Stay Thirsty's owner Mike Repole, center, with his grandmother Noni, left, and his wife Maria Repole, right, hold up trophies after Stay Thirsty ridden by Javier Castellano won the 142nd Travers Stakes horse race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. (AP Photo /Hans Pennink)
Stay Thirsty's owner Mike Repole, center, with his grandmother Noni, left, and his wife Maria Repole, right, hold up trophies after Stay Thirsty ridden by Javier Castellano won the 142nd Travers Stakes horse race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. (AP Photo /Hans Pennink)
Caleb's Posse with Rajiv Maragh (2) and Uncle Mo ridden by John Velazquez finish the King's Bishop Stakes horse race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. Caleb's Posse won the race. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
Caleb's Posse with Rajiv Maragh, left, pulls ahead of Justin Phillip ridden by jockey Ramon Dominguez, center, and Uncle Mo with John Velazquez, far right, to win The King's Bishop Stakes horse race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
Stay Thirsty, with Javier Castellano aboard, stands in the winner's circle after winning the 142nd Travers Stakes horse race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. (AP Photo /Hans Pennink)
Stay Thirsty (9), with Javier Castellano up, Malibu Glow, left, with Rajiv Maragh up, and Ruler On Ice, right, with Jose Valdivia up, head towards the first turn at the start of the 142nd Travers Stakes horse race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. Stay Thirsty won the race. (AP Photo /Hans Pennink)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) ? His face covered with perspiration, a conflicted Mike Repole tried to express his emotions after losing one big race by a nose with Uncle Mo and winning the $1 million Travers Stakes with Stay Thirsty about 30 minutes later at Saratoga Race Course.
"It's a roller-coaster game, it's a bipolar game," the owner of both 3-year-old colts said Saturday. "What we just saw in the last half-hour for (trainer) Todd Pletcher and Mike Repole, the low, the highest high, all within 30 minutes. It's a tough loss with Uncle Mo and probably the best win of my life here with the Travers."
Uncle Mo gave it all he had in the $250,000 King's Bishop, his first race since recovering from a life-threatening liver disease that sidelined the one-time Kentucky Derby favorite through the Triple Crown races. Uncle Mo, the champion 2-year-old in 2010, stormed into the lead in the stretch but was beaten by a nose by Caleb's Posse in a photo finish.
"Listen, I want to win. I think the horse ran great ... he just came up short," Repole said, adding that Uncle Mo lost his right rear shoe just after the start of the seven-furlong race.
Stay Thirsty came up huge in the Travers on a hot, muggy day at the Spa.
Sent off as the 2-1 favorite in the field of 10, Stay Thirsty raced just off the pace set by Preakness winner Shackleford. But when the field turned for home in front of a crowd of 43,050, the son of 2006 Travers winner Bernardini surged to the lead under Javier Castellano and held off Rattlesnake Bridge by 1? lengths.
The win moves Stay Thirsty to the head of the 3-year-old class, ahead of sidelined Derby winner Animal Kingdom and the two other classic winners he beat in the Travers ? Shackleford and Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice, who was fourth. Haskell winner Coil, the second choice, finished 10th.
"Stay Thirsty separates himself from every other 3-year-old by far right now," Repole said. "There's nothing else this horse can do. He should have won the Belmont. He ran an incredible Jim Dandy. Javier rode him great. He was all out, a length and a half. There's no doubt in my mind."
Winning time for the 1? miles was 2:03.03.
J W Blue, a 32-1 long shot was third, followed by Ruler On Ice fourth, Malibu Glow, Moonshine Mullin, Bowman's Causeway, Shackleford, Raison d'Etat and Coil.
"I guess we'll go home and regroup," Shackleford's trainer Dale Romans said. "A rough day. He wasn't himself."
Stay Thirsty, who ran 12th in the Derby and second in the Belmont before his Jim Dandy-Travers sweep, returned $6.80, $4.20 and $3.40. Rattlesnake Bridge, ridden by John Velazquez, paid $10.80 and $7.60, and J W Blue returned $11.40 to show.
Stay Thirsty earned $600,000 for the win and boosted his career total to $1.4 million.
As expected, Shackleford broke for the lead from the outside No. 10 post. Stay Thirsty likes to run just off the pace, but found himself in front early ? not exactly what Pletcher had in mind.
However, Castellano was able to keep Stay Thirsty relaxed along the backstretch, and the colt had plenty left when he hit the final turn.
"I was more concerned with the first quarter (mile) than the last quarter," Pletcher said. "He might have been a little fresh and pulling a litter harder than we would have liked, but once they turned up the backside I felt a lot better. When we got to the top of stretch ? the horse has a lot of natural stamina ? I wasn't worried."
Castellano, a three-time Travers winner, became just the fifth rider to win the "Mid-Summer Derby" in consecutive years. He won aboard Afleet Express last year.
"He ran huge today. He showed he's the best 3-year-old in the country and I'm so happy with the way he did it," Castellano said. "He's a late-developing horse. He's a more mature horse. He's like his father (Bernardini). I am very lucky to able to ride his son. I won the Jim Dandy with both the father and son. He's huge for me and my career."
Pletcher, the nation's leading trainer, said the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Oct. 1 could be next for Stay Thirsty.
"We know he likes Belmont and he likes 1? miles," Pletcher said. "We need a bridge between here and the Breeders' Cup and that's the most likely one."
As for Uncle Mo's future, Repole said he wasn't sure.
"After what he did, I think we just really need to take a look. Uncle Mo might have two races left. He might have five races left. Or we might have seen Uncle Mo's last race," he said. "Todd has done an amazing job with getting this horse back to where he was Uncle Mo. ... He ran a great race. We're really going to micromanage Uncle Mo, and that might just be it, to be honest with you."
In earlier races at the Spa, Hilda's Passion ($7.10) cruised to a 9?-length win over Tar Heel Mom in the $250,000 Ballerina for fillies and mares, Hot Summer ($16.40) caught Maple Forest in the stretch for a half-length victory the $102,000 Victory Ride for 3-year-old fillies, and Daveron ($11) pulled away for a 1?-length win over Tapitsfly in the $200,000 Ballston Spa for fillies and mares on the turf.
Associated Press
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