SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The decision is in. Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map), winner of the GI Preakness Stakes, will run in in next Saturday's GI, $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga.The grey colt, who finished second in the GI Haskell Stakes in his last start on July 18, will be ridden for the first time by Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Velazquez.“Look, he is one of the best 3-year-olds of his generation and we want to give him the chance to go the classic distance of a mile and a quarter,” trainer Chad Summers said by phone Thursday afternoon. “We'll let the results speak for itself on Aug. 29.”Summers said the decision was made after a 20-minute call with members of Espoir USA, an international group that bought the horse from former owner Al Gold for an undisclosed–but enormous–price after the Preakness.“It was a team decision,” Summers said. “All systems go. We are on the same page.”Velazquez worked Napoleon Solo last week and it was decided that he would be the pilot in the Travers. He replaces Paco Lopez, who had ridden Napoleon Solo in his last three starts.“Johnny is a guy who has been there and done that,” Summers said. “We love the job that Paco did for us in the Preakness and I would think there would be a chance Paco could be reunited with him at some point. We are going with a Hall of Famer who has more Grade I races than anybody.”Earlier Thursday, Napoleon Solo worked a bullet four furlongs in 47.67 seconds (1/41) with regular exercise rider Emily Elingwood aboard. He came onto the main track at 5:30 a.m. and did what he normally does.He ran fast.Summers said the colt has been working “great” since he arrived in Saratoga following the Haskell.“We have always felt he had an affinity for this track,” Summers said after the Thursday morning work. “He has put on weight since he got here, and he has been touting himself. I don't think he could have had three better breezes than he has since the Haskell. We think he is coming into this race the right way.”Napoleon Solo began his career at Saratoga, breaking his maiden by 5 1/4 lengths last summer.What Summers wants to do is give his colt a chance to be 3-year-old champion. The clear-cut favorite right now is Travers-bound Golden Tempo (Curlin), winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes.Napoleon Solo's resume this year shows four starts, one win and a second (in the GI Haskell Stakes). A win in the Travers–no easy feat because the field will be a tough one–could put him in the conversation with the Breeders' Cup looming at Keeneland in the fall. But Golden Tempo is currently way in front.Besides Golden Tempo, Napoleon Solo will have to contend in the Travers with the likes of GII Jim Dandy winner Renegade (Into Mischief), Sea Strike (Midshipman), winner of the Curlin Stakes, GII Louisiana Derby victor Emerging Market (Candy Ride {Arg}), longshot GI Haskell Stakes champ Baby Vino (Vino Rosso), GIII Tampa Bay Derby winner The Puma (Essential Quality), Silent Tactic (Tacitus) who was third in the Jim Dandy, GIII Indiana Derby winner Leading Change (Gun Runner) and maiden Ocelli, who was third in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness.Napoleon Solo has never run against Golden Tempo or Renegade, who figure to be the top two betting choices on the Travers morning-line. Entries will be drawn for the Midsummer Derby on Sunday.“If you want to be champion, you have to show up,” Summers said “If you are not in the Travers, you're not champion. I still think it goes through Golden Tempo. Even if we were to run and win the Travers, you have to do the next step and beat older horses in the Breeders' Cup.”Brown Taking on Counting Stars With Fresh FaceWithout a doubt, there is one 3-year-old filly that towers over the other five that have been entered in Saturday's 146th running of the GI, $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.Always a Runner (outside) My Gun's Loaded (inside) | Sarah AndrewCounting Stars (Honor A.P.), winner of a pair of GI stakes at Saratoga this year (Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks) is the 1-2 favorite. And for good reason. None of the others have won a stake race, let alone a Grade I. Combined, the other five fillies have won seven races; Counting Stars has won six.On paper, the Alabama looks like a colossal mismatch. Ah, but that's why the races are not run on paper.Chad Brown, who knows a thing or two about getting a filly ready for the big stage, is coming to the Alabama with a lightly raced horse named My Gun's Loaded (Gun Runner). She has only run three times–two of them while in Brown's barn–and the leading trainer at the Saratoga meet is going to give his filly a puncher's chance against the top filly of the division.My Gun's Loaded began her career with Steve Asmussen and ran once, last December at Oaklawn Par, where she finished eighth. Owner Douglas Scharbauer transferred her to Brown for her 3-year-old season.Brown took his time with her and debuted her at Saratoga on Belmont Stakes Day, June 6. She broke her maiden in a seven-furlong race by 4 ½ lengths and then won a 1-mile allowance by three lengths at the Spa on July 24.Even though she has the least amount of starts of any in the Alabama, My Gun's Loaded was made the 3-1 second choice on the morning line, set by David Aragona.“I am excited about this race,” Brown said outside his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track. “I have a lightly raced horse, but she is fresh. The big question for her is can she get a mile and a quarter?”Brown has won the Alabama twice–the most recent with Randomized (Nyquist) in 2023.Earlier this year, Brown won the prestigious GI Kentucky Oaks with Always a Runner (Gun Runner), who defeated Counting Stars that night in Kentucky. Since then, Always a Runner has been no match for that rival.She was second to her in the Acorn by 3 1/4 lengths and then was second in the Coaching Club American Oaks, 4 1/2 lengths behind.“We are going to try with a fresh horse this time with a horse that is in great form,” Brown said. “The two times I have run her, she has run exceptionally well, albeit in one-turn races. But she is by Gun Runner, and these horses get classic distances, generally. She could not possibly be training any better.”Irad Ortiz Expected Back Saturday for AlabamaAfter being absent for a big chunk of the Saratoga meeting, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is expected to return just in time to ride Counting Stars (Honor A.P.) in Saturday's GI, $600,000 Alabama Stakes.Ortiz, the four-time defending Saratoga riding champion, has had a frustrating summer at the Spa. After missing the first six days of the meet due to suspension (five days) and a riding date out of town (one), he was injured on Whitney Day, Aug. 8.He was involved in an incident during the post parade of the seventh race on Whitney Day that resulted in severe swelling in his left foot. He has not ridden since. When he returns on Saturday, he will have missed 15 days of the meet.His agent, Steve Rushing, said Ortiz is scheduled to breeze a horse at the Spa on Friday and then ride three races on Saturday and four on Sunday.“Every day he is making progress,” Rushing said Thursday morning at the Oklahoma Training Track. “The swelling has come down, and he is about 90 percent. We will keep it light the first few days and then go full from there.”Ortiz has ridden Counting Stars in his last two starts–wins in the GI Acorn Stakes and GI Coaching Club American Oaks. Had he not been able to return in time, Rushing said the contingency plan was to have Jose Ortiz ride the filly.Rushing said that Ortiz and his brother, Jose, who he also represents, will be leaving Saratoga after Travers Day, Aug. 29, and head to Kentucky Downs to ride. He said that Irad will not return to Saratoga for any of the final seven days of racing, but Jose is scheduled to ride here on Sept. 4.After Thursday's card. Jose Ortiz led the standings with 59 wins, 12 more than Manny Franco, who, according to his agent John Panagot, is remaining in Saratoga for the rest of the meet.“Obviously, it's the premier meet in the country,” Rushing said. “It's definitely important to win it. Irad missed so many days … for him to have 30 wins at this point is pretty impressive.” The post Saratoga Notebook, presented by NYRA Bets: Napoleon Solo Will Run in Travers, Velazquez Will Ride appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.