Arch Traveler

By Dave Grening – Courtesy of DRF

Arch Traveler has the pedigree and the body type to suggest that he will go a distance of ground, but the 3-year-old colt demonstrated again on Thursday that shorter races may be his forte.

Under Jose Lezcano, Arch Traveler slipped through an opening along the rail in mid-stretch, then spurted clear to win Thursday’s $60,000 Ziggy’s Boy Stakes by three lengths. Glickman, who set the pace under Eddie Castro, finished second by three-quarters of a length over the late-running Rocking Out. Free Entry and The Fed Eased completed the order of finish.

Arch Traveler raced a close-up fourth while rating on the inside behind fractions of seconds and 45.58 seconds set by Glickman. Coming to the top of the stretch, Lezcano got into a brief wrestling match with Arch Traveler before guiding him through a narrow opening along the rail. It took a few strides before Arch Traveler would go through the opening, but once he did he closed in a solid 12.48 seconds for the final furlong.

Arch Traveler, a son of Sky Mesa owned by Centennial Farms, covered the seven furlongs in 1:21.87 and returned $3.80 to win.

“He doesn’t accelerate right away,” Jerkens said, adding that Lezcano told him “you feel like you turn the reins loose he’s going to surge, but he doesn’t, he stays there. You got to ask him, then he’ll go.”

Arch Traveler was making his first start since finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 3. Before that, he won a first-level allowance race going 1 1/8 miles after winning a seven-furlong maiden race. Those efforts came three weeks apart at Gulfstream.

“He probably prefers this, but I think he could win at a route in the right spot,” trainer Jimmy Jerkens said.

Jerkens said that the Grade 2, $250,000 Woody Stephens here on June 11 is a logical next start for Arch Traveler.

Arch Traveler joins Triple Crown chase with allowance win

Arch Traveler took another step towards the Triple Crown trail and a potential start against graded-stakes company with a sharp victory over a strong allowance field on Saturday, February 26 at Gulfstream Park.

A son of Sky Mesa, Arch Traveler was coming back on less than three weeks rest while making his debut beyond seven-furlongs.

While questions were asked before the race about the quick turnaround and extended distance, the colt passed both tests with high marks to establish himself as a possible starter for either the $1,000,000 G1-Florida Derby on April 3 or the $750,000 G1-Wood Memorial on April 9.

Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the colt broke sharply and he was briefly in front as the field entered the first turn. At that point, jockey Jose Lezcano slowed down the pace and took Arch Traveler back to second, where he settled a half-length off the lead as the field moved down the backside. Arch Traveler moved to the front as the field turned for home before kicking clear through the final eighth of a mile. Nacho Business made a bold move late, but Arch Traveler was always safe, posting a ¾-length victory to confirm his status as one of the better three-year-olds on the East Coast.

“He’s now run three races pretty quickly by today’s standings but I wanted to get this one under his belt,” said Jerkens. “There’s a chance he could come back in the Florida Derby. We’ll see if there are any defections along the way. We’ve got plenty of time to decide but this could also give us the chance to wait until we get back to New York.”

Arch Traveler was purchased by the Centennial Farms selection team of Dr. Stephen Carr, Paula Parsons and Don Little, Jr. at the 2009 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $260,000.

The colt now shows a record of 2-1-1 from 4 starts for $60,250. Arch Traveler is currently ranked as #25 on the NTRA Triple Crown prospects poll.