the Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 11. Purchased for $2.15 million, the horse won an allowance race Thursday by 1 1/2 lengths at Del Mar.
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Medaglia d'Oro holds off Repent to take Travers
