|
 Regally bred and just a little bit skittish, American Pharoah will
face seven challengers in the 147th running of the 1-1/2 mile race,
aptly dubbed "The Graveyard of Champions."
Since Affirmed won the last Triple Crown in 1977, 13 horses have won
the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes but failed to win the
Belmont, most of them fading in the stretch.
"I sort of feel like I have an edge, but coming in here and going
one-and-a-half miles, it's a completely different story," said Hall
of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who will make his fourth attempt to
saddle a Triple Crown winner.
"We don't know how any of them are going to handle it because none
of them have been that far. We just hope and dream from here on
out."
The distance is grueling, especially for a horse that raced in the
May 2 Derby and the Preakness two weeks later. Horses these days are
bred for speed and not stamina, and three races in five weeks is
often too much to ask of a 3-year-old horse.
Of the eight Belmont starters, American Pharoah is the only horse
that raced in the Derby and Preakness, so the Kentucky-bred colt
will be facing some fresh opposition, which often is a death knell
for Triple Crown hopefuls.
American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, is the morning line 3-5
favorite, followed by Wood Memorial winner Frosted (5-1), who
finished fourth in the Derby, and Kiaran McLaughlin-trained
Materiality (6-1), who ran fourth at Churchill Downs.
But the Belmont Stakes often makes stars out of relatively unknown
horses, like last year, when Tonalist, who had skipped both the
Derby and the Preakness, won the race and helped deny California
Chrome a Triple Crown.
Surprise Preakness runner-up Tale of Verve, a 15-1 longshot on
Saturday, could be one of those horses.
[to top of second column] |
"He's a horse that's really bred for the distance. He can take it.
He's got the stamina, he's got the pedigree," said trainer Dallas
Stewart.
A sell-out crowd of 90,000 will be on hand at Belmont Park for a
chance to witness a piece of history. While Baffert is hoping the
fourth time is the charm, Espinoza's ride will be his third try at a
Triple Crown.
In Baffert's first two Triple Crown attempts, Silver Charm, in 1997,
lost the Belmont Stakes lead in the final 100 yards and finished
second, while a year later, Real Quiet was edged at the wire by
Victory Gallop in a photo finish.
"I'm reminded every year of Real Quiet and Silver Charm," said
Baffert. "(American Pharoah) is a different horse than they were.
You really don't know until the whole series is over how good the
horses are.
"I'm just hoping I brought the right horse here, but we won't know
until halfway into the race."
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Frank Pingue)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
