Golden Tempo (Curlin), a sensational last-to-first winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes, is the horse to beat in an ultra-deep renewal of the GI DraftKings Travers S. at Saratoga Saturday.The 157th renewal of the 'Mid-Summer Derby' is one of five Grade I events slated for the 14-race program, including the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial and three Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' qualifiers–the Personal Ensign (Distaff), Forego (Dirt Mile) and Resorts World Casino Ballerina (Filly and Mare Sprint).After upsetting the Kentucky Derby at 23-1, the Phipps Stable and St Elias Stable homebred backed up that performance with a statement-making victory in the track-and-trip Belmont Stakes June 6.Forced to bypass the local prep GII Jim Dandy S. due to a brief illness, the 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' has been tabbed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Travers. Golden Tempo breaks from post nine with regular jockey Jose Ortiz in the irons.The Travers 3-1 second-choice Renegade (Into Mischief), a painful runner-up in the Kentucky Derby and disappointing third-place finisher as the favorite in the Belmont Stakes, will take another shot at Golden Tempo following an eye-catching win in the Jim Dandy. Tyler Gaffalione takes over the controls for the sidelined Irad Ortiz, Jr.“I have always said this race is a bit different than the other races because horses do a lot of maturing throughout the summer, colts especially, so it will be interesting to see how they both (Golden Tempo and Renegade) perform,” trainer Cherie DeVaux said.“And we have new horses in the race, too, and they weren't part of the conversation during Belmont week.”Those 'new horses' include a pair of lightly raced 'Rising Stars'– the Brad Cox-trained two-for-two GIII Indiana Derby winner Leading Change (Gun Runner) and daylight Curlin S. winner from the Chad Brown barn Sea Strike (Midshipman).The Travers field of 10 also features the front-running GI Preakness S. winner Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map), who was reeled in by the re-opposing Baby Vino (Vino Rosso) in a sloppy renewal of the GI NYRA Bets Haskell S. at Monmouth Park July 18. Napoleon Solo figures to be on the engine as the main speed once again here.“This is the deepest Travers we've seen in a long time,” trainer Chad Summers said. “Obviously, Golden Tempo is the favorite for the 3-year-old championship, but he's never run against us before. So, we'll see what happens in the race.”Other headliners and storylines on the Travers card include: the DeVaux-trained, track record-setting GI Woody Stephens S. winner and 'Rising Star' Englishman (Maxfield) in the Allen Jerkens; champion sprinter Book'em Danno (Bucchero) back to defend his Forego title; Saratoga horse-for-course and 'Rising Star' Ways and Means (Practical Joke) in a stacked 12-horse deep Ballerina; and a Fully Subscribed (Tiz the Law) vs. Scottish Lassie (McKinzie) rematch in the Personal Ensign.Fully Subscribed | Sarah Andrew“He's an unbelievable horse,” trainer Derek Ryan said of Book'em Danno. “Hopefully, he can keep going.”Ryan added, “Englishman is a serious horse. If you asked me who the best sprinter in the country is–besides us–he's got to be the next one.”Saturday's coast-to-coast graded stakes action also includes: Ag Bullet (Twirling Candy) shooting for a three-peat in the $1.75-million GI Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint S.; the ageless Gold Phoenix (Ire) (Belardo {Iren}) aiming for an unbelievable fifth straight win in the 'Win and You're In' GII Del Mar H.; the 'Win and You're In' GII Pat O'Brien S. at Del Mar; and the GII Lake Placid S. at Saratoga.The post Dual Classic Winner Golden Tempo Headlines Deep Travers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.