Sports

Parimutuels

Freight train finish

Preakness winner Afleet Alex kicks as usual, leaving lots of room, and little doubt, at Belmont

Associated Press
Published June 12, 2005

---

NEW YORK - This ride was as smooth and impressive as his Preakness win was harrowing.

Scattering rivals with a stunning move on the far turn, Afleet Alex rolled to a seven-length victory in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, the last and longest of the Triple Crown legs.

Jockey Jeremy Rose turned him loose on the turn for home and Afleet Alex responded with locomotive-like power to blow away Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and nine helpless rivals.

"He's a beast, he's a freak of nature, he's made out of steel," Rose said. "He's the best 3-year-old in the country."

With no Triple Crown at stake, 62,274 racing fans at Belmont Park had to settle for watching an amazing colt who averted disaster by a whisker last month at Pimlico when he tangled with another horse and was nearly knocked to his knees.

Rose managed to hang on in that ride; this time, he just went along for the ride.

"The only thing that was going to get him beat was me, so I just tried to just stay out of his way and let him do his thing and help in the last part," Rose said.

Rose blamed himself for the colt's lost shot at immortality.

"He should be a Triple Crown winner, but I messed up," Rose said, referring to Afleet Alex's third-place finish at Churchill Downs, where he was beaten by two long shots.

But, hey, two out of three ain't bad, with Afleet Alex becoming just the 11th thoroughbred to win the Preakness and Belmont after running - but not winning - the Derby.

Afleet Alex easily won his rubber match with Giacomo, who finished seventh in the field of 11. Andromeda's Hero was second and Nolan's Cat was third.

"I thought I had a good chance to win, but Afleet Alex went by me too fast," said jockey Edgar Prado, who was aboard fourth-place finisher Indy Storm.

Afleet Alex dropped back early as long shot Pinpoint towed the field through a moderate pace. Giacomo, with Mike Smith aboard, was right off the leaders and made his move on the final sweeping turn. But just when it looked as though the Derby winner was going to roll to victory, Afleet Alex burst through and stormed into the lead.

Winning time for the race was 2:28.75, well off Secretariat's record of 2:24 in 1973. Afleet Alex finished so strongly, he ran the final quarter mile in 24.50 seconds, a half-second faster than Secretariat. To keep things in perspective, however, Secretariat won the Belmont by 31 lengths.

Nolan's Cat was 63/4 lengths behind Andromeda's Hero. Indy Storm was fourth, followed by A.P. Arrow, Chekhov, Giacomo, Southern Africa, Watchmon, Reverberate and Pinpoint.

Afleet Alex became just the second favorite in the last 10 years to win the 11/2-mile Belmont.

Winning trainer Tim Ritchey laid out his ideal race Friday, noting that Rose needed patience in such a long race. He had it.

"All I kept saying was, "Be patient, be patient, be patient. Wait, wait, wait,' " Ritchey said. "He just exploded. That was the plan. With these big, wide turns, you have to save all the ground you can."

Afleet Alex, with his eighth win in 12 starts, earned $600,000 from the $1 million purse and boosted his bankroll to $2,765,800.

The bay colt has become more than a racehorse for Cash Is King Stable, which was formed by five friends from the Philadelphia area who bought Afleet Alex for $75,000 last year. Part of the colt's earnings are being donated to pediatric cancer research through Alex's Lemonade Stand.

The stand was started by 4-year-old Alex Scott, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer two days before her first birthday, in 1997. Alex died last August, but the owners, and Ritchey, have become part of the fund-raising drive and more than $2 million has been raised.

BELMONT UNDERCARD: Unbeaten Lost in the Fog fended off intense pressure to post a 11/4-length victory in the $200,000 Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup Stakes for 3-year-olds. Lost in the Fog ran the 7 furlongs in 1:21.54. Edgar Prado was aboard. Lost in the Fog paid $2.80 to win. Egg Head was second and paid $3.30 and $2.50. Middle Earth held on for third and paid $3.30 to show.

DOGWOOD BREEDER'S CUP STAKES: Miss Matched cruised to a 21/4-length victory over Culinary in the $164,400 Grade III Dogwood Breeders' Cup Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, the horse ran a 1:43.49 and paid $16.80, $6.80 and $5.00 for her third victory in three races this year. Owned by John Oxley and trained by John Ward, Miss Matched earned $101,928. Culinary returned $4.20 and $3.40, and Caroline's Gold paid $5.40 to show.

[Last modified June 12, 2005, 00:39:15]

[an error occurred while processing this directive]