The "Midsummer Derby", the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, features some of the best 3-year-olds in training.  Preakness and Belmont winner Afleet Alex and Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo are both out of action with injuries, leaving this year's edition a wide-open affair with no clear favorite.  Bob Baffert trainee Roman Ruler came into the race off of wins in the Grade 2 Dwyer and the Grade 1 Haskell, and was sent off as the 2-1 favorite.  5-2 second choice Bellamy Road has not raced since the Kentucky Derby, but was the runaway winner of the Grade 1 Wood Memorial.  Also in the field was Todd Pletcher trainee Flower Alley, winner of the Grade 2 Jim Dandy last out, the major local prep for the Travers.


As he did in the Wood, jockey Javier Castellano sent Bellamy Road to the lead right out of the gate, and he led the procession through a half in 47.43 and 3/4 in 1:10.92, with 3-1 third choice Flower Alley in a stalking position 2 lengths back in second.  Jerry Bailey kept the favored Roman Ruler in third down the backstretch.  Rounding the far turn, John Velazquez asked Flower Alley for run and got it, as he came around wide, battled with Bellamy Road briefly in upper stretch, and then shook him off at the 1/8 pole to draw away to a 2 1/2 length win in 2:02.76 for the ten-furlong event. It was a long 2 3/4 lengths back to Roman Ruler in third, who had no response when asked at the top of the stretch.


Winning trainer Todd Pletcher said, "It unfolded the way we thought it would and the way we hoped it would. It seemed clear cut on paper: Bellamy Road would be on the lead, we would be second and Roman Ruler would be stalking us. The key, I thought was that Johnny (Velazquez) made the right decisions all the way around. At the 3/8 pole, he put on a little pressure and that was difference in my opinion. This was a home run. The Jim Dandy was the kind of performance that propelled Flower Alley to the next level. Who knows, maybe he can step it up in the Breeders' Cup?"


Winning jockey John Velazquez said, "This is great. It is very special to me. From the start, I wasn't going to let Bellamy Road go. I got after him at the 3/8 pole and then I asked him and he took off and I still had a lot left. He was very good today. It's really special because it is for Todd (Pletcher) and the Melnyks."


Winning owner Eugene Melnyk said, "We all talked before the race and we said, `Don't let this guy (Bellamy Road) get away.' John (Velazquez) is such a professional and he chased Bellamy Road and made his move at right time. John and Todd (Pletcher) are two pros and when you get two pros teaming up at right time, it makes you look really smart. Skipping the Belmont Stakes was everything. Thirty seconds after the Kentucky Derby, we said, `This is Travers time.' This is huge for me. I've been coming here for 25 years, and you can't imagine what it means to me to win the Travers"


Nick Zito, trainer of runner-up Bellamy Road and 5th place finisher Andromeda's Hero, said, "I thought Bellamy Road was really something. He hasn't run in four months. I salute Flower Alley, but I also salute Bellamy Road. Four months coming off the bench, and he give us this. What a future he's got! The winner rode a tremendous race."



Javier Castellano, aboard second place finisher Bellamy Road said, "He settled down real good and ran a beautiful race. He set a good pace in the race. At the quarter pole, I saw Johnny (Velazquez) right next to me. I hit my horse and he took off. Johnny just had more horse than me today. I felt very confident. Every time I hit the horse, he responded. Coming off the layoff, he got tired. I think the horse has a great future. I want to say thank you to Nick Zito. He did a great job getting the horse ready, and so did the exercise riders and the groom. He's a very good horse."


Bob Baffert, trainer of beaten favorite and third place finisher Roman Ruler, said, "He probably should have been closer. We had to be up close today; the track was really deep. But we also didn't want him to run off and get rank. It was the first time he had gone that long. He may have needed the mile and a quarter. At least, he didn't embarrass himself. He ran a good race. But with Bellamy Road in the race, it changed the whole thinking process. We were waiting for Bellamy Road to stop, and he didn't."


Jerry Bailey, aboard beaten favorite and third place finisher Roman Ruler said, "At the half-mile pole, I tried to get him going but he shook his head. I don't know if it was the dirt being kicked in his face or something else. So, I moved him out and went after Johnny. My horse made a middle move, but didn't make up the ground I thought he would. He was third-best today."