Awesome Tiz The Law closing in on Triple Crown after Travers Stakes demolition

Tiz The Law cemented his status as the best Stateside three-year-old with a dominant display in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, tearing away from his rivals to add to his triumph in the Belmont Stakes.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the racing programme in North America, turning the Triple Crown on its head.

However, in the Barclay Tagg-trained Tiz The Law there may be a 14th and unprecedented winner of the prestigious set of races.

View the result of the Travers Stakes here

He won an abbreviated edition of the Belmont Stakes in June and is now set for the delayed Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on September 5.

The classy three-year-old is odds-on with British bookmakers for that contest and could rewrite history at Pimlico on October 3 in the Preakness, which is usually the middle leg of the Triple Crown.

In the Travers, the jewel in the crown of Saratoga's famed summer meeting, Tiz The Law wiped the floor with his six-strong opposition, tracking the leaders under Manny Franco before pressing on three furlongs from home for an easy success.

Tiz The Law: won the Belmont Stakes back in June, which this year was the first leg of the US Triple CrownCredit: Al Bello (Getty Images)

Tagg, whose Funny Cide came up short in the Belmont after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003, said: "I've been doing this for a long time and I've always wanted to win the Travers. This has been in my head my whole life. And now it has happened so it couldn't be better.

"You always have some doubt because many different things can happen. That's always in the back of your mind, but I was very confident in the horse."

There are 35 partners in the ownership team of Tiz The Law, a son of Constitution who won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes as a juvenile.

Those owners include local Saratoga resident Jack Knowlton, who added: "To be in the race and to be 1-2 [favourite], there's a lot of pressure. We had well-wishers from everywhere. We saw a performance today that just blows me away. We know we had a nice horse. We thought we had the best horse. To do what he did today, we're looking forward to going to Kentucky. It's just so exciting."

Like Tagg, Franco was winning his first Travers and, like everyone else, was purring.

Barclay Tagg and Manny Franco: celebrate after winning the Belmont Stakes in JuneCredit: Getty Images

"I didn't expect a race like that, but we'll take it. He ran huge," the rider said. "He was there the whole way for me and I was just waiting for the moment because it is a long way to go – a mile and a quarter – and he hasn't gone that distance before, so I'm trying to save as much horse as I could before I made my move.

"He gave me chills. When I pressed the button, he just took off. He accelerated really hard. After that, I took a peek back and he was going away and I just saved horse."

Racing Post handicapper Sam Walker assessed the performance with an RPR of 126, and said: "Tiz The Law was really impressive. He was heavily eased in the final furlong and still gave the third, Max Player, a bigger beating than in the Belmont Stakes on his previous start.

"An RPR of 126 ranks him up with the best horses in the world on what we've seen this year and there's obvious potential for more to come."

World's leading horses by RPR in 2020: Ghaiyyath 129, Lord North 128, Mohaather 127, Tiz The Law, Tom's D'Etat 126

Test Stakes result

The Bob Baffert-trained Uncle Chuck was – like the rest of the field – no match for Tiz The Law, but the trainer's recent golden run continued on the Saratoga bill as Gamine produced an outstanding performance in the Longines Test Stakes.

She had stormed to a 19-length victory in the Acorn Stakes last time and showed that was no fluke with another comfortable success in the hands of John Velazquez, who said: "Obviously, she's very good. You love to be on these kinds of horses.

Gamine: romped home by 19 lengths in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes in JuneCredit: Al Bello (Getty Images)

"I have to thank Bob and the owners for the opportunity. Bob said she breaks well and to kind of let her do her thing. If another horse wants to go too fast, we just let her sit second and she'll be fine sitting second. But she broke so good and the other horse [Venetian Harbor] kind of stayed right next to me and didn't press the pace very much, so I just kind of let her do what she wanted to do the first quarter-mile.

"I let her get into the turn and she got really comfortable and really smooth, and got away from the other horse and kept going. It was very nice."

It was a sixth Grade 1 victory since June for Baffert, who also saddled star four-year-old Maximum Security to win on his first start for the stable recently.

Read more:

Kentucky Derby favourite Charlatan's test results under review after Grade 1 win

Hill 'n' Dale Farms secure breeding rights to Arkansas Derby winner Charlatan

Port Guillaume adds another string to Rouget's Arc bow with Hocquart success

Ultimate Daily - our daily newsletters from Racing Post's experts, exclusive to the inbox of Ultimate Members' Club subscribers. To receive the newsletter subscribe at racingpost.com/members-club