SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017 FOREVER UNBRIDLED CAGES SONGBIRD COAST TO COAST Forever Unbridled (Unbridled=s Song) pulled off the biggest IN THE TRAVERS upset of the day at Saratoga Saturday, running down popular two-time champion Songbird (Medaglia d=Oro) in the final strides of the GI Personal Ensign to win by a neck. The Personal Ensign is a >Win and You=re In= for the GI Breeders= Cup Distaff at Del Mar. AYou knew [Songbird on the lead] was going to happen, you just had to go find her at the quarter-pole,@ winning trainer Dallas Stewart said. AI just let [Joel] Rosario do his thing. I was hoping she'd get there, but you never know when you're trying to run down a champion. She kept coming back on and coming back on [after Songbird in the stretch]. It wasn't easy, but she did it. I don't think he ever hit her because she hates the whip. It's not easy to win a race like this against a champion.@ Cont. p8 (Click here) West Coast | Sarah Andrew IN TDN EUROPE TODAY DOUMEN REFLECTS ON TRAILBLAZING CAREER A GI Travers S. featuring the three individual winners of the Recently retired trainer Francois Doumen talks to the TDN Triple Crown races--the first time that=s happened since 1982-- about a career in which he was a pioneer of racing on the certainly made for its share of good pre-race headlines. international stage, both on the flat and over jumps. Bob Baffert apparently had other ideas. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. A year after shipping >TDN Rising Star= Arrogate (Unbridled=s Song) to the Spa for a performance for the ages, the Hall of Famer captured his second-straight >Mid-Summer Derby= in wire-to-wire fashion courtesy of Gary and Mary West=s streaking West Coast (Flatter). The handsome bay, off at odds of 6-1, had 3 1/4 lengths to spare over 24-1 chance Gunnevera (Dialed In). Irap (Tiznow) was third. Tapwrit (Tapit), winner of the GI Belmont S., was fourth. AI'm just fortunate we got control of the canoe one more year,@ said Baffert, who also trained 2001 Travers hero Point Given (Thunder Gulch). AI think the key to today was that the horse was in his element in the paddock, and he looked great going to the gate. Usually, he gets all worked up and hot, and today he was perfect. He was a saint.@ Baffert continued, AWe really didn't have a plan for this horse after this. The whole plan was to get to Travers, but after that, we'll just sit down. We'll let it sit. Gary's been so patient with me, and he's been great. I'm so happy for him, because Gary and Mary, they deserve to win a race like this. They buy nothing but the Classic-type horses, horses that run.@ Cont. p3 WORLD’S LEADING BROODMARE SIRE IN 2017 G1 WINNERS 5 Led by the record-setting ARROGATE, recent Alabama S. winner ELATE, and Saturday’s (859) 873-1717 | winstarfarm.com Allen Jerkens S. winner PRACTICAL JOKE Forty Niner - Danzig’s Beauty, by Danzig *Source: BloodHorse.com 8/26 Greatness defined. FIND YOURS AT KEENELAND SEPTEMBER PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] Sunday, August 27, 2017 EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Assistant Editor Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Lawn jockeys greet visitors along the walkway leading to the National Museum of Michelle Benson Racing and Hall of Fame. | Horsephotos Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] TODAY’S GRADED STAKES EST Race Click for TV Social Media Strategist 2:25a Keeneland Cup-G3, SAP -------------- ----- Justina Severni 2:45a Niigata Nisai S.-G3, NII -------------- ----- Director of Customer Service 9:00a Flame Of Tara EBF S.-G3, CUR -------------- ----- Vicki Forbes 9:00a Altia Polar Cup-G3, OVR -------------- ----- [email protected] 9:35a Plusvital Round Tower S.-G3, CUR -------------- ----- Marketing Manager 9:45a Prix de Meautry-G3, DEA -------------- ----- Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen 9:50a Marit Sveaas Minnelop-G3, OVR -------------- ----- 9:55a Goldene Peitsche-G2, BAD -------------- ----- Director of Information Technology 10:25a Prix Quincey-G3, DEA -------------- ----- Ray Villa [email protected] 10:45a Snow Fairy Fillies S.-G3, CUR -------------- ----- 11:05a Grand Prix de Deauville-G2, DEA -------------- ----- WORLDWIDE INFORMATION 11:30a Weatherbys Racing Bank Supreme S.-G3, GOO -------------- ----- International Editor 4:47p Ontario Colleen S.-GIII, WO TJCIS PPs TVG Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] 7:40p Torrey Pines S.-GIII, DMR TJCIS PPs TVG European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 17 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • AUGUST 27, 2017 Travers Coverage cont. Tapwrit at the top of the stretch. West Coast still had plenty left, however, and found another gear in the stretch to win as much the best. Gunnevera, winner of the GII Fountain of Youth S. earlier this term, came flying from 11th after getting bumped badly at the break and survived an inquiry after coming in on Irap in deep stretch. Always Dreaming tired to ninth; GI Preakness S. Winner Cloud Computing (Maclean=s Music) was eighth. Favored Good Samaritan (Harlan=s Holiday), an impressive winner of the GII Jim Dandy S. in his dirt debut, left himself too much and was fifth. "[Bob Baffert] said, 'Listen, you ride him however you want, and he'll put a big effort,' and that means I could do whatever I wanted,@ Smith said. AI thought there wasn't much pace, but man, I caught a good jump, put him on the lead, and he just cruised from there. He was a happy horse all the way around Gary West (right) leads West Coast there. There was a time or two when they came to me, but he into the winner=s circle | Sarah Andrew just put them away, and every time they would he'd take a big The Wests and Baffert also campaign last year=s Travers old breath of air, so I felt confident he'd continue to run well.@ runner-up American Freedom (Pulpit). The duo teamed up for a West Coast, a maiden winner at second asking at Santa Anita victory in the 2013 GI Breeders= Cup Juvenile with New Year=s Mar. 12, came up just a head short after leading in the stretch Day (Street Cry {Ire}). when second in Keeneland=s GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Apr. AWell, this is a race that we watched for probably 40 years 15. He=s perfect in four subsequent attempts, including a visually we've been in horse racing and obviously it's always one we'd impressive tally in Belmont=s Easy Goer S. June 10. Cont. p4 love to have won, and we finally won one,@ winning owner Gary West said. ABob thought he was a nice horse all along, but in his early training, he didn't really stand out. I didn't think we'd be sitting here today having won the Travers. I'm just being honest with you.@ West continued, AHe's been progressively getting better. I've watched the last couple of his breezes with Bob. I thought he had a decent shot in here, but you've got to remember you've got the winner of the Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont, the first and second finishers of the Haskell, the first and second finishers of the Jim Dandy. You have to go back a lot of years in history to see a Travers with this many quality horses in it.@ A come-from-behind last-out winner of the 1 1/8-mile GIII Los Alamitos Derby July 15, Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith changed up tactics here, sending the bay to the front after breaking sharply from post three. He clicked off fractions of :23.82 and :48.12 with the Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) West Coast | Adam Coglianese chasing in second. West Coast quickly put that one away, but braced for the oncoming challenges from Irap, Gunnevera and TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 17 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • AUGUST 27, 2017 Saturday, Saratoga TRAVERS S. PRESENTED BY NYRA BETS-GI, $1,250,000, SAR, 8-26, 3yo, 1 1/4m, 2:01.19, ft. 1--&WEST COAST, 126, c, 3, by Flatter 1st Dam: Caressing (Ch. 2yo filly & GISW, $955,998), by Honour and Glory 2nd Dam: Lovin Touch, by Majestic Prince 3rd Dam: Forest Princess, by Fleet Nasrullah ($425,000 Ylg '15 KEESEP Video). O-Gary & Mary West; B-CFP Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Mike E. Smith. $670,000. Lifetime Record: 7-5-2-0, $993,800. *1/2 to Gold Hawk (Empire Maker), GSP, $158,043; and Juan and Bina (Indian Charlie), GSP, $179,020. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click They=re off in the Travers! | Adam Mooshian for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.