LEADING CHANGE over NAPOLEON SOLO in the Travers Stakes 2026
The 3-year-old division has a new major player.
Leading Change, making only the third start of his career, delivered a remarkable performance Saturday at Saratoga to capture the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes, defeating Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo and Kentucky Derby-Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo in one of the strongest races for sophomores this season.
Trained by Brad Cox for Wathnan Racing and ridden by Manny Franco, Leading Change entered the “Mid-Summer Derby” with considerably less experience than virtually every horse around him.
He left Saratoga as a Grade 1 winner, undefeated in three starts and suddenly a serious name to follow on the road to the Breeders’ Cup.
Talent over experience
Leading Change had raced only twice before being asked to tackle 1 1/4 miles against a Travers field loaded with accomplished 3-year-olds.
The son of Gun Runner did not even make his career debut until June at Churchill Downs, where he immediately announced his potential with a dominant 6 1/2-length victory going seven furlongs.
One month later, Cox stretched him around two turns and put him against winners for the first time in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby. Leading Change passed that test as well, winning by a neck on July 11 and earning his ticket to Saratoga.
The Travers represented an enormous step forward.
Waiting for him were nine rivals, including the winners of all three Triple Crown races: Golden Tempo, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and Napoleon Solo, winner of the Preakness.
Grade 1 winners Baby Vino and Renegade added even more depth to the field.
Leading Change had the least experience of virtually anyone in the race.
It didn’t matter.
Manny Franco delivers the perfect trip
Napoleon Solo went immediately to his preferred position near the front, taking command under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and setting fractions of :23.66, :47.95 and 1:12.62.
Franco, meanwhile, never panicked.
Leading Change settled comfortably behind the speed along the inside, conserving energy while Napoleon Solo and Sea Strike did the work in front.
Approaching the stretch, Franco angled his colt outside and asked him for his best.
Napoleon Solo refused to surrender.
Golden Tempo, who had been ninth early, also began producing his familiar late rally along the inside.
For a moment, three of the division’s biggest names were converging on the Travers finish line.
But Leading Change had another gear.
Franco asked for more inside the final sixteenth and the lightly raced colt responded, wearing down Napoleon Solo in the final strides to win by a half-length in 2:02.98.
Golden Tempo finished another 1 3/4 lengths behind in third, followed by The Puma, Emerging Market, Sea Strike, Baby Vino, Renegade, Ocelli and Silent Tactic.
For Franco, who previously won the Travers aboard Tiz the Law in 2020, the performance was particularly impressive considering how little racing experience Leading Change brought into Saratoga.
“This is incredible what he accomplished today,” Franco said. “It’s just his third race today. The sky is the limit for him.”
Brad Cox knew the talent was there
The Travers victory places Leading Change alongside fellow Grade 1 winners Commandment and Further Ado in an extraordinary group of sophomores for Cox.
But even among that talented trio, Cox has long believed Leading Change might possess something special.
“I’ve always felt this was the most talented horse in the group,” Cox said. “Further Ado has always been an incredibly good work horse, and Commandment is super honest and tries hard all the time. They’re different, but it’s a solid group of horses. I think these three colts are as good as any colts in the country.”
The road to this point, however, was anything but straightforward.
Leading Change was supposed to begin his career last October at Keeneland, but was scratched on the morning of his scheduled debut. Bone bruising was subsequently discovered, forcing his connections to give him time and effectively eliminating any possibility of making the traditional road to the Kentucky Derby.
When Leading Change eventually returned to training, Cox admitted the colt was rusty and had considerable fitness to regain.
For a period, there was even some concern that the horse they had seen as a 2-year-old might not return.
Eventually, the signs came back.
About six weeks before his Churchill Downs debut, Cox began seeing the talent that had originally made Leading Change one of the most exciting young horses in his barn.
Three races later, that patience has been rewarded with a Travers trophy.
Napoleon Solo loses little in defeat
If Leading Change was the revelation of the Travers, Napoleon Solo once again demonstrated why he remains one of the toughest horses in the division.
The Preakness winner did virtually all the difficult work on the front end and still fought until the final strides before surrendering to Leading Change.
Trainer Chad Summers praised his colt afterward but also raised an intriguing question about his optimum distance.
Napoleon Solo has now competed in three consecutive Grade 1 races, and Summers indicated both the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile could be considered moving forward.
“He showed me about a mile and a quarter, minus 50 yards,” Summers said.
The configuration at Keeneland could also factor into the decision, with its shorter stretch potentially creating a different scenario for the speedy son of Liam’s Map.
Golden Tempo still heading toward the Breeders’ Cup
Golden Tempo may have lost the Travers, but his performance should hardly be viewed as a major disappointment.
The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner found himself near the back of the field behind a pace that did him few favors.
Still ninth through the opening half-mile, Golden Tempo began advancing before finding room along the rail in the stretch.
He continued to close strongly but simply had too much ground to make up.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux pointed directly to the race dynamics afterward.
“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 defeat does little to erase what Golden Tempo has already accomplished this season.
With victories in two legs of the Triple Crown and now a third-place finish in the Travers despite an unfavorable setup, he remains firmly among the leaders of the 3-year-old division.
A new Breeders’ Cup Classic contender?
The Travers may have created one of the most intriguing questions heading into the final weeks before the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland.
Just how good is Leading Change?
Three starts have produced three victories.
In June, he was an unraced prospect.
In July, he became a graded stakes winner.
Now, he is a Travers champion after defeating the winners of all three Triple Crown races.
Leading Change has already demonstrated sprinting speed, the ability to win around two turns and, most importantly, the stamina to defeat elite company at the Breeders’ Cup Classic distance of 1 1/4 miles.
Cox, however, is not rushing into any decisions.
“We’ll check him tonight and make sure he’s in good order after the race,” Cox said. “We’ll ship him back to Kentucky and go from there.”
Wherever Leading Change goes next, the equation has changed.
Golden Tempo remains one of the leading 3-year-olds in America. Napoleon Solo remains dangerous. Commandment and Further Ado give Cox additional Grade 1 firepower.
But after what happened at Saratoga, another name belongs prominently in that conversation.
Leading Change arrived at the Travers with something to prove. He left Saratoga undefeated, a Grade 1 winner and potentially one of the most fascinating new contenders on the road to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
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