Ny Traffic (inside) with Maxfield. Coady Photography/Churchill Downs
By Sarah Mace
Unlike fellow New York-bred Tiz the Law, who has deservedly played a leading role in Kentucky Derby headlines and chatter, Ny Traffic, a fast and gritty grey son of Cross Traffic, has steadily worked his way into the conversation by dint of three strong on-the-board efforts in Derby preps. Most recently, on Saturday, he finished a strong second to Maxfield in the Grade 3, $150,000 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Bred by Brian Culnan and foaled at Gallagher’s Stud in Ghent, and the first of only two reported foals out of Mamie Reilly, a winning New York-bred daughter of Graeme Hall, Ny Traffic is campaigned jointly by John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing and Paul Braverman.
Trained by Harold Wyner as a juvenile, Ny Traffic had four appointments with the starter last year, all in sprints. First out at Parx on September 21 going seven furlongs, he had the dubious distinction of meeting a debuting Independence Hall, one of Constitution’s star progeny, to whom he finished third while earning a more-than respectable debut Beyer Speed Figure of 71. Independence Hall went on immediately to win the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes and Jerome Stakes in back-to-back starts.
Ny Traffic was sent off for his second start on October 12 still relatively under the radar. Let go at odds of 14-1 to go six furlongs at Parx, the colt soundly defeated nine rivals to earn his diploma with a driving 3 1/4-length victory, while improving his Beyer score to 84. To complete the year, the colt went unplaced in two stakes starts (the Parx Juvenile Stakes and Aqueduct’s restricted Notebook Stakes).
During a brief winter freshening of 55 days, Ny Traffic moved his tack to the Florida barn of 33-year-old Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. When put on a steady diet of route racing for his sophomore campaign, he would really start to turn heads.
In his first start for Joseph on January 11, Ny Traffic trounced a group of first-level allowance foes by 6 3/4 lengths. It was a frontrunning effort going 1 1/16 miles over a speed favoring track under Luis Saez. Joseph decided it was time to test his colt in deeper waters.
Drawn into what turned out to be the “slower” division of the split 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds on February 15 (won by Modernist), Ny Traffic followed a script that has served him well ever since: break aggressively, race on or near the lead and never throw in the towel.
In the Risen Star, Ny Traffic led the pack through three-quarters of a mile. After he was passed by Modernist, he stayed in the fight to the wire, finishing a gritty third after being also passed by a closing Major Fed.
Returning in the 1 3/16-mile, Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 21, Ny Traffic challenged leader Wells Bayou for the length of the race and refused to be shaken off as the pair raced one-two around the track. Wells Bayou was 1 1/2-lengths better that day, but Ny Traffic was decidedly “best of the rest,” finishing 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Major Fed in third.
On the Saturday of Churchill Downs’ opening weekend, Ny Traffic tried out his fifth racetrack in eight career starts. This time he was pitted against another field of top-flight Kentucky Derby aspirants in the Grade 3, $150,000 Matt Winn Stakes. This first race in the reconstituted Road to the Kentucky Derby, run at 1 1/16 miles under the twin spires, was worth 50-20-10-5 points for the top four finishers.
Paco Lopez had the call aboard the grey for the first time. At the time of the draw Joseph commented, “The [Matt Winn] fits for us, schedule-wise. We’d like to run him in one more prep after this and hopefully pick up some more Derby points along the way.” And pick up points they did.
Ny Traffic garnered more respect from Winn bettors than he did in his first two Derby preps. Sent off at 11-1 in the Risen Star and 26-1 in Louisiana Derby, the grey was hammered down late from his 10-1 morning line to be the 7-2 third choice behind headliners Maxfield and Pneumatic.
First out of the gate from mid-pack at the bell, Ny Traffic set up in third three wide in the first turn and up the backstretch, pressing longshot leader Celtic Striker and parked outside undefeated third-time starter Pneumatic at the rail. Favored Maxfield broke poorly in his much-anticipated sophomore debut and occupied the tail end of the leading group of eight through the first half mile in 48.21.
Up front Celtic Striker tired midway through the far turn, leaving Ny Traffic and Pneumatic to vie for the lead. Ny Traffic led by the quarter pole. Meanwhile Maxfield was winding up, picking off horses on the outside.
Pneumatic cut the corner and gained a brief advantage in upper stretch before Ny Traffic dug down again to gain the top spot with a furlong to go, but Maxfield kept barreling home on the outside.
The final furlong was a thrill as all three horses stayed in the fight, but Maxfield was ultimately able to clear Ny Traffic, who lugged out slightly, before going on to win by a length. Ny Traffic finished second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Pneumatic. The final time was 1:43.05.
With 20 more points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby for the Matt Winn, Ny Traffic has quietly amassed at total of 70 points, good for a co-seventh on the leaderboard.
Joseph, Jr. commented on Sunday to NYRA Communications, “[The Matt Winn] was a very important race and he was beaten by an exceptional horse. We’re thankful we have enough points now to get into the Derby.”
The conditioner reported that Ny Traffic came out of the race well and he is weighing a start in the 1 1/8-mile Belmont Stakes, which kicks off 2020’s unique Triple Crown series on June 20
“[Ny Traffic]’s doing good. My assistant is [at Gulfstream] with him and said he came out of the race well. We haven’t made a decision yet regarding the Belmont. That’s going to be down to how the horse is doing and the owner’s choice. We probably won’t make a decision for another 10 days at least.”
Joseph added, “Trip wise, I think that would be perfect for him. It’s just a matter of the timing with the race being four weeks out. It’s something we’ll have to consider, but we’re not going to rush a decision.”
From two wins, two seconds and two thirds in eight starts, Ny Traffic has earned $365,470.
