Three Triple Crown Winners Collide In Travers Stakes 2026

Golden Tempo Faces Napoleon Solo

Golden Tempo, winner of the Gr.1 Kentucky Derby and the Gr.1 Belmont Stakes, headlines a 10-horse field for the Gr.1 Travers Stakes 2026 on 29 August 2026 at Saratoga Race Course, drawn against Gr.1 Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo in a rematch of the 2026 Triple Crown series. The field brings together the winners of all three Triple Crown legs for the first time this year, with Renegade, runner-up to Golden Tempo in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, also returning off a rallying win in the Gr.2 Jim Dandy Stakes on 1 August 2026. Supported by five other graded stakes races on the undercard, the Travers is the centrepiece of Saratoga's summer meeting.

The Gr.1 Travers Stakes is run over 2,000 metres on dirt at Saratoga Race Course, restricted to three-year-olds and worth US$1,250,000 in its 157th running, with post time set for 02:35 GST on 29 August 2026 and the winner earning the Man o' War Cup.

Ortiz Downplays Outside Post Draw

Golden Tempo returns from a bacterial lung infection diagnosed in late June 2026, trained by Cherie DeVaux for owners Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable. DeVaux, who became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner when Golden Tempo rallied from last to beat Renegade by a neck in May 2026, saddled the colt to add the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga the following month. Unbeaten in two starts at 1 1/4 miles, the Travers distance, and with earnings of US$4,633,000, Golden Tempo drew post nine among 10 entrants. "He seems fit. He seems really happy," DeVaux said. "He's had a couple of really nice works, solid, and he's not overly exerted, so I think he's in a really good place." DeVaux skipped the Preakness by design to prepare directly for the Belmont, and is now the first woman to train winners of two Triple Crown races.

The Curlin colt worked a half-mile in 47.46 seconds on 15 August 2026 at Saratoga before a maintenance drill the following weekend. Jose Ortiz retains the ride, as he has throughout Golden Tempo's campaign, and said the colt's come-from-behind style made the outside draw an afterthought. "My horse has got no early speed, so I don't worry much about the post position with him," Ortiz said. "I feel like we have a good post, and we'll go from there. My horse is doing great." An equipment change three starts back, Ortiz added, coincided with a shift in the colt's form, with blinkers fitted before the Louisiana Derby and Golden Tempo improving with each start since. Ortiz carries a career record of 10 rides with no wins, two seconds and a third in the Travers Stakes.

Field Chases Travers Stakes 2026

Napoleon Solo, the Liam's Map colt trained by Chad Summers for owner Espoir USA, seeks to rebound from a narrow half-length defeat by Baby Vino in the Gr.1 Haskell Stakes on 18 July 2026. He worked a half-mile in 47.67 seconds on 22 August 2026, the fastest of 41 breezes at that distance on Saratoga's main track that morning. "This is the deepest Travers we've had in years," Summers said. "It's the best three-year-olds in the crop right now." Napoleon Solo has earned US$1,760,520, with wins in the Gr.1 Champagne Stakes by 6 1/2 lengths and the Gr.1 Preakness Stakes among his credits. John Velazquez, who has three career Travers wins, takes over the ride from Paco Lopez.

Renegade, the Into Mischief colt trained by Todd Pletcher for owners Repole Stable, Robert Low and Lawana Low, arrives off a rallying half-length win over Commandment in the Jim Dandy, having come from nearly 12 lengths back to lift his earnings to US$2,506,500. He was runner-up to Golden Tempo in the Kentucky Derby by a neck and third in the Belmont Stakes. "He's shown good energy and his appetite has been great," Pletcher said. "He's been training enthusiastically and it seems like he's thriving." Tyler Gaffalione replaces the injured Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard Renegade from post five.

Sea Strike, the Midshipman colt trained by Chad Brown for Flanagan Racing, makes just his fourth career start after an 8 1/4-length romp in the Curlin Stakes (Listed) on 2 August 2026, his first attempt around two turns. He won his debut at Aqueduct before finishing fifth against older rivals in a US$120,000 allowance sprint on 6 June 2026. "He is a lightly raced horse, and we'll see if we can get another eighth of a mile out of him at the mile and a quarter and see how he does," Brown said. Sea Strike follows the path of stablemate and Alabama Stakes winner My Gun's Loaded, another Brown-trained runner to shine at the Spa meeting. Flavien Prat, aboard for every Sea Strike start, breaks from post seven. Brown's other runner, the Candy Ride colt Emerging Market, qualified for the Kentucky Derby by winning the Gr.2 Louisiana Derby in only his second career start, and finished tenth in the Derby and fifth in the Belmont Stakes, with Ricardo Santana Jr. now aboard from the rail post.

Depth Runs Deep In This Travers Field

Baby Vino, the Vino Rosso colt trained by Lindsay Schultz for Delta Squad Racing, Cosmo Stables and HRH Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, carries a three-race winning streak into the Travers after his Haskell upset, following a 10 3/4-length win in the Pegasus Stakes (Listed) on 13 June 2026. "He showed another level, really," Schultz said of the Haskell. "We thought he belonged, but he'd never been tested anywhere close to a group like that." Silent Tactic, the Tacitus colt trained by Mark Casse and owned by John C. Oxley, with Victoriam Farm buying into the colt for US$1,500,000 on 14 August 2026 through a Fasig-Tipton digital sale, was beaten a length into second in the Gr.3 Ohio Derby and finished third in the Jim Dandy before a bruised foot forced him off the Triple Crown trail. "He's not an easy horse to train, but he's come back and trained very well," Casse said. Luis Saez, a two-time Travers winner, takes the ride from post 10.

The Puma, the Essential Quality colt trained by Gustavo Delgado for OGMA Investments and partners, missed the Kentucky Derby after a skin infection and swollen leg sidelined him on Derby eve, but qualified via the Gr.3 Tampa Bay Derby and a nose defeat in the Gr.1 Florida Derby. Javier Castellano, the Travers' winningest rider with seven victories, takes the mount from post four. Leading Change, the Gun Runner colt unbeaten in two starts for trainer Brad Cox and Wathnan Racing, won the Gr.3 Indiana Derby by a neck on 11 July 2026, with Manny Franco now in the saddle. "We think he's a big-time horse," Cox said. "He lacks seasoning, but is a very talented horse with a great mind." Ocelli, the Connect colt with career earnings of US$842,300 from 10 starts, was third in the Kentucky Derby after leading at the sixteenth pole and remains winless, rounding out the field from post six with Edgard Zayas riding.

Golden Tempo's fitness after illness hangs over the mile-and-a-quarter test, with Renegade and Napoleon Solo both arriving on recent big-race form and Sea Strike and Baby Vino offering form lines still trending upward. Saratoga's dirt has decided plenty of Triple Crown rematches before, and this field carries the credentials to do it again.

Travers Stakes: 02:35 GST, 29 August 2026 | Gr.1 Flat | For Three-Year-Olds | Dirt | 2,000 Metres | US$1,250,000 | Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York | 157th Running | Trophy: Man o' War Cup | Breed: NA | Rail Position: NA | Track Condition: NA | Safety Limit: NA | Track Record: NA | Prize Breakdown: NA (total purse confirmed only)

Post 1: Emerging Market (T: Chad Brown / J: Ricardo Santana Jr.), Post 2: Leading Change (T: Brad Cox / J: Manny Franco), Post 3: Napoleon Solo (T: Chad Summers / J: John Velazquez), Post 4: The Puma (T: Gustavo Delgado / J: Javier Castellano), Post 5: Renegade (T: Todd Pletcher / J: Tyler Gaffalione), Post 6: Ocelli (T: Whit Beckman / J: Edgard Zayas), Post 7: Sea Strike (T: Chad Brown / J: Flavien Prat), Post 8: Baby Vino (T: Lindsay Schultz / J: Paco Lopez), Post 9: Golden Tempo (T: Cherie DeVaux / J: Jose Ortiz), Post 10: Silent Tactic (T: Mark Casse / J: Luis Saez)