Runhappy Travers S.

When the ceremonial painting of the canoe at Saratoga Race Course takes place, there just might be a Hall of Famer with a paint brush in hand.

“This is extremely exciting,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “Coming from a racing family, [knowing] what Saratoga means to American racing and what the Travers means to Saratoga, I just want to help them paint the canoe. Saratoga is about tradition, racing is about tradition, and to have your name on that cup is very special.”

The painting of the canoe in the Spa’s infield lake, of course, is symbolic of a victory in the famed $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes, and for the next year it sports the colors of the winning owner of “Mid-Summer Derby”.

So, in the next few days, with or without Asmussen’s help, the canoe will be painted in the maroon and white colors of Ron Winchell’s Winchell Thoroughbreds, thanks to a dominant 5 1/4-length victory by the Asmussen-trained Epicenter over the multiple Grade 1-winning Cyberknife Aug. 27 at the Spa that took some of the suspense out of the race for the 3-year-old male championship.

“I thought that answered a lot of questions,” Asmussen said about the race for the division’s Eclipse Award. “His resume looks very good and we’re willing to run against them again.”

While neither Asmussen nor Winchell would commit to the spot for Epicenter’s next start, in all likelihood, the son of Not This Time will train up to the Nov. 5 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, in which he will face older horses for the first time.

On Saturday, before a near-capacity crowd of 49,672. Epicenter removed any doubt over his leadership role in the 3-year-old division with a powerhouse performance that accounted for his first Grade 1 victory and helped wash away the sting of runner-up finishes as the favorite in both the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the Preakness Stakes. In one fell swoop, he finished in front of the horses who beat him in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Rich Strike (Derby winner, 4th in the Travers) and Early Voting (Preakness victor, 8th).