In 1964 he trained Quadrangle for Paul Mellon. Every five years he comes up to Saratoga Race Course with a Belmont Stakes winner counted a dead cert for the Travers.
It was not an unfamiliar situation for the trainer. He had the odds-on choice for the Travers in his barn. Readily come to mind the unexpected failures of Travers favorites Traffic Judge, Tom Fool, Bed o' Roses, and Phalanx.īurch was nervous. Then there was the year 20-1 Crewman, who led home such as Chateaugay, Candy Spots, and Never Bend. Only last year, 15-1 Chompion upset Forward Pass in the Travers. Racing men harbor the memory of Jim Dandy, nurture it as proof that the odds-on choice is never a certainty. It was the kind of thing that eclipses such performances as Babe Ruth's called shot in the 1932 World Series, Roger Bannister's mile, Bart Starr's quarterback sneak against Dallas. And Subway Sam Rossoff claimed he got $100 down with Tom Shaw at 150-1 on a third horse with the improbable name of Jim Dandy.Īt the finish it was Jim Dandy by eight and Subway Sam by $15,100. The Travers was the rematch of two champions. Yet memory clings to the great upset, that day in 1930 when William Woodward Sr.'s Gallant Fox, winner of the Triple Crown, came out to do battle with Harry Payne Whitney's Whichone, victor over the unbeaten 3-year-old in the previous year's Futurity, in their last meeting. The history of the Travers abounds with top performances by top horses-Man o' War, Sun Briar, Roamer, Broomstick, Henry of Navarre, Hindoo, Tom Bowling, Joe Daniels, Harry Bassett, Ruthless. It was in the Travers that we saw the best of Damascus, the strength of Buckpasser, the quality of Gallant Man, the power of Native Dancer, the class of Whirlaway, Granville, Twenty Grand. It was in the Travers that Jaipur and Ridan battled every inch of the way and at the end of 1 1/4 miles could not be separated by the naked eye. It has produced some of the finest performances of a long list of champions. Over the years, the Travers has remained a class event, the Midsummer Derby for 3-year-olds.