Paynter arrives at Belmont Park with the hope of competing in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga
After claiming a massive victory in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on 29th July, 2012, Paynter is dreaming big with hopes of winning the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga, which will be hosted on 25th August,
2012.
The charge of Bob Baffert arrived on 10th August, 2012, where he will be placed at John Terranova's barn. The sophomore’s fever spiked after the Haskell and he will take his chances in the Travers only if continues to improve.
As a safety precaution, the runner was kept on the East Coast and not shipped in case it made matters worse. Owner Ahmed Zayat explained the series of events after the Haskell and stated:
"(Paynter) came out of the race unreal; bucking and happy. The Haskell took nothing out of him. Bob got a phone call Tuesday that the horse had spiked a fever of 102. He told me we want to be very cautious, because you can't ship a horse with a fever.”
After that, the son of Awesome Again was transferred to the Mid-Atlantic clinic as a necessary precaution, so the horse could be taken care of. Regarding the rumour that the colt’s fever was being kept a secret, the owner said:
“Bob told the world about the fever and not shipping back to California. He said he was improving every day.”
The runner was shipped to Terranova's barn at Belmont because shipping to Saratoga was slightly dangerous considering the weather forecast. The connections of the three-year-old wanted to take necessary precautions as Zayat further elaborated:
“We just were being cautious and making sure he didn't develop an infection, so we put him on antibiotics. Right now, he is sound, happy, and healthy, and hopefully we dodged a bullet.”
Paynter holds an overall record of 3-2-0 in 6 starts and collective earnings worth $952,224. His last work-out took place on 23rd July, 2012, before the Haskell where he completed a distance of six furlongs in 1 minute and 11.80
seconds.
If Paynter succeeds, he will be the first runner since Point Given to pull off a Haskell-Travers double since 2001.
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