Three-Year-Old Horse Worth $750,200 Sets Site on Major Grade 1 Equestrian Race

The day of the major equestrian race, the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes is near. All the participating trainers are training their horses with many arriving last month to train for the prestigious stakes. This time Travers will witness winners of the triple crown races – Mage, National Treasure, and Arcangelo.

Besides them, there is Forte, Tapit Trice, and Paddington. But one horse has been ignored and might not be a favorite with bookies but has shown competitive performances in top races in the past. This horse is Steve Asmussen trained three-year-old colt Disarm.

Disarm aimed at the midsummer equestrian race

The son of Gun Runner will participate in the Travers Stakes after finishing fourth in his last race Grade 2 Jim Dandy. This year he took part in six races but claimed a podium finish in one, placing second in two and third in one. But, there are a few features in his performance that cannot be ignored and make him a potential contender. First is that races he lost were not by a large margin but with a distance if trained with more focus can be achieved. Second in the long-distance track he had shown a competitive spirit and thrived in it with positions near the first three. The last is that the trainer Steve Asmussen will add blinkers to the horse and it might impact his performance.

Despite, the disappointing performance of Worth $750,200 Disarm at Lexington, he gave a tough fight at Kentucky Derby finishing fourth with four and one-fourth distance from the winner. Considering the crowded race of 18 horses it was not a loss with a terrible margin.  Later on, he participated in Matt Winn Stakes at Ellis Park and won the race. The race gave him a boost which was witnessed at Jim Dandy where he kept pace with Forte, Angel of Empire, Saudi Crown in the stretch but lost the race by two one-fourth length. The trainer has decided to add equipment to Disarm at Travers to improve after watching his performance in Jim Dandy.

Asmussen adds blinkers to Disarm for equestrian stakes

Disarm will step in at the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes with added blinkers. On Monday morning the three-year-old colt trained at Oklahoma training track with blinkers running five furlongs in 1:00.19. Trainer Asmussen said the reason behind the blinkers is that he is “trying to find a couple of more lengths“.  In his observation Disarm has responded well to wearing blinkers and the colt is training exceptionally well.

Read More: Despite Going Up Against the Kentucky Derby Winner, $2,954,830 Worth of Horse Remains the Favorite for an Elite 150-Year-Old Race

At the equestrian stakes, Joel Rosario will ride Disarm. After his performance at Jim Dandy Asmussen thinks “He came out of it in good shape. We’ve been very happy with how he’s trained back, and this morning’s work, which was asked for, was solid and everything we wanted from him“.  The trainer is confident that with the added change the colt will be able to cover the shortcomings of the previous race and win the stakes.

The overall performance of Disarm has been consistent and has managed to give a closing fight to the winners. With the change at Travers, his chances of winning the race have increased.

Watch The Story: Mastering Equestrian Anxiety: Five Powerful Mindset Techniques to Overcome Fear in Horse Riding