Nonios and Neck ‘N Neck in crucial contention for the Travers Stakes
The Grade 1 Travers Stakes has attracted a highly competitive and challenging field for the mile and two furlong race that will be held at Saratoga on Saturday, 25th August. Eleven three-year-old competitors will race on dirt for getting entitled
to the £387,097 prize money. Even though there are quite a handful who have the potential of being the first one beyond the wire, Neck ‘N Neck and Nonios seem to be the most interesting ones in the field.
Both the entries are three-year-old but Flower Alley’s Neck ‘N Neck has way more experience up the sleeve as compared to the Jerry Hollendorfer trained, Nonios. Despite more experience, Neck ‘N Neck has just two additional graded races on the profile as
compared to Nonios.
The fact that aligns the compatibility between the two is that they got the chance to race in graded company just during this season, for Pleasantly Perfect’s colt it being the debut season.
The Green Smith owned broke the maiden at the very first asking and then won the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes on 3rd June, 2012 at the Betfair Hollywood Park over 1 1/16 miles and struck a hat-trick through the first three outings of the career.
However, it also marked as the last race that he won because the next two graded races resulted in second positions.
Nonios qualified as the runner-up in the Grade 2 Swaps Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park and then the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
The A. Stevens Miles Junior owned ended fifth, fourth and then again fifth in the first three graded races. Not pulling out decently from the races ended him in an allowance race at Churchill Downs on 10th May, 2012.
He won the first graded race on 16th June, 2012 at Churchill Downs over 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 3 Matt Winn. He then stumbled to a decent second position in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on 28th July, 2012 at Saratoga over 1 1/8 miles.
Both are backed by 5 to 1 odds for the spectacle today, with Neck ‘N Neck becoming the mount for jockey, L. R. Goncalves and Nonios getting paired up with, J. R. Velazquez.
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