Too far? Too soon? Too rusty?

Those are the main questions for the three biggest names in Saturday's 135th Travers Stakes at Saratoga (ESPN, 5-7 p.m. ET). Can Lion Heart stay 1¼ miles? Can Purge run another career best on only 20 days' rest? Can Birdstone, Smarty Jones' only conqueror, give a peak effort off an 84-day layoff since his Belmont Stakes stunner?

Patrick Biancone, Lion Heart's trainer, sounded confident Tuesday when he said, "My horse ran a big race in the Kentucky Derby [second by 2¾ lengths]. He destroyed all the other horses except Smarty Jones. He has matured physically and mentally and put on 30 pounds of muscle.

"I don't see a problem with the distance. He's shown he doesn't have to lead anymore, which makes me very happy. If someone wants to set the pace, [jockey Joe Bravo] will follow him."

Todd Pletcher is a lock for his third consecutive training title at Saratoga, where he burns longshot players daily with his seemingly endless string of short-priced sure things. Though he's nearly invincible with 2-year-olds, his top 3-year-old, Purge, is a question mark in the Travers. Like Lion Heart, he's never won beyond 1 1/8 miles, but that's not Pletcher's main concern.

When Purge is on, he's brilliant, yet he's never put big races back to back. After dominating the Jim Dandy by 4½ lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 8, the same day Lion Heart took the Haskell at Monmouth Park, Purge is being asked for another lights-out effort.

"His race in the Jim Dandy was exceptional," Pletcher said. "In a perfect world, we'd have another couple of weeks. I don't think the mile and a quarter is going to be a problem. I'm more concerned about racing back in 20 days than the distance.

"But given the opportunity to run in the Travers, with a horse who's 2-for-2 over the surface, you have to take it."

Purge has never lost a race except to Smarty Jones, who beat him in the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and the Belmont Stakes. He also will forever have the distinction of being the only horse ever favored over Smarty, in the Rebel, where the eventual Derby/Preakness winner paid $9, the overlay of the millennium.

Those tidbits are interesting trivia that offer no clues about how Purge will run Saturday. His reaction to the madness of Belmont day may be instructive, however. There won't be more than 120,000 people at the Travers, but there might be 70,000 in a relatively small area, and Purge didn't handle his first mob scene well.

"You could feel the intensity in the air," Pletcher said, "and I think it got to Purge that day. He was a bit unruly and was difficult to saddle. I had a feeling he might have left his race in the paddock, and that's what happened. After a half-mile, he was done."

For fans of pattern recognition, Purge followed a 6¾-length runaway in the Peter Pan by finishing last in the Triple Crown finale 14 days later. At a short price, he might be an iffy play.

So might Birdstone, whom Nick Zito has prepared with a series of long breezes. He was the early Derby favorite before he lost his form, and he finished up the track at Churchill. Then he skipped the Preakness and broke the hearts of Smarty fans and everyone else who thought we'd finally see another Triple Crown winner.

Birdstone took advantage of circumstances in the Belmont, where he needed a ton of help to knock off Smarty Jones. After Purge, Eddington and Rock Hard Ten ran relays at Smarty, they dropped back, exhausted, and Smarty shot clear entering the stretch. The superstar soon would be wasted, too, and he couldn't hold off Birdstone, who had loped along far behind the grueling battle up front.

I compare the Belmont to a bar fight in which three small guys jump a big guy and get in some good shots before he punches them all out. Then another little guy, who was crouching next to the pool table, jumps up and slams the big guy in the back of the head with a cue stick. That's why Birdstone was the last colt standing after 1½ miles.

Zito also will send out The Cliff's Edge, who ran down Lion Heart in the Blue Grass Stakes, and West Virginia Derby winner Sir Shackleton. Zito is 0-for-11 in the Travers, but he was 0-for-11 in the Belmont before this year. "It's a tribute to the people around the barn that we have three horses in the Travers," he said. "I just hope one of them wins."

Don't count out The Cliff's Edge, a deep closer who ran down Lion Heart late at Keeneland. "Cliffy" comes off two non-threatening seconds to Medallist in the Dwyer and behind Purge in the Jim Dandy. Maybe it's his turn again.

No matter who wins the Midsummer Derby, the long shadow of Smarty Jones still will dominate the 3-year-old picture. Biancone disagrees, saying the division championship hasn't been clinched.

"Only three 3-year-olds have won two Grade I races -- Smarty Jones, Lion Heart and Birdstone," Biancone said. "It's like a triangular match. Smarty Jones has beaten Lion Heart, and Birdstone has beaten Smarty Jones. Let's see what happens when Lion Heart meets Birdstone.

"If Birdstone wins on Saturday, I would vote for him."

I wouldn't. As he lounges in the former stall of Seattle Slew at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, no one will eclipse Smarty. Might as well put the trophy next to the door. That's Pletcher's take, too.

"Here's a horse that lost only one race and was destroying horses in the Derby and Preakness," Pletcher said. "When you start trying to take it away from him, it would be silly to make that kind of statement."