Another dominating performance by Epicenter, this time in the Travers

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Kentucky Derby was the one that got away.

Then the Preakness was the one that got away.

On Saturday, Epicenter was the one that got away.

Shaking off close, gut-wrenching losses in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Epicenter regrouped and finally landed a big one, coasting home to win the 153rd Travers at Saratoga Race Course and give Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, jockey Joel Rosario and owner Ron Winchell each their respective first victories in this race.

The Travers may have also locked up an Eclipse Award for Epicenter, despite the fact that the race represented the first Grade I victory of his career.

By the time he headed down the homestretch, Epicenter was enjoying the scenery, then Rosario took a peek under his shoulder inside the sixteenth pole.

There was nothing to see, other than an announced paid admission crowd of 49,672. Rosario looked back to find that nobody was coming for them, so he hand-rode his chestnut colt home to a 5 1/4-length victory over Cyberknife in 2:00.72, one of the fastest times since the race distance was permanently lengthened to a mile-and-a-quarter in 1904.

“Unbelievably gratifying,” Asmussen said. “You know, we walked over today with a tremendous amount of confidence in the horse, but definitely remember we felt exactly that way walking over for this year’s Derby.

“It’s extremely exciting, Saratoga, coming from a racing family … what Saratoga means to American racing, what the Travers means to Saratoga, I just want to help them paint the canoe. Saratoga’s about tradition, racing’s about tradition and to have your name on that cup is very special.”

Epicenter’s time was the fifth sub-2:01 since General Assembly set the track record at 2:00 in the 1979 Travers, since broken when Arrogate ran 1:59.36 in the 2016 Travers. 

Epicenter finished second in the Derby when Rich Strike snuck up the rail to catch both Epicenter and Zandon in the final strides.

In the Preakness, Epicenter was squeezed from both sides a furlong out of the starting gate and couldn’t quite catch up to Early Voting, finishing second again.

His connections showed up at the Saratoga meet on a mission, and fulfilled that by dominating both the Jim Dandy and Travers.

The victory capped what had been a day with some moments of disappointment for Asmussen and Rosario, with two beaten favorites in Grade I races.

Champion sprinter Jackie’s Warrior suffered his first-ever defeat from six starts at Saratoga when he was second in the Forego, and Clairiere finished last of five in the Personal Ensign.

“I think that’s what makes racing so great,” Asmussen said. “You’re bet on by what you’ve done, but what you’ve done previously doesn’t get it done for you.

“For Epicenter to have competed in the Derby, in the Preakness and still have this much horse now, we’re extremely proud of that. But that’s what makes racing great. It was ideal.”

“This was a very natural step of where we had to go,” Winchell said. “

“As long as I can remember, the history of Saratoga and the horses my family has run over the years, the Travers is always the marquee race. Coming here with Gun Runner and running third and Midnight Bourbon running second last year, it just makes you want to win it that much more. It makes this win in this race that much more special for myself and my family.

The mystery heading into the Travers was how the early pace would shake out, especially when Dwyer winner Charge It was declared out of the race last Sunday with a minor foot issue.

Haskell winner Cyberknife and jockey Florent Geroux took the initiative, leading the field of eight through brisk splits of 23.32 for the quarter-mile and 47.63 for the half.

Breaking cleanly from the No. 6 post, Rosario kept Epicenter behind Cyberknife and Ain’t Life Grand and out of trouble down the backstretch, then began to chip away on the second turn with a smooth, sustained acceleration that carried Epicenter to the lead just outside the quarter-pole.

As he did in the Jim Dandy, Epicenter rolled into the stretch and drew well clear without threat from anyone.

In a tight race for second place, Cyberknife held of Zandon by a nose, and the Derby winner Rich Strike was another neck back.

“When I saw three-quarters [of a mile] in eleven [1:11.43], I thought, ‘Wow, we’re in a good spot here,” Cyberknife’s trained Brad Cox said. “Once I saw Joel ranging up, as easy as he was, I thought this was going to be [difficult]. Once they straightened up, I thought, ‘We’ve got a shot here,’ but you could tell he was getting away from us a little bit. He’s a very good horse. Hats off to the winners, they deserve it. We were second best, and I’m very proud of our horse.

“It was kind of lack of pace and lack of anyone else wanting to be involved, so we thought we’d take advantage of that and I don’t regret it.”

“He looked like he was going one speed, and then he kept building and building and building, and I felt pretty good turning for home,” Rosario said. “I could see he was relaxing and looking around, and I felt like I had plenty more, so it felt good.”

“The best way for me to describe it is how uncomfortable I was watching the Derby and the Preakness, with where he was and considering what was happening … This? Loved it,” Asmussen said. “The pace is solid but within him, and it looked like he had a chance to show who he is, and I believe that he did.

“He was away clean and in a very good position, around the second turn moved forward as smooth as can be. That is as good a trip as you could possibly hope for.”

Trainer Chad Brown, a Mechanicville native who craves a victory in the Travers as much as he does in any race, added an 0-for-3 in the race after Zandon finished third, Artorius was sixth and Early Voting was eased in the stretch and walked to the wire by Jose Ortiz to finish last.

The 15 horses he has run in the Travers since 2011 have finished no better than third, and have done that two years in a row now, after Miles D was third in 2021.

It’s still August, and there are still some big races out there yet to be run, but Epicenter appears to have a solid grip on the 3-year-old male division.

“I thought that answered a lot of questions,” Asmussen said. “His resume looks very good, and we’re willing to run against them again.”

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