The prestigious $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes is scheduled at the end of this month. The event will witness participation from stakes winners who will give a furious fight for the podium finish. The 150-year-old Travers Stakes is perfectly placed between the Triple Crown series and the Breeders Cup.

The one and one-fourth mile race is the center of Saratoga and many consider it a test for the Breeders Cup. The event has never lost its luster and is one of the hugely anticipated races in the horse racing calendar. This year will witness all triple crown winners who are supposed to get a tough fight from an Eclipse awardee-trained horse, Forte.

Forte Favorite against Kentucky Derby winner

This year Travers Stakes is crucial for the participation of all triple crown leg winners leading then the Kentucky Derby winner Mage. Worth $2,954,830 Forte couldn’t compete in the Kentucky Derby despite being the favorite due to a minor hoof bruise. He also skipped the Preakness Stakes due to the same reason. But, he returned to the last leg of the triple crown to give a tough fight to the winner Arcangelo and placed second in the race. This was Forte’s only loss in this year’s four races.

The son of Good Magic after his win at Kentucky Derby has participated in two races of which he lost both of them. At Preakness Stakes, he finished third due to a slow start which he couldn’t recover from later in the race. In his last race the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes he was overrun by Geaux Rocket Ride despite making a strong start to finish the race in second position. The son of Violence won his last race Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes in a nail-biting competition in the stretch.

The win showed Eclipse awarded trainer Todd Pletcher trained colt’s determination and effort which cannot be ignored by his rivals. Mage trained by Gustavo Delgado with his last two losses has raised concerns about his contention for Travers and Forte with his epic performance remains a formidable favorite to win among other stake winners.

Forte’s other triple crown winner rivals

Apart from Kentucky Derby winner Mage, Forte has other two triple-crown winners National Treasure and Arcangelo. National Treasure trained by Bob Baffert is considered the least probable among triple crown winners due to Preakness Stakes remaining his only stake win. Arcangelo trained by Jena M. Antonucci will be Forte’s toughest rival at Travers. He has not raced since his last stakes win and is preparing for the event since then.

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This is a chance for Forte to win the Travers Stake when winners of all three legs of the triple crown are participating in the event. The last time it happened was in 1982 when Canadian champion Runaway Groom defeated the winners of the triple crown of that time.

This year’s Travers Stakes is unique due to the participation of all triple crown winners but remains a tough challenge for the favorite Forte who with his form can create history.

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