Beckman Hoping for Hot Travers Pace With Honor Marie

Trainer Whit Beckman will saddle Honor Marie  in search of his first grade 1 win in the Aug. 24 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Ribble Farms, Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein, and Dave Fishbein, the Honor Code  colt will add blinkers and a new jockey in Tyler Gaffalione as he looks to improve upon a deep-closing fourth-place finish last out in the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1).

"Tyler (Gaffalione) has worked him the last four works. The horse breezes well for him and Tyler has a good feel for him now," Beckman said. "We know that Tyler is pretty adept at carving out the kind of trip that this horse is going to need."

In the Belmont, under Florent Geroux, Honor Marie was bumped early and last of 10 through the first two points of call while 13 lengths off the pace before closing to finish fourth—5 1/2 lengths back of victorious returning rival Dornoch .

Beckman knows his charge cannot afford to give up that much ground when he exits post 6 of eight Saturday against a star-studded field that includes Dornoch and the reigning champion 2-year-old male Fierceness  to his immediate outside, as well as the talented filly Thorpedo Anna  leaving the inside post to the inside of grade 1 winner Sierra Leone .

"I started thinking about blinkers for him when he was 2. His running style can give you that heart-attack feel," Beckman said of the addition of the French cup headgear. "After the Belmont, I put blinkers on him and it doesn't change his disposition, he's just a little more responsive. When you ask him, he pops a little quicker where before you had to gear him up for it and get him into that, 'it's-time-to-go' mentality.

"I think they'll keep him a little closer," Beckman added. "I just don't want him to be 14 (lengths) back going into the far turn. I need him within seven or eight."

In 2019, Code of Honor closed to win the Travers from ninth, but just 5 3/4 lengths off the pace, thanks in part to an honest pace set by Mucho Gusto , who reached the mile in 1:35.49 under pressure from Bill Mott's Tacitus   and the Danny Gargan-trained Tax . This year, it could be the Gargan-conditioned Dornoch setting the tempo under pressure from Tacitus' full brother Batten Down .

"It looks on paper like there'll be enough pace that there will be something to run at," Beckman said. "An epic pace collapse would be a great thing—a mile in 1:35 and change would be super. But we just want to get out of the gate clean and have a nice trip and see what we've got.

"He'll leave the gate quietly," Beckman added. "It looks like there are two pretty fast horses outside of us, and inside of us, just let them clear and get into a nice, easy trip."

Honor Marie, listed at 20-1 on the morning line, will arrive at the Travers as the freshest horse in the field with 11 weeks between starts.

"He trained over the Oklahoma this morning. I'm just keeping him fresh," Beckman said. "We always go out early—early mornings, cooler weather, fresh track has always been his game. The Oklahoma is as good as any track I've ever trained on. I've spent a lot of years up here and I'm happy with how he's doing on it."

Beckman believes Honor Marie has the ability to compete against this group.

"For me, it would be a testament to how we've always felt about this horse. This horse has put himself in that category as a legitimate grade 1-type animal," Beckman said. "Personally, I don't need the validation, but it is nice when you lead a horse into this kind of race that the horse can follow up and hopefully have him do what I know he can do. For me, the biggest thrill comes from seeing how happy the owners and everyone else can be.

"I got into this not to train claiming horses. I want to train grade 1 horses," added Beckman. "Training him is a privilege and I've been blessed to have him."