Leading Change grinds past Napoleon Solo to claim G1 DraftKings Travers

The winners of this year’s Triple Crown events featured in a stellar field of top 3-year-olds assembled for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers at Saratoga Race Course, but it was Wathnan Racing’s lightly-raced Leading Change who announced his presence in the division with a statement score over Grade 1 Preakness-winner Napoleon Solo in the prestigious 10-furlong route for sophomores. Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets-winner Golden Tempo rallied stoutly to finish third.

Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, the blossoming Leading Change has made a rapid ascent to the upper echelon of his generation, maintaining a flawless ledger through three starts with his half-length victory.

The son of Gun Runner made his career bow just 12 weeks ago with an open-lengths graduation in June at Churchill Downs, and entered the Travers from a neck victory in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby on July 11 at Horseshoe Indianapolis where he faced winners and tried two turns for the first time. His prior starts were awarded respective Beyer Speed Figures of 92 and 95, the latter matching the figure returning rival Golden Tempo earned when winning the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May.

“We’ve always thought he was a big-time talent,” said Cox, who celebrated his second Travers victory following Essential Quality’s win in 2021. “He showed it before today in his first two starts and he was able to get it done today. I said coming into it that he’s light on seasoning, but we were hoping he could make up for it with talent, and he was able to do it.”

Wathnan Racing also campaigns the Cox-trained Grade 1-winner Commandment, who skipped this race in favor of the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on September 19, but Cox said that decision did not influence their choice to enter Leading Change here.

“Honestly, no. He ran two big numbers to start his career, and we liked the idea of giving him time after the Indiana Derby,” Cox said. “The timing made a lot of sense with the Travers. I think this is a solid group of 3-year-olds but there was no one to really be scared of based on the two figures that he’d run. He was obviously able to come out on the right end of it.”

In the Travers, Leading Change faced a stacked group of nine well-seasoned rivals, but ran like a consummate professional in the victory engineered by the red-hot Manny Franco, who celebrated with ecstatic jubilation as he crossed the wire and earned his second Travers victory, an exclamation point on a career summer at the Spa where he currently ranks third in the jockeys’ standings. He enjoyed additional top-flight scores this meet with My Gun's Loaded in the Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales and with Survie in the Grade 1 Christophe Clement Turf.

"All I can say is, 'wow,'” an emotional Franco said moments after the race. “I just want to say thanks to Brad Cox, the owners, my agent John Panagot. This is amazing. And the horse, he deserved this. I had the trip that I wanted. I wanted to wait behind those two horses and by the three-eighths pole, he jumped on the bridle and I said, 'oh boy, OK.' It was a matter of getting to the outside and when he hit the outside, he leveled off and he was game.”

Leading Change, a son of Gun Runner, was fleet-footed from post 2 and had enough natural speed to clear the field, but Napoleon Solo, who broke to his immediate outside, was asked for his signature speed while drifting out under Hall of Famer John Velazquez to assume command through the opening quarter-mile in 23.66 seconds over the fast footing.

Franco was patient aboard Leading Change, maintaining their inside position to keep close watch in second while the wide-running Sea Strike followed the run of Napoleon Solo through the first turn to range up into a shared second, with Emerging Market and Baby Vino another length behind them. The remainder of the field was strung out down the backstretch, as Golden Tempo was well behind in ninth with only Grade 1-winner Renegade, who lunged at the start, beaten through the half-mile in 47.95.

A group of six rivals began to bunch up at the front, all awaiting the right moment to strike as Napoleon Solo ticked along through three-quarters in 1:12.62. Sea Strike was the first to take aim at the pacesetter, and ranged up wide midway through the turn as Franco began to test the waters with his willing partner. Sea Strike loomed large straightening for home after one mile in 1:37.03, but Napoleon Solo was far from done and dug in for the fight while Franco angled Leading Change around the top pair with a strong hand ride before going to a right-handed stick.

The favored Golden Tempo made his signature move from deep to make headway down on the rail and was within striking range at the eighth pole, while Napoleon Solo put away Sea Strike and was again a clear leader. Golden Tempo idled briefly as he ran up the inside of Sea Strike and was steadily making up ground late, but Franco implored Leading Change for more inside the final sixteenth and his charge responded, willing himself in front in the shadow of the wire to edge the stubborn Napoleon Solo in a final time of 2:02.98.

Golden Tempo landed a hard-trying third 1 3/4 lengths back of the top pair while one length better than the rallying The Puma. Emerging Market, Sea Strike, Baby Vino, Renegade, Ocelli and Silent Tactic completed the order of finish.

Franco, the leading rider on The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit in 2018-19, 2023 and 2025, said the trip he worked out was exactly what he had hoped for.

“We wanted to be forward, behind Napoleon Solo and Sea Strike, I just sit on the rail the whole way around,” Franco explained. “Going to the five-sixteenths, my horse was going forward, and I felt that I got horse under me. We turned for home, I put him on the outside and he just leveled out. He was digging in. I was happy with the way he finished up.

"This is incredible what he accomplished today," added Franco, whose first Travers win came in 2020 with Tiz the Law. "It's just his third race today. The sky is the limit for him."

Case Clay, racing manager for Wathnan Racing, said what Leading Change lacked in experience, he made up for with raw talent.

"He had to win on talent over seasoning. He's not as seasoned a horse as the other horses. If he was going to win today, it was going to be on talent,” Clay said. “Yes, physically he is a stretchy, two-turn, big, good looking horse that looks like he could have gotten 10 furlongs, so, the day after the Belmont, he won the seven-furlong race at Churchill Downs, then Brad thought, 'let's go Indiana Derby, first time around two turns, see if that works, and then 10 furlongs,' so he won on talent over seasoning today." 

Cox added there are no immediate plans for Leading Change.

“We’ll check him tonight and make sure he’s in good order after the race,” he said. “We’ll ship him back to Kentucky and go from there.”

Leading Change, a half-brother to the Cox-trained Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks-winner Shedaresthedevil, was bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm and was purchased for $800,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He earned $687,500 for his Travers triumph while returning $22.76 on a $2 win wager at 10-1 odds.

The Chad Summers-trained Napoleon Solo made his third straight appearance in Grade 1 company, and entered from a half-length second to Baby Vino in the NYRA Bets Haskell on July 18 at Monmouth Park. Summers commended the effort from the dual Grade 1-winner, and said there is plenty to be excited about in the future with the son of Liam’s Map as he ponders what his best distance may be.

"He showed me about a mile and a quarter, minus 50 yards,” Summers said, adding he will consider Napoleon Solo for both the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Dirt Mile. “Look, he tries. He always tries. Is it something that we're opposed to doing in the right circumstances? No. Keeneland, with the shorter stretch, a little bit of a different circumstance. You got to keep that in mind. Obviously, the long stretch in Saudi [Arabia], the long stretch in Dubai, but he'll be a 4-year-old at that point. Right now we'll just look ahead to the next start, but [we're] proud of the effort he gave today." 

Velazquez, aboard Napoleon Solo for the first time in the afternoon, also questioned the gray’s affinity for longer distances, while satisfied with the gritty performance today.

“He ran great. He put in a really good effort today. Maybe the mile and a quarter is a little far for him, maybe, I don't know,” Velazquez said. “He ran a really good race. He was a little more aggressive than I wanted him to be. I put him all the way to the five path in the first part of the race. By the time he got to the backstretch, he came back to me. After that, [Sea Strike] got to him at the five-eighths pole, and he got in the bridle again. So, I just kind of sat against him, wait, wait, wait. When I asked him, he did run. Somebody else ran better than me. He put up a good fight. The other one was better than me. That's it."

Cherie DeVaux, trainer of the popular Golden Tempo, said her star pupil was hindered by a lack of pace while still proving his talents to run a valiant third.

“He was far back. It just didn't work out with the lack of pace,” DeVaux said. "He had too much to do. He came back fine and that's what is important." 

The colt’s regular pilot, Jose Ortiz, offered similar sentiments.

“He broke good. I was far back obviously, and he started making a good run,” Ortiz said. “I saw a good opening on the inside and I went for it. He responded very well. He put up a very good run and we fell short. That’s the main thing.”

Tyler Gaffalione, aboard the mutuel second choice Renegade in place of the injured Irad Ortiz, Jr., said being pinched back at the start likely did not hinder the colt’s effort for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

“Got a good bump out of the gate. I don't think it took much out of him,” Gaffalione said. “Had a good position, where he likes to be, just had a hard time making up ground today." 

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $200,000 Yaddo in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

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