Catholic Boy gets tactics right to win Travers Stakes at Saratoga

The Belmont Derby winner romped home by four lengths to deny Aidan O’Brien’s Mendelssohn a first top-level victory on dirt, and gain some revenge from finishing fourth behind Mendelssohn in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last year.

Under Ryan Moore, Mendelssohn dictated the pace after seizing the lead going into the first bend, before steadying the pace once in front. The runner-up was well in contention and in position turning into the straight, but Catholic Boy, ridden by Javier Castellano, was never far away and the pair four lengths clear of the rest of the field.

With no other horses able to mount a challenge from the trailing pack, Catholic Boy was the one to make the decisive push clear and stayed on strongly in the final two furlongs to run out a comfortable four-length winner for Thomas and Castellano.

The impressive win now has Catholic Boy in the reckoning for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on 3 November.

Speaking afterwards, Thomas, who was celebrating his second Grade 1 win as a trainer, said: “Maybe today he proved he’s better on dirt. I thought they were going a reasonable pace early on and he travelled nicely into the straight.

“I thought we were home once in the straight as that’s where he starts to get strong, and a mile and a quarter is his best trip.”

Despite finishing second, it was another step forward for Mendelssohn who failed to trouble the principals in the Kentucky Derby in May but more recently finished third in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park last month.

O’Brien said: “We were delighted with him. He ran a very good race. It was always the plan to give him three runs on the dirt in America before the Breeders’ Cup Classic and that will be his next race.”

Belmont Stakes runner-up Gronkowski, formerly trained by Jeremy Noseda, and hot favourite Good Magic were never involved and finished towards the rear of the field in a race in which it paid to be up with the pace.

Earlier on the card, O’Brien’s Seahenge failed to land a blow and finished in rear under Wayne Lordan in the Sword Dancer Stakes, won by the former Ed Walker-trained Glorious Empire for Julien Leparoux and James Lawrence II.

There was also a double for the trainer-jockey combination of Bob Baffert and Mike E Smith with victories in consecutive races.

The first came in the Personal Ensign Stakes as Abel Tasman won the Grade 1 contest by a neck from Elate in second, those two almost 10 lengths clear of Wow Cat in third.

That success was backed up in the next race, the Ketel One Ballerina Stakes, by Marley’s Freedom who enjoyed a more comfortable victory to complete a Grade 1 double. Smith guided his mount to a three and a quarter length decision over Still There in second and Lewis Bay in third.

Trainer Chad C Brown was a happy man after seeing Quidura win the Grade 2 Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa.

Ridden by Jose L Ortiz, Quidura, one of three runners for Brown, beat the Arnaud Delacour-trained Hawksmoor by a length and three-quarters, with the Ed Walker-trained Indian Blessing earning a career-best effort third place three lengths back from the winner.