Wonder Gadot Fires Bullet in Preparation for Travers

When he runs through the list of his best protégés, it is easy for Mark Casse to spot the common thread that binds them beyond their obvious talent. Canadian champion Lexie Lou had it. Two-time Eclipse Award winner Tepin flourished as a result of it. And ever since Wonder Gadot broke her maiden last August, Casse has seen there is no making a dent in the indefatigable ways of Gary Barber's star filly.

"I remember we ran her in the (grade 1) Breeders' Cup (Juvenile Fillies), and we brought her to our training center in Ocala (Fla.), and I said to Gary, 'She acts like she hasn't even run,'" Casse recalled. "She enjoys it. She enjoys the exercise. Lexie was like that, (and) I think Tepin was as well. They just thrive on racing."

The more her people have asked of her, the more Wonder Gadot has improved. And in her first workout in preparation for her expected start in the Aug. 25 Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro  showed her readiness to take on male rivals once more when she fired a bullet four-furlong breeze in :48.07 over the Saratoga main track Aug. 10.

Wonder Gadot is coming off consecutive wins against the opposite sex in the June 30 Queen's Plate Stakes and July 24 Prince of Wales Stakes—the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown. Those outings may have come against restricted company, but the leggy dark bay/brown filly was suitably dominant and won by a combined 10 1/2 lengths.

CROSBY: Wonder Gadot Blitzes Rivals in Prince of Wales

With exercise rider Chris Garraway working her for the first time Friday, Wonder Gadot gave him a taste of how willing she is to extend herself.

"She went really well. I wanted her to go in around :48, and this is the first time Chris has ever breezed her," Casse said. "I had told him to ease her away from the pole, and she went the first eighth in :13, so then we radioed and told him to let her pick it up. And when he asked her to go, she took off, and we had him slow her down again at the end.

"I can tell you this. By the time she came off the wash rack after her bath, she was a handful. You had to watch out. She was clearing the shedrow jumping up and down."

Wonder Gadot will attempt to become the first filly since Lady Rotha in 1915 to win the Travers. She will have her work cut out for her, as this year's field is expected to include reigning juvenile male champion Good Magic and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) runner-up Gronkowski, but the past 12 months have seen her fall into a pattern of taking steps forward.

Since a debut victory at Woodbine Aug. 26, Wonder Gadot has raced at least once every month. She bounced out of her sixth-place run in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) in November so well, they wheeled her back in the Dec. 2 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) and she won by 3 3/4 lengths. And in a 2018 season that has seen Monomoy Girl dominate the division with four straight grade 1 victories, it is Wonder Gadot who has come closest to besting the chestnut dynamo. She fell just a half-length short of her in the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

"I always go back to what (Hall of Famer) Allen Jerkens told me. He said, 'I don't understand horse trainers. They want to give their horses a rest when they're running good. You give them a rest when they're running bad,'" Casse said. "And she continues to show us that she's not tired and she wants to run. And that's what we're doing. We've never shied away from running against the colts, and we're not going to shy away now."

Casse has added blinkers to Wonder Gadot in her last two starts, and while he notes her focus has improved, he believes the longer distances of the 10-furlong Queen's Plate and 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales have also allowed her to show her best stuff.

"The added distance … that's one of the reasons why (running in the Travers) was so intriguing," said Casse, who added they would likely have the jockey situation for Wonder Gadot shored up in the next week. "We know going 1 1/4 miles is something she loves. She gets five pounds. If she were to be able to win the Travers, that would be history. And that intrigues us as well.

"If we didn't think we had a legitimate shot, we wouldn't be in there. But we think we have as good a chance as anybody."

Given Monomoy Girl's stranglehold over her divisional mates, it would take a Travers triumph and then some for Wonder Gadot to have a chance at making a horse race out of the Eclipse Award balloting. If she has to settle for just racking up some big pieces of hardware while others take year-end honors, that's all well and fine where Casse is concerned.

"If she can win the Travers and the Breeders' Cup, I don't really care if she's champion or not," Casse said. "Or, if she wins either of those, I'll be very happy. That isn't what drives us. Monomoy Girl has done so much, and I have the utmost respect for her. We're just trying to run our filly where we think she has the best chance."