Jaxon Traveler Tops Field for Steel Valley Sprint

West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner's Jaxon Traveler  will be making the journey to Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Valley Race Course Nov. 22 to contest the $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint Stakes. The six-furlong dirt test for 3-year-olds, which drew a full field of 12, is the highlight of the Mahoning Valley meet.

Jaxon Traveler, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, is a three-time stakes winner and was twice graded stakes-placed this year. The Maryland-bred has never been out of the money in 10 trips to the post.

After speeding to a 2 3/4-length win in the April 24 Bachelor Stakes at Oaklawn Park, the son of Munnings   was a solid second in the May 15 Chick Lang Stakes (G3) on Preakness Day followed by placings in the Woodstock Stakes over the Woodbine Tapeta track and third to eventual Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) hero Golden Pal  in the Quick Call Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course.

Prior to the Steel Valley Sprint, Jaxon Traveler cruised to an easy victory in the Aug. 21 Star De Naskra Stakes for Maryland-bred/-sired sophomores at Pimlico Race Course before returning to the turf in his most recent effort, where he came up three quarters of a length short in the Sept. 17 Allied Forces Stakes at Belmont Park.

"We have tried him a few times on the turf and he is certainly a bit more of a dirt horse but still runs well," commented Toby Sheets, assistant to Asmussen. "He has been a very consistent horse for us and has been training good leading into this race."

The colt will have the services of Gerardo Corrales in the irons for the first time from post 3.

Boasting the highest Beyer Speed Figure of not only this field but tied for the top spot in the United States in 2021 is Bill Mott-trained Baby Yoda  who earned a 114 for his effort at Saratoga Sept. 4 after crushing an allowance field by 4 1/4 lengths.

If his name wasn't enough to catch the public eye, his back-to-back dominant performances this summer at Saratoga certainly were and led him to his first start in stakes company, the Oct. 9 Vosburgh Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park. He finished third to his older counterparts, grade 1-placed Following Sea  and grade 1 winner Firenze Fire .

"Baby Yoda is a nice horse, a lot of fun to be around, and we have been slowly working him up the ladder," stated Mott. "He caught a tough field last out in the Vosburgh and after the race, we made the decision to point him towards the Steel Valley Sprint. It's a good purse and we will be in our own age group."

Owned by Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Pantofel Stable, and Jerold Zaro, Baby Yoda will be entering this race looking for the first stakes win of his young career.

The Florida-bred son of Prospective  will be reunited with jockey Jose Ortiz who rode him to both of his victories at Saratoga.

Scheduled to run just before the Steel Valley Sprint is the $75,000 Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff Stakes headlined by Todd Beattie-trained multiple grade 3 winner Victim of Love  who will find herself facing off against 12 other rivals.

Entries: Steel Valley Sprint S.

Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Monday, November 22, 2021, Race 8

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo
• 4:07 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Kiltoom (KY)	T. D. Houghton	117	Crystal Richison	50/1
2	2Beren (PA)	Frankie Pennington	124	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	6/1
3	3Jaxon Traveler (MD)	Gerardo Corrales	124	Steven M. Asmussen	7/2
4	4Baby Yoda (FL)	Jose L. Ortiz	119	William I. Mott	3/1
5	5Newbomb (KY)	Jose Lezcano	121	Kelly J. Breen	5/1
6	6Mister Luigi (FL)	Edgard J. Zayas	117	Antonio Sano	8/1
7	7Real Talk (FL)	Paco Lopez	124	Carlos A. David	4/1
8	8Channel Fury (KY)	Luis Raul Rivera	117	James R. Jackson	15/1
9	9A Few too Many (IN)	Sonny Leon	117	Michelle L. Elliott	20/1
10	10Timeless Bounty (MI)	Malcolm Franklin	117	David Wilson, Jr	30/1
11	11Ahimelech (FL)	Jeffrey Sanchez	117	Jeffrey Skerrett	50/1
12	12Insofar (KY)	Gabriel Lagunes	117	Eduardo Caramori	30/1

Entries: Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff S.

Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Monday, November 22, 2021, Race 7

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $75,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:34 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Blood Curdling (KY)	Frank Reyes	118	Rey Hernandez	30/1
2	2Cliftons Ballerina (OH)	Ashley L. Kauffman	118	Jevon D. Crumley	50/1
3	3Trickizar (KY)	Edgar Morales	118	Rey Hernandez	20/1
4	4Kamar Taj (FL)	Luan Machado	116	Ben Colebrook	10/1
5	5Prodigy Doll (KY)	Sonny Leon	123	Ben Colebrook	6/1
6	6Ever Wonder (IN)	Christian P. Pilares	120	Robert M. Gorham	12/1
7	7Sheisthehero (KY)	Renzo Diaz	116	Gino Socciarelli	50/1
8	8Two Sixtyone (KY)	Paco Lopez	118	Barry L. King	8/1
9	9Dark Honey (KY)	Guillermo Rodriguez	116	Alexis Cordero-Lopez	30/1
10	10Victim of Love (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	125	Todd M. Beattie	9/2
11	11Call On Mischief (KY)	Jose Lezcano	118	Kelly J. Breen	5/1
12	12Mundaye Call (KY)	Florent Geroux	125	Brad H. Cox	7/2
13	13Palace Avenger (KY)	Gerardo Corrales	118	Wesley A. Ward	4/1