The Travers (Grade 1)- $1,250.00 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
August 29, 2026

With so many big names running in the Travers, there were plenty of storylines that were waiting to be written. However, none of them could be greater than the showdown between Gogh Wild and Quantum Pursuit, who between them took all three TC races, then Quantum Pursuit against topping Gogh Wild in the Haskell. Could Gogh Wild get some payback on his rival? Payback, that would come at a fitting place, since it was on this track in June where Gogh Wild’s TC dream was spoiled. This time, it would indeed be Gogh Wild, flipping the script back to being where it him that comes out on top, as he gets the massive Travers win. This is the first time that trainer TwinTowersRacing has won the Travers, which is a massive jewel that he now owns in his long career. T Gaffalione is the winning jockey, and also does so for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 2:00.61, which is towards the quicker end of such times. Let’s take a look at it now!

(½ Mile- :47.68)- From the outside, Resurgent heads to the lead for D J C Racing Stables and will show the way around the clubhouse turn. TwinTowersRacing’s Cherokee Monster would run second for much of the opening part of the race, but as they get to the half mile point his stablemate, and eventual race winner, Gogh Wild, takes the second spot while holding the rail. People Batty, from Night Rider Stables, is also running well, and is between the two TwinTowersRacing horses. About a length behind them, we have Quantum Pursuit, from Mb Stables, who takes a wide lane around the opening turn, running right behind Resurgent, and there’s one more to his outside, that being John Henry’s Big Dog. It’s another length to the D J C Racing Stables’ Weaponize, who looked to surprise as a 93/1 longshot. Decima Tech (The Sidley Stud), with another length to Hurts (Royalty Stables), and trailing is Knowing Spirit (Ajm Stables).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.87)- Early in the backstretch run, Gogh Wild would take over the top spot, moreso because Resurgent began to concede ground. Gogh Wild would gracefully handle the backstretch portion, leading by about a full length over a friendly rival in the form of Cherokee Monster. People Batty and Resurgent are half a length behind him, and even with one another. J R Velazquez would look for his lane with Quantum Pursuit in the backstretch, perhaps concerned about Resurgent starting to lose a little bit, but could not move over due to the presence of Big Dog. Instead, he’s move Quantum Pursuit to the inside to now run behind Cherokee Monster. Nearby, Weaponize had a pretty unobstructed path along the rail and was about two and a half from the front. Decima Tech, and then Hurts were next in line, and we had not seen much out of Knowing Spirit.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Around the turn, and entering the stretch, Gogh Wild was looking every bit like the horse that won the KYD and the PRK running well on the rail and would try to take this home with an advantage of a length and a half. People Batty would run second for now, pulling to the inside of Cherokee Monster. It’s another length to Weaponize, who was having a really smooth trip on the rail and still had a clear lane in front of him. Things were looking promising for him to light up the board if Gogh Wild were to falter. Quantum Pursuit is beside him, running well, but never really having that clear traffic to work with until they hit the top of stretch and that would make his task of catching his rival all the more difficult. Meanwhile, both Resurgent and Big Dog were dropping out of it, and Decima Tech was running himself into traffic trouble. Hurts had the clear lane to make a run if he was able. Knowing Spirit is still at the back, but looking to make a wide move.

(Finish- 2:00.61)- There is no let up in the stretch with Gogh Wild, as this great three year old demonstrates for us all once again why he is one of the best in virtual racing. T Gaffalione could look over his shoulder approaching the wire, and know that no one was coming quickly enough, not even Quantum Pursuit. For that one, it just seemed like traffic ruined his day, not that there is any intention to take anything away from Gogh Wild. There was very little time to show his strong stride, but when he did, it would be good enough to get him the second spot in a very tight photo with Weaponize. Great run for the massive longshot, but he showed in the PRK that he has it in him. The big question will continue to be whether or not he can run like this consistently every time D J C starts him. With a steady run, People Batty gets the fourth place check over Cherokee Monster, who also ran consistently to the wire. Hurts and Decima Tech moved up late to take the next two spots, followed by Knowing Spirit, Big Dog, and Resurgent.

About The Winner- Gogh Wild, trained by TwinTowersRacing and ridden to victory by T Gaffalione, is a three year old gelding by Van Gogh and is out of American Wild. He was bred in California as a second quarter two year old by TwinTowersRacing, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 12 starts, and his fourth stake win, all of which are graded. His career earnings are now $5,968.12.

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES