Upstart Fine After Haskell; Travers Next
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Upstart emerged from his third-place finish in the Aug. 2 William Hill Haskell Invitational (gr. I) in good shape, according to trainer Rick Violette, and will be aimed for the Travers Stakes (gr. I) Aug. 29 at Saratoga Race Course.
Prior to the Haskell, Upstart had not raced since finishing last of 18 in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brand (gr. I) May 2 at Churchill Downs.
"He came out of the (Haskell) great; cooled out well and scoped clean," said Violette, who trains Upstart for Ralph Evans and WinStar Farm. "It was a very fast race and we ran well off the bench. To me, he ran like he needed the race."
Over the winter at Gulfstream Park, the son of Flatter won the Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes (gr. II), crossed the wire first in the Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) but was disqualified to second, and was runner-up in the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I). As a 2-year-old, Upstart finished second in the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) and third in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I).
In the Haskell, Upstart tracked a swift pace set by stretch-out sprinter Competitive Edge before chasing Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in vain to the wire. In the final eighth of a mile, Upstart was passed by Belmont Stakes presented by DraftKings (gr. I) third-place finisher Keen Ice, and was beaten 5 1/4 lengths by a geared-down American Pharoah.
"We tried to win, and it probably cost us second money," Violette said. "We were off the bridle to stay in the race. If we dropped our hands and made just one run, then we might have gotten second, but we went down there to win. (Jockey) Joe (Bravo) did a great job; we were in the right place, just not enough fuel in the tank."
With the Jim Dandy (gr. II) run a day before the Haskell at Upstart's home base of Saratoga, Violette made the tough decision to ship out of town in the hope of taking down a bigger prize. Though it wasn't as fruitful as he would have liked, Violette still believes his star trainee is in good shape heading into the Travers.
"I think we can move forward for the Travers; the pace will be a little bit different, as well," he said. "We made the decision to run (in the Haskell) but it would have been interesting to run in (the Jim Dandy); the race shape was totally different.
"I think we would have been on the bridle (in the Jim Dandy), just off the pace, and we might have had something to say. If that's the group that shows up for the Travers, I think we'll have some fun."