Chad Brown gives Sea Strike 'big chance' in Travers

SARATOGA SPRINGS – If Sea Strike can repeat his terrific performance from the Aug. 2 Curlin Stakes, he could give trainer Chad Brown of Mechanicville his first victory in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Saturday.

The lightly raced Sea Strike is 5-1 on the morning line, behind only Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo at 5-2 and Jim Dandy winner Renegade at 3-1.

“I’d say the horse has a big chance, based on what I’m seeing,” Brown said Tuesday at his barn. “He runs fast numbers. He’s training incredibly well. I think there’s a lot more in the tank than you saw in the Curlin.”

What Saratoga fans saw was a 8 ¼-length victory in the $150,000 Curlin, an ungraded stakes run at 1 1/8 miles. He earned a Beyer speed figure of 102, the best career number of any of the 10 horses in the field for the $1.25 million Travers.

“I mean, he won the Curlin galloping,” Brown said.

Jockey Flavian Prat will again ride Sea Strike in the 1 ¼-mile Travers. They’ll break from post No. 7 in a race that’s a big jump in class.

“I think he fits just fine,” said Brown, who is 0 for 19 in the Travers, his hometown race. He also has 15-1 Emerging Market, who finished fifth in the Belmont Stakes, entered in Saturday’s race.

Brown has won the Curlin seven times. He sent five other winners from the race to the Travers, but none of those horses finished better than sixth. V.E. Day, trained by Jimmy Jerkens, is the only horse to win the Curlin and the Travers, doing so in 2014.

One question is whether Sea Strike will “bounce,” or regress, off his breakout race in the Curlin.

“Yeah, he’s always been a fast number, and he doesn’t have that many races for foundation, so you always worry about it a little bit.” Brown said. “But the way the horse is training, he’s not giving me any indication that he’s going to react off that race.”

Another issue is Sea Strike’s lack of experience. He didn’t debut until April and will make his fourth lifetime start in the Travers. An Equibase search of Travers winners dating back to 1976 showed none had so few starts before the Travers. However, in 2016, Arrogate dominated the Midsummer Derby in his fifth career start, setting a track record of 1:59.36 while prevailing by 13 ½ lengths.

“It’s definitely a factor to consider,” Brown said. “(Sea Strike) just doesn’t have the experience of the the other horses, but he does have a 1 1/8-mile win going over the surface. He’s got good positional speed. He’s in his best form. He’s doing great – and, he’s fresh, so he doesn’t have any wear or tear on him.”

Brown said there were “inconveniencing minor setbacks” that kept Sea Strike from racing until his 3-year-old debut in a maiden victory at Aqueduct on April 25. He returned to finish fifth in an allowance run at 6 ½ furlongs at Saratoga on the Belmont Stakes undercard on June 6.

Brown said Sea Strike didn’t like the dirt in his face.

“In his second start, when we sprinted him, he reacted to the dirt a little bit,” Brown said. “So on a stretchout (in distance), naturally, it was a clean face and he was forward (in the Curlin). If we get the same position (in the Travers), it’s better.”

Bloodstock agent John Kimmel, recently retired from training, and partner Nick Sallusto purchased Sea Strike on behalf of owner Sean Flanagan for $650,000 as a 2-year-old in Ocala. Fla. in March 2025.

“No. 1, he breezed super well,” said Kimmel, who shared the 1997 Saratoga training title with Bill Mott. “No. 2, he was a good physical (specimen) and his gallop-out was extremely good. His gait evaluation was really good from the visual standpoint. We thought he was a brilliant moving kind of horse.”

Sea Strike is a son of Midshipman, the 2008 2-year-old champion, out of the dam Meetmeonline, a daughter of Line of David.

“The pedigree being by Midshipman, they’re usually not going to bring the kind of price, but this particular individual looked like he had all the characteristics of a racehorse that we kind of look for,” Kimmel said.

Sea Strike had some shin issues as a youngster, according to Kimmel.

Kimmel said Sea Strike gave a “phenomenal performance” in the Curlin, but it’s a “huge step” going into the Travers.

“It’s a big ask, but I think it’s worth the chance,” Kimmel said. “If he were to win the Travers, it changes the whole dynamics of the division, not to mention what he does for his own intrinsic value (as a future stallion).”

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This article originally published at Chad Brown gives Sea Strike ‘big chance’ in Travers.