Nafzger’s call will prove right

When Street Sense trainer Carl Nafzger is standing in the Saratoga winner’s circle Saturday after the Travers Stakes, he can tell his critics, “I told you so.”

Turn back the clock to early June. Nafzger was severely criticized in the media for not running Street Sense, the Kentucky Derby winner, in the Belmont Stakes. The horse was healthy and the sporting thing to do was run. However, Nafzger knew that once his colt was upset by Curlin in the Preakness his priorities needed to be changed.

Instead of attempting to win the Triple Crown, his focus became winning the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He gave Street Sense some time off, and he’s been rewarded with a rested, stronger animal.

Few trainers have been as good as Nafzger in picking out a target stakes and hitting the mark. Nafzger did for Street Sense what Curlin, Rags to Riches and Hard Spun could not do: Make the Travers Stakes, and as the 3-5 morning-line favorite.

• POLYTRACK — A deluge last Friday caused a 45-minute delay at Arlington Park and answered the question of whether Polytrack could hold up to heavy rain. The surface was dry when racing resumed.

I took some criticism for my column last week about Polytrack. My viewpoint was in line with what trainer Vladimir Cerin said last week after winning the Pacific Classic with Student Council. Cerin told Southern California’s North County Times, “We’ve become quarterhorse trainers and not thoroughbred trainers. We buy horses that run an eighth of a mile in 9.9 seconds instead of ones that run a mile and a quarter.”

Cerin is a supporter of Polytrack and synthetic surfaces, and so am I. It’s a work in progress that will keep improving.

• NYRA HIRING — The New York Racing Association has hired Hal Handel as its new chief operating officer. Handel leaves Greenwood Racing, which owns Philadelphia Park and a number of OTBs and racinos.

Handel is a sharp executive. His moving to NYRA tells me the organization feels confident it will retain the New York racing franchise.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.