Expert Pick of the Week: 2024 Travers Stakes

Aug 20, 2024 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

A sensational field of seven sophomore colts as well as one sublime filly will go postward in Saturday’s historic $1.25 million Travers S. (G1) at Saratoga. Contested for the initial time in 1864, the Midsummer Derby continues to grow in prominence, and the cast set to compete in the 2024 edition is among the most competitive group of stars in recent years.

The field boasts four Grade 1 winners as well as a quartet of rapidly rising three-year-olds, and handicapping the event is not for the faint of heart. When it’s all said and done, however, Sierra Leone will be the one in the winner’s circle at the conclusion of the feature on a massive day of racing. He is the Expert Pick of the Week.

By dynamic young sire Gun Runner, the colt made headlines when sold for sales-topping $2.3 million here as a yearling, and he has lived up to his lofty price tag.

The Bluegrass S. (G1) victor has never run anything resembling a bad race from seven lifetime appearances, and the two-time classic-placed colt had an ideal prep for this outing when a clear second in the Jim Dandy S. (G2) on July 27.

See you on the first Saturday in May, SIERRA LEONE! 🌹 pic.twitter.com/VxoFQEYOfM

— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) April 6, 2024

Sierra Leone stays back early on and gets momentum approaching the turn for home prior to delivering a stout late kick. He figures to receive an ideal setup Saturday with a slew of his foes likely to be forcing the tempo from the break. The superb sophomore will have Flavien Prat in the stirrups.

With the abundance of early speed in the field, Corporate Power has appeal at a big price for the exotics. Trained by Shug McGaughey, the expensive son of Curlin was an excellent second in the recent Curlin S. on the surface and gives the impression of a colt who will prosper at 10 furlongs.

The bay has yet to prove that he is good enough to win a Grade 1 contest, but he is improving and also produced a bullet half-mile drill on the Oklahoma training strip last Friday. Regular rider Javier Castellano will be in the irons once again.

Ken McPeek’s three-time Grade 1 heroine Thorpedo Anna will face the boys for the initial time and lands in an ambitious spot in which to do so. The Fast Anna filly has decimated her fellow sophomore ladies this season and is a sure contender in her 10-furlong debut. She continues to train in a forward fashion leading up to the event and has to be given respect from the rail under Brian Hernandez Jr.

Expert Pick

An exacta with #2 Sierra Leone on top of #1 Thorpedo Anna and #4 Corporate Power in the 2024 Travers Stakes is the Best Bet of the Week.