Colonel John claims Travers in photo-finish

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/23/2008 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Santa Anita Derby winner Colonel John survived a stretch long duel with Mambo in Seattle to win Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, The "Mid-Summer Derby" attracted an evenly matched field of 12 three-year-olds.

Colonel John, ridden by Garrett Gomez, went off as the 4-1 second choice behind 7-2 favorite Pyro. Harlem Rocker and Mambo in Seattle were both 5-1 with Jim Dandy Stakes champ Macho Again getting little attention at 7-1.

Da' Tara, winner of the Belmont Stakes, set the pace, closely followed by Tizbig in the 1 1/4 mile race. The two colts held their positions up the backstretch while Colonel John and Tres Borrachos dueled behind them.

Jockey Alan Garcia kept Da' Tara on the lead around the final turn and into the stretch. The two looked to be increasing their lead coming out of the turn.

With a quarter-mile to run Colonel John took a short lead as lightly raced Mambo in Seattle hooked him for the stretch drive. The two battled down the stretch and hit the wire together, with almost nothing to separate them.

The photo revealed that Colonel John prevailed over Mambo in Seattle by the smallest of margins. Jim Dandy runner-up Pyro finished third followed by Harlem Rocker, Da' Tara, Court Vision, Tale of Ekati, Macho Again, Tizbig, Amped, Cool Coal Man and Tres Borrachos.

The time for the 139th Travers was 2:03.20 on a fast Saratoga track.

Colonel John collects $600,000 with the victory for owner WinStar Farm and trainer Eoin Harty. The colt has now won five of nine career starts for $1,468,830.

"I'd rather be inside rather than outside in a big field," Harty said before the race, "don't want to get caught up in any traffic.

"I think the Travers, with the exception of the Kentucky Derby, is the three- year-old race to win. It's a race steeped in tradition. It's very important to a stallion's career. I just think it's one of those really great races that kind of define a horse and a trainer's career."

He was coming off a third-place finish in the Swaps at Hollywood Park as the 4-5. Earlier this year he won the Sham Stakes, but finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby.

Colonel John returned $10.40, $5.40 and $4.30. Mambo In Seattle paid $6.30 and $5.10, and Pyro paid $3.70 to show.

In other news in the three-year-old division, Big Brown will make his next start on Saturday, September 13 at Monmouth Park in the $200,000 Monmouth Stakes on the turf. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will face older horses for the first time.

"We were looking for a grass race for him and the Monmouth grass surface should be perfect for Big Brown," said Michael Iavarone, co-president and co- CEO of IEAH Stables. "Monmouth was cordial enough to put up a nice purse for him and the fans really took to Big Brown last time he was there.

"We'll use this race to go to the synthetic surface at Santa Anita and the Breeders' Cup Classic."

As part of the conditions of the race, the $200,000 purse for the Monmouth Stakes will be increased to $500,000 should Big Brown start in the turf test.

"We're overjoyed that Big Brown will be returning to New Jersey," said Bob Kulina, vice president and general manager of Monmouth Park. "Big Brown coming back to the Jersey Shore will provide added excitement to September racing at Monmouth and should be an across the board winner for his connections, the fans, and the racing industry in New Jersey."

Big Brown won the Haskell Invitational in his last start at Monmouth.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

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