Trainer Jerkens Finishes with Top Two Horses at Travers Stakes

Two of Jimmy Jerkens’ horses topped the competition in Saturday’s Travers Stakes race at the Saratoga Race Course when V. E. Day and Wicked Strong took first and second place in a field of ten horses. Wicked Strong was the bettors’ favorite going in to the race, with V. E. Day racing against 19 to 1 odds. V. E. Day won the race by a nose.

Jerkens talked about seeing his underdog horse come across the finish line in first place. “I wasn’t absolutely sure it was V. E. Day because he had so much mud on him, until they got a little closer and I saw the silks and then I knew it was him. I said ‘Man, what a feeling. I know I’m going to win the Travers, I just don’t know with who.’” Jerkens expressed some ambivalence over the results as well. “It means an awful lot. It’s unreal. I just feel bad for Wicked Strong. That’s the only thing, he ran so hard. (But) I’ll take it.”

Tonalist, the horse who spoiled California Chrome’s Triple Crown run by winning the Belmont Stakes in June, pulled up in third place at Travers. Jockey Joel Rasario indicated that Tonalist was looking good, but ran out of steam toward the end of the race. “I tried to get my position early and he can run like that, so I was happy where I was. He’s the kind of horse that keeps on going. We were just third best today. I thought he was fine where he was early, but he just didn’t have it today in the end.”

V. E. Day is a product of Kentucky’s Bluegrass Hall. The chestnut colt now has four wins and a second in six starts, and earnings total is $829,010.

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