Sports: A little late, local 3-year-old gets shot at elite

A little late, local 3-year-old gets shot at elite

By BRANT JAMES

Burning Roma was supposed to get his shot at the big time at Pimlico Race Course on the third Saturday in May.

The Preakness Stakes was not an option, however, after the colt finished third out of four in the Fedorico Tesio Stakes, a Pimlico prep for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Clearwater's Harold Queen had to wait a few months to test his 3-year-old against the elite of his age, but after a summer of strong campaigning, the wait ends Sunday in the Grade I, $1.5-million Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park in New Jersey.

The Haskell lacks name recognition for the casual fan, but as a wealthy late summer test for 3-year-olds, it has accrued some serious star power at the entry box. Entrants include stakes winners Jamaican Rum, Hero's Tribute and Touch Tone.

And then there's Preakness and Belmont winner Point Given, whose presence prompted race officials to add an extra $500,000 to the purse.

"Now we try the big boys," Queen said.

Trainer Tony Dutrow is unsure how Burning Roma will compare, but he is certain the time is right.

"He hasn't raced against the best of his generation, but he's been beating the second-tier horses without a great deal of problems," he said. "With a million-and-a-half worth of interest, and the way he has been looking, it seemed like the best time to take a chance."

With three consecutive wins, all in stakes under jockey Rick Wilson, Burning Roma appears to have recaptured the momentum that led Queen to believe he had a Triple Crown prospect. With victories in the Sir Barton (his follow-up to the Tesio and substitute for the Preakness) at Pimlico on May 19, the Leonard Richards on June 17 at Delaware Park and the Long Branch Breeder's Cup July 15 at Monmouth, he has eight wins in 11 career starts and has earned $638,800. The only race in which the son of Rubiano failed to show was the 2000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, when he broke from the 14th position and finished fourth behind Macho Uno, Point Given and Street Cry.

Headquartered at Tampa Bay Downs this spring, Burning Roma won the Sam F. Davis and Tampa Bay Derby under trainer Heather Giglio, before he was shipped north into Dutrow's Laurel Park stables.

"When we shipped up north the horse was completely healthy, but he kind of fell apart on us," Queen said. "Maybe it was stress in shipping or a different stable. Tony has him squared away now."

Dutrow said he considers the Tesio performance a pure aberration, much like Point Given's baffling Kentucky Derby.

"(Burning Roma) didn't run (well) that day and we left it like that," Dutrow said. "It was the first time he didn't show up in his whole career, and his next three races have made us quite willing to forget it."

Adjustments have been made, though. After keeping him busy this spring, Dutrow said he hasn't worked out Burning Roma since the Long Branch, and he always ships him in on race day to keep him in familiar surroundings as much as possible.

"I think he's going around about as good as he can right now, so I just let him run around real slow," Dutrow said.

He'll have to run a lot faster and a little farther than usual Sunday. After running three straight races at 1 1/16 miles, he will attempt 11/8 for just the second time. The first was the Tesio. He'll need to prove himself at longer distances if he is to realize Queen's dream of entering another Breeders' Cup.

"The way he has run, we have no reason to believe he can't get an extra sixteenth of a mile," Dutrow said. "The distance isn't the issue. The competition is more of a factor."

Queen has waited this long to find out how his colt compares, so another few days shouldn't be so bad.

"This time next week, we'll know for a fact," he said.