Travers 2022: Epicenter Draws 6

Epicenter seems to have done enough this wide-open year to be crowned 3-year-old male champion. Everything except win a Grade 1 race. The runner-up in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness on Tuesday drew post 6 and was installed as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in a field of eight set for Saturday’s $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. Click here for Saratoga entries and results. Epicenter most recently was a 1 1/2-length winner against only three rivals in the July 30 running of the Jim Dandy (G2). The Not This Time colt trained by Steve Asmussen won the Risen Star (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2) early this year. Rich Strike, the 80-1 surprise in the Kentucky Derby, and Early Voting, who scored at 5-1 in the Preakness, were expected to be long shots in the Travers. Trained by Eric Reed, Rich Strike has not raced since he was sixth in the Belmont Stakes. Early Voting weakened to finish last for trainer Chad Brown in the Jim Dandy. Cyberknife enters the mid-summer derby off a 7-1 triumph July 23 in the Haskell, his second Grade 1 score this year. In his last five starts, the only loss for the Gun Runner colt trained by Brad Cox was an 18th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Zandon, a stablemate of Early Voting, brings in a record of 6: 2-2-2, including a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Brown also was expected to enter lightly raced Curlin Stakes winner Artorius, who was sired by 2016 Travers winner Arrogate. Ain’t Life Grand, a four-time stakes winner in his native Iowa, and Gilded Age, who finished second in the Curlin last month at Saratoga, also were probable for the entry box. Source: horseracingnation.com