Regally Bred Mendelssohn is Travers Stakes Wild Card

He announced himself the way he always does, screaming his way onto the horse path and whinnying in his repeated manner as he jogged and cantered behind his stablemate in their first trip over the Saratoga Race Course main oval Aug. 23.

No one has ever accused Mendelssohn of subtlety, and with his capacity for brilliance, each trip he takes to the track is one that bears notice for the spectacle it may produce. As he and fellow Aidan O'Brien trainee Seahenge emerged from quarantine Thursday and got their first feel of the surface during a picture-perfect morning, it was Mendelssohn who had the cameras trained on him as he stretched his legs and showcased his now infamous vocal ability.

His regal blood has cast attention his way since he sold for $3 million at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale, but after a disastrous outing in the first leg of the Triple Crown, the goal for Mendelssohn's latest trip to North America is to return his ability, not his quirks, to the forefront of pundits' minds.

What to make of Mendelssohn is one of the main queries with regards to the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) Aug. 25, considering there are a couple different versions of the son of Scat Daddy that could show up against his 10 rivals in the 1 1/4-mile test.

The half brother to champion Beholder and sire Into Mischief  had the racing community buzzing that O'Brien may have a U.S. classic winner in the making after he demolished the field in the March 31 UAE Derby Sponsored By Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2), winning by a ridiculous 18 1/2 lengths in his first start on dirt. His run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was nothing short of a debacle, though, as he was slammed hard at the start and bumped again around the first turn en route to finishing last in the 20-horse field.

When he returned for a start in the July 7 Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park, the results were middling as he finished third, beaten 9 1/2 lengths by winner Firenze Fire. With a start in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) still on the table for the strapping bay colt owned by Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, getting his confidence back over dirt is as much an objective this weekend as a victory.

"I think after his bad run in the Kentucky Derby and what happened there, I suppose you have to build on it," said T.J. Comerford, assistant to O'Brien. "I think the last (start) at Belmont, he did build on it, because he had to get a little bit confident from somewhere to come back and run like he did. I suppose a lot of people expected him to win, but (the Dwyer) was a steppingstone for the days ahead more than anything.

"I think running positive on the dirt was a big thing for him. So he did that at Belmont, and if he can run a good race here, that's all you can ask for."

Mendelssohn's first stateside start was a wildly successful venture, yielding a victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar in November. Where his run in Dubai showed he can be more than capable on the dirt, trying to get him adjusted to the kickback that bothered him in the Kentucky Derby is something that can only be achieved through repetition.

"We have the American styles, and we can jump them from the gate and we can do all that, but with regards to running on the dirt, we have to come here and do it. So, really, our only preparation is to run in these races," Comerford said. "I like to think that we have to try and get back to that form (he showed in the UAE Derby), and that's why we're coming here. We're trying to persist with what the plan was originally—to get him to the Breeders' Cup.

"We're just hoping to see that spark again because that was a good day, and it was a really good performance (in Dubai). It's hard to imagine, 'Was that it?' I'm sure he can come back to that again, but we just have to try. I don't doubt it's there, we just have to try and take it as we find it with him, and hopefully he will find it."

After making his last three starts on the dirt, including a fifth-place finish in the Dwyer, Seahenge will return to the turf in Saturday's Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T). The son of Scat Daddy was third in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes (G1) in October and captured the Howcroft Industrial Supplies Champagne Stakes (G2) at Doncaster in September.

"The turf is not a problem for him, and he stays well," Comerford said.