THE Big Bird

Going into the 140th running of the Travers, there was a big question of who is the best 3-year-old male in the country. It appears now that one colt moved to the head of the class.

Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird is getting better with each start and validated his classic victory with a 3 1/2-length victory over Hold Me Back in Saturday's Travers. You would have to expect this Beyer Speed Figure to be a lifetime high. (His best previously was the 106 in the Haskell).

Summer Bird also pulled off a pair of rare doubles - he is just the 30th horse to win both Belmont and Travers. And an even rarer feat - Summer Bird and his dad, Birdstone, were the one of the first father-son combo to win sweep both New York classic races.

There's no question the sloppy track effected the outcome and might have compromised the chances of a few horses but the clear cut win leaves little doubt that he's the best sophomore in the country (outside of Rachel Alexandra).

To support his case, he's the only 3-year-old colt to win two Grade 1's this year (Belmont and Travers). Trainer Tim Ice has taken the talented son of Birdstone from $35k maiden company at Oaklawn to racing's greatest heights in five short months.

Meanwhile, Mine That Bird has not won since the Kentucky Derby and the other colts that showed promise (i.e. Kensei, Quality Road and Charitable Man) all fizzled out in the Travers.

“I feel like I do [have the best three-year-old colt]," said Ice. "He beat Quality Road today. There was a lot of hype of him (Quality Road) going into the Kentucky Derby and nobody seemed to dismiss him coming off that 6 ½ furlong race today...So maybe my horse is champion 3-year-old colt right now.”

What's next for Summer Bird is a good question. If he's able to win one more race this year, it will probably cement his case as the best. There's not many big races left for him to run but you have to assume they will fly out to Santa Anita and run in the Breeders' Cup in early November.

Mine That Bird's next start is expected to be in the Goodwood Handicap at Santa Anita while Quality Road, Kensei and Charitable Man will go back to the drawing board.

Forget the fact that this is probably an average group of 3-year-olds. The point simply remains that Summer Bird is now the best of his peers.

Photo Courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire