As he illustrated the rather arduous task ahead for the nine other horses in the field—including his own—Napoleon Solo trainer Chad Summers neatly crystallized the field for Saturday’s 157th edition of the Travers Stakes.
Was he engaging in some whistling through the graveyard? Your mileage may vary.
“This is the deepest Travers we’ve seen in a long time,” Summers told the New York Racing Association. “Obviously, Golden Tempo is the favorite for the 3-year-old championship, but he’s never run against us before.”
Summers isn’t wrong on any of his counts here. This is one of the deepest fields of the race called the “Midsummer Classic,” a race often characterized as the best 3-year-old race outside of the Triple Crown. Actually, the field is often better than the Preakness, a race not coincidentally captured by Summers’ Napoleon Solo.
Triple Champion
Win the 1 ¼-mile race at Saratoga and you not only solidify your bona-fides as a legitimate 3-year-old champion, but join a club featuring the likes of Sovereignty (2025), Essential Quality (2021), Arrogate (2016 by 13 ½ lengths in a record 1:59.36), Street Sense (2007), Bernardini (2006), Point Given (2001), Holy Bull (19944), Easy Goer (1989), Alydar (1978), Native Dancer (1953), Triple Crown winner Whirlaway (1941) and the iconic Man o’War (1920).
Give Summers points for his two other points. Napoleon Solo did not run against Golden Tempo, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner who skipped the second jewel of the Triple Crown. And yes, Golden Tempo is the favorite for being the 3-year-old Champion.
Deservedly so—as of now. The Derby and Belmont champion is understandably the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Both of those victories came in trademark fashion for the deep closer, who won both races with last-to-first flurries: capturing the Derby at 23-1 by a neck and the Belmont five weeks later by 1 ¼ lengths.
The Belmont was the last time Golden Tempo raced. He was diagnosed with a lung infection in late June, and trainer Cherie DeVaux declined to run him in either the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park or the Travers’ prep: the Jim Dandy in early August.
Since then, the Curlin colt turned in a 47.46-second bullet workout over a half-mile on August 15. He clocked a 49.66 over the same distance in his final tune-up last Saturday.
“He didn’t really miss that much training,” DeVaux said. “It could’ve been a lot longer, but he didn’t miss an amount that would really make a difference in his fitness overall.”
Horse from Uncle
While Golden Tempo was sitting out much of the summer, Napoleon Solo (8-1) was trying to validate his Preakness win, following a brutal winter of fifth-place finishes in the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial. He’s still trying, after 28-1 Baby Vino upset him in the July 18 Haskell.
Expect Napoleon Solo to set an early pace as he tries becoming the first Haskell alum to win the Travers since Keen Ice in 2015.
Baby Vino (10-1) is also here, trying to validate that surprise score. He comes in on a three-race winning streak that included a 10 ¾-length destruction of the listed Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth June 13. Expect Baby Vino to regress, as he tries becoming the first Haskell winner to sweep both summer derbies since Point Given 25 years ago.
Also here is the Derby runner-up and Belmont third-place finisher as the 8-5 favorite: Renegade. The 3-1 second favorite Into Mischief colt has never finished out of the money in eight starts (3-3-2) and comes into the gate off a half-length nipping of Commandment in the Jim Dandy.
Running Renegade
Round 3 of the duel between Golden Tempo and Renegade will play an important factor in determining the 2026 Travers champion. The two deep closers both have 10 furlongs in their tank, and both are seemingly never out of any race—despite how far back they are.
Golden Tempo won the Derby from 17 ¾ lengths back, nipping Renegade—who was 12 ¾ lengths back at one point—by a neck. Entering the stretch, Golden Tempo was 11th, Renegade seventh. In the Belmont, Golden Tempo was ninth of nine at the three-quarters pole. Renegade was sixth. And in the Jim Dandy, Renegade had it made again, rallying from 10 ¾ lengths back at the half-mile post.
This trend flies in the face of a Travers trend of avoiding deep closers and a Saratoga trend of avoiding that genus in 1 ¼-mile races. Twelve of the last 16 Travers winners—a streak going back to Afleet Express in 2010—have been within 3 ½ lengths of the lead at the half-mile mark. Since the 1980s, Saratoga is known as a speed-favoring track, one kind to pace-pressers and stalkers.
“I have great respect for Renegade. I feel like they are all rivals when you are the favorite. Everybody is out to get you, so I think it will be interesting,” DeVaux said. “I have always said this race is a bit different than the other races because horses do a lot of maturing throughout the summer, colts especially, so it will be interesting to see how they both perform. And we have new horses in the race, too, and they weren’t part of the conversation during Belmont week.”
Trying to break up that duel are Grade 1 veterans The Puma (8-1), Emerging Market (15-1), Silent Tactic (10-1) and maiden Ocelli (20-1), who finished third in the Derby. Joining them are two colts not part of anyone’s Belmont conversation: intriguing Grade 1 newcomers Sea Strike (5-1) and Indiana Derby winner Leading Change (12-1).
The Travers is one of five Grade 1 races on Saturday’s 14-race program. Fox airs the race as part of its two-hour live window from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET.
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