Outdoors

Belmont attracting unknowns

By BRANT JAMES
Published June 9, 2005

Hardcore and casual fans alike became spoiled the previous eight years with six Triple Crowns in play at the Belmont Stakes.

None of those talented colts was able to follow Affirmed, who in 1978 became the 11th and last horse to accomplish arguably the most difficult feat in sports. But Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), Charismatic (1999), War Emblem (2002), Funny Cide (2004) and Smarty Jones last year injected life into the race with the allure of history being made in the 11/2-mile third leg of the Triple Crown.

This year, a third meeting between upset Kentucky Derby-winner Giacomo and Preakness victor Afleet Alex is the main story line. It may not bring out the multitudes of fans that followed the underdog stories of Funny Cide or Smarty Jones, but it has brought out a roster of the nondescript to try its luck for a $1-million purse. And in doing so, those colts have underscored just how ho-hum this Belmont Stakes really is compared to some of the thrillers of the last five years.

The Belmont field, if all those entered make the gate, will fall five horses shy of a full 16. But six of the 11 colts in the field have never won a stakes race.

Nick Zito, who started five horses in the Kentucky Derby, three in the Preakness - none of which placed - will send Andromeda's Hero, Indy Storm and Pinpoint (both 20-to-1 picks) to post on Saturday. And why not? The field is so thin that fellow Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas is entering A.P. Arrow, which didn't win any of three lifetime races. Lukas has pulled stunners in the Belmont before, though, winning in 2000 with Commendable, a colt that had run out of the money in six previous starts.

Andromeda's Hero is the only horse in the field besides Afleet Alex and Giacomo to have run in the either the Derby or Preakness. He was eighth at Churchill Downs.

Zito invoked two recent outbreaks of equine diseases and a conflict in the Middle East to put his decision in perspective.

"With strangles, with herpes and Iraq, what's the big deal if I run three horses in this race?" he said.

None really, because all eyes will be on Afleet Alex and Giacomo anyway. Afleet Alex, who recovered from his knees under jockey Mike Smith to win the Preakness, can enhance his resume for Horse of the Year greatly with a win on Saturday. A third-place finish in the Derby would be discounted as an off race - much like in 2001 when heavy favorite Point Given faltered in Kentucky but won the Preakness and Belmont.

With seven wins, two seconds, a third and $2,165,800 earned in 11 races and five Grade I and II wins this year, Afleet Alex will be considered the class of his generation. The Florida-bred, who was second in the October 2004 Grade I Champagne Stakes, his only other race at Belmont Park, was installed as a 6-5 favorite from the ninth spot on Wednesday when post positions were drawn.

Giacomo, who earned more respect finishing third at Pimlico than winning at Churchill Downs, can shut his critics mouths with a win, joining the likes of Thunder Gulch (1995) and Swale (1984) who bookended Triple Crown's victories. The second favorite at 6-1 drew the fifth post.

Reverberate, a son of Thunder Gulch who was second in the Grade II Peter Pan Stakes on May 28, is third favorite (6-1), followed by Chekhov and Southern Africa (12-1).

"You have two favorites, but you have fresh horses in the race that haven't gone through the rigors of five already demanding races like my horse and Giacomo," said Afleet Alex trainer Tim Ritchey said. "Any time you load in the gate, your horse has to run his race. You have to plan your strategy and you have to go out there and perform - no matter who's in the field."

FEELING BETTER: Vindication, owned and raced by Satish Sanan's Padua Stables, returned to the breeding shed on Monday after spending two days at an equine hospital in Lexington, Ky., with what Hill "n' Dale Farms owner John Sikura characterized to the Thoroughbred Times as an "intestinal irritation."

The 2002 Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion and son of Seattle Slew was retired in 2003 after surgery, hyperbaric therapy and a stem-cell procedure failed to return him to racing form. His first crop of foals was born this year.

[Last modified June 9, 2005, 01:17:24]