Mage's Connections Puzzled by Poor Travers Effort

Three days after Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage  finished a surprising and disappointing last in a field of seven in the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, the 3-year-old's connections remain puzzled by the subpar performance.

"Mage is doing fine. He's sound and happy. Nothing physically happened during the running of the race to account for an uncharacteristic performance in the Travers," said Ramiro Restrepo, part of the son of Good Magic  's ownership group. "We know he can run more than the four furlongs that he ran, but a lot of big horses did not run to expectations that day and weekend at Saratoga. Anyone who has seen Mage run knows he doesn't finish last after running for only a half-mile. You just put a line through it and point for the next one."

Mage was pinched at the start of the Travers and was seventh after six furlongs in the mile-and-a quarter Travers and never fired, finishing 15 lengths behind the victorious Arcangelo  on a muddy track. In six previous career starts, all on fast tracks, the colt trained by Gustavo Delgado and owned by OMGA Investments, Restrepo, Sterling Racing, and CMNWLTH had two wins, two seconds, and a third, with a fourth when he made his stakes debut in the March 4 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2).

"I would have been disappointed if he gave his typical effort and lost. I was more confused with some things as to why he didn't move his feet. That's racing. These things happen and you go on to the next one," Restrepo said.

Restrepo said he and the rest of the connections tipped their hat to Arcangelo and trainer Jena Antonucci for a victory that has made the son of Arrogate the current favorite to win the Eclipse Award as the champion 3-year-old male.

"You respect the order of finish," he said. "Hats off to Jena and the Arcangelo team. Arcangelo won fair and square and you accept the result. They won round one and maybe we can turn the tables in round two."

Mage was ridden by Javier Castellano in the Kentucky Derby and also when third in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and second in the Haskell Stakes (G1), but the Hall of Famer landed on Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo. Luis Saez, who rode Mage to a second-place finish in the Florida Derby (G1), was named to replace Castellano when the latter took too long to make a decision. Saez suffered a fractured wrist and dislocated shoulder three days before the Travers. Flavien Prat, one of the nation's premier jockeys, took the mount for the Travers but Restrepo felt the chemistry was not there between horse and rider.

Mage raced third early in the Travers, then last as the field traveled around the first turn.

"He was fighting the rider for the first three furlongs. As great of a jockey as Flavien is, and as great of a horse as Mage is, they did not complement each other on the day. They didn't understand each other. We were not expecting Mage to be so far back. We thought he'd be closer to the pace," Restrepo said. "That's what happens when you are put in a last-minute decision. Little things happen, but that's racing."

Restrepo said Mage would be shipped to Kentucky in a few days and that while future plans are uncertain, the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park remains the year-end target. He added that there was an outside chance Mage could run in the Sept. 23 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing if the colt shows his old verve in training, but the most likely plan would be to train up to the Classic.