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2016 Travers Stakes Forecast: Exaggerator Must Go it Alone
If Exaggerator is going to win the 2016 Travers Stakes, he’ll have to do it “fast” because there’s no rain in the forecast this time around.
Since his impressive victory in the Santa Anita Derby, and an even more impressive win in the Preakness — a day when mother nature shined upon Exaggerator while at the same time raining upon Nyquist’ chance at the Triple Crown, Exaggerator has been a solid choice over an off-track.
And despite having further made the point that he’s a “mudder” by winning the Haskell in the slop last time out, trainer Keith Desormeaux believes that track conditions were “merely circumstantial to his colt’s success”. And he’s “relishing the opportunity to dispel the notion that his horse is merely a wet-track specialist once and for all this weekend” according to an article on HorseRacingNation.com.
As a fan of off-track handicapping and wagering, there’s nothing more exciting than to see the glaring reality that one horse relishes a wet-track more than the rest of the field on a rainy day.
And one thing is for sure, Exaggerator’s affinity for an off-track stands out like a sore thumb.
But I’ll give him and Desormeaux the benefit of the doubt (barely) because there’s another angle that works on days when it doesn’t rain and a horse’s chart shows a win over the track.
So, if you’re a handicapper who’s in the ‘loves the mud’ camp, be mindful of the fact that Exaggerator scored a win going 6 1/2 furlongs over a fast track in the G2 Saratoga Special last year as a two-year-old.
And long before he showed us what he can do in the mud.
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