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Preakness winner will sit out Belmont

By TIMES WIRES
Published May 25, 2006

NEW YORK - Preakness winner Bernardini will not run in the Belmont Stakes, another blow to the final race of the Triple Crown series.

The Belmont field already was without Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who sustained career-ending injuries in last weekend's Preakness, which Bernardini won by 51/4 lengths.

Darley Stable announced the decision about Bernardini in Lexington, Ky., saying the colt deserves a break after running three races in quick succession.

The Belmont will be run June 10.

Bernardini won his first career race March 4 and won the Withers Stakes in his next start April 29.

Then came his surprise victory in the Preakness over Sweetnorthernsaint, the race overshadowed by the serious injury at the start to Barbaro. The Derby winner broke three bones in his right rear leg and had surgery.

Dubai's Sheik Mohammed, who operates Darley Stud, made the decision to rest Bernardini.

"We feel that he climbed the ladder of competition quite quickly," James G. Bell of Darley Stable said. "We believe he deserves a break."

The colt is due to return in August, with the Jim Dandy, Haskell and Travers Stakes under consideration. The ultimate goal is the Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Churchill Downs, Bell said.

The field for the 11/2-mile Belmont will include Bluegrass Cat, second in the Derby, and Steppenwolfer, who was third. Jazil, who finished in a fourth-place tie, also is set to run.

Trainer Bob Baffert plans to send Bob and John to the race and might send Point Determined. Bob and John was 17th in the Derby and Point Determined was ninth.

From the Preakness, Sweetnorthernsaint is a possibility, and trainer Nick Zito said third-place Hemingway's Key will run.

Fishy Advice took charge entering the stretch and went on to win by a length in the $50,000 allowance feature on the turf at Belmont Park. Javier Castellano rode the 4-year-old colt to his second straight win and the fourth in 11 career starts.

Leonardo Piepoli edged overall leader Ivan Basso on the top of Passo Furcia to win the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia. The stage was marred by bad weather and freezing temperatures, which forced organizers to make changes to the course.

As snow and wind whipped around the original finish line at Plan De Corones, the distance was shortened and the finish line was moved to a lower altitude of 5,699 feet.

Piepoli and Basso left a group of riders behind in the final uphill miles, and Piepoli clinched his second stage win in this year's Giro while Basso improved his overall lead heading into the last four legs.

Piepoli, who rides for the Saunier Duval team and is one of the best Giro climbers, completed the course from Termeno to Passo Furcia in 3 hours, 21 minutes, 26 seconds.

Franco Pellizotti beat Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio for fourth. Former Giro winners Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni trailed the leading duo by less than a minute.

Organizers said the course was shortened to avoid undue risks as the last half-mile included a section on a gravel road.

Also, the midcourse climb to Passo delle Arbe was canceled because the downhill section could have been dangerous.

Wild-card Oliver Marach beat eighth-seeded Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Hypo Group in Austria. The 97th-ranked Marach, who knocked out Vince Spadea in the first round, will play Andrei Pavel, who defeated Marcos Daniel 7-5, 6-0. ... Martina Muller upset top-seeded Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the Strasbourg International in France.

[Last modified May 25, 2006, 00:55:15]