‘Wonder Woman’ Attempts to Make Travers History

[Wandering Eyes]

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–Seven fillies have won Saratoga’s prestigious GI Travers S. since its inception in 1864, with the most recent being Lady Rotha in 1915. The last filly to even run in the Midsummer Derby was Hall of Famer Davona Dale, who finished fourth as the favorite to General Assembly in the 1979 renewal during a championship season in which she won eight races, five of which were Grade Is.

It clearly takes a special filly to even compete in the Travers, never mind win it, and trainer Mark Casse believe he has just that in Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro), who was named for Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot. Entering Casse’s barn on the Saratoga main track, it is evident that the entire team is high on their star filly and confident in her ability to do them proud Saturday. This is understandable given what she has already accomplished.

Only off the board once in 13 starts, the $325,000 OBSAPR buy has competed in at least one stakes race a month since breaking her maiden in ‘TDN Rising Star’ fashion in a Woodbine allowance last August, coincidentally on last year’s Travers day. Winner of the GIII Mazarine S. and GII Demoiselle S. as a juvenile, Wonder Gadot placed in all three GI Kentucky Oaks prep races at Fair Grounds this winter, as well as Oaklawn’s GIII Fantasy S.

The Ontario-bred locked horns with divisional leader Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the final eighth of the Kentucky Oaks and a gritty battle ensued with that chestnut rival gutting out a half-length score in a race that, as the saying goes, didn’t deserve a loser (video). Second by just a head–while finishing well clear of the third-place finisher–after a rough trip in the Woodbine Oaks, Wonder Gadot triumphed by 4 3/4 lengths when facing males in the historic Queen’s Plate going 10 panels on the Woodbine synthetic June 30 (video). She scored another facile victory over colts in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales S. on the dirt at Fort Erie July 24.

Casse could have kept his filly north of the border and went for the final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the 1 1/2-mile Breeders S. on the Woodbine lawn, but he chose a competitive renewal of the Travers instead.

“We think her least preferred distance is turf and more importantly, we are always trying to think two or three races ahead, and going a mile and a half on the turf isn’t going to give us anything,” said Casse on why Wonder Gadot skipped the Breeders, which he won with Neepawa (Scat Daddy). “We ruled that out early.”

Casse could have also run Wonder Gadot in last weekend’s GI Alabama S., which is one of the most highly regarded 3-year-old filly races on the calendar.

When asked why he chose the Travers over that Saratoga filly staple, the conditioner said, “There were a few reasons. It gave us an extra week off the Prince of Wales. We know her distance is a mile and quarter. She loves a mile and a quarter. She has already beaten colts. She gets five pounds, which is significant going this distance. We are trying to make history and we think she has a big chance to do it.”

Casse continued, “We did think about the Alabama for a while. As much as the Alabama is a great race, we think we have a good shot to win the Travers. If you are afraid to step off first, you can’t steal second. So, we are stepping off first and we are going to try and steal second and see what happens.”

Wonder Gadot was a late foal, born May 22, and though she was clearly always good, she seems to be only getting better in the second half of her sophomore season. Casse does not attribute that to maturity, however,

“I think it is the distance,” the horseman said. “If you look at her record going a mile and an eighth and farther, it’s pretty good. We also added blinkers, which has helped her. Her race in the Kentucky Oaks was extremely good and that is kind of what we are basing our opinion on and why we are trying the Travers. I think her Oaks race was as good as any other horses in the Travers.”

He continued, “A lot of people don’t know this, but she got in some trouble at the 5/16ths pole, another filly clipped heels and Johnny had to check our filly pretty good. That hurt her, so I think her race in the Oaks against Monomoy Girl, who is as good as there is of any 3-year-old, stands out. In the Canadian Oaks, she had a lot of trouble, so we aren’t going to hold that against her.”

Wonder Gadot will have a new jockey as she faces colts for the third straight time in her young career. The Saratoga meet’s leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. will take over for Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who is committed to ride the Todd Pletcher-trained GII Wood Memorial S. winner Vino Rosso (Curlin). Ortiz was previously scheduled to pilot Curlin S. hero Hofburg (Tapit), but became available over the weekend when that Bill Mott pupil was ruled out of the race with a fever.

“Obviously, we would have liked to have Johnny, but we knew going in that would not be the case as Johnny has a longstanding relationship with Todd,” Casse said. “I don’t think it is any reflection on Wonder Gadot’s achievements or ability. To pick up Irad was great. Here you have a future Hall of Famer and the leading rider at Saratoga. Not only that, but he is a great person with a lot of enthusiasm. He is excited to ride her and we are excited to have him.”

While Wonder Gadot will not have to contend with recently retired Triple Crown hero Justify (Scat Daddy), she still has a tall task ahead of her facing the likes of champion Good Magic (Curlin), GII Jim Dandy S. victor Tenfold (Curlin), GI Preakness S. runner-up Bravazo (Awesome Again), GI Belmont S. second-place finisher Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}) and more.

“There is no Justify, but Good Magic is a great horse in his own right,” Casse said. “It is a tough bunch. It is not an easy field, but we feel she stacks up with the best of them. Saturday will tell the tale.”

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