Archive for the ‘Triple Crown Series’ Category

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Mike Smith was masterful in Belmont

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

It doesn’t get any better than that!

The way it looked on paper it was a rematch of the Dwyer. In the G2 Dwyer, Fly Down, ridden by Jose Lezcano, broke from the outside of Drosselmeyer with jockey Kent Desormeaux aboard who was kept bottled up long enough for Fly Down to run past him on the outside in a race in which he ran the last 1/8 miles in :12 and 1/5 seconds at what seemed to be an overlay at 7 to 2 against the 7 to 5, Drosselmeyer.

Fly Down stunned the crowd in the Dwyer as he won under wraps running on the wrong lead throughout the stretch to win by six commanding lengths.  Inside money in the Dwyer probably was the result of comments made by Desormeaux about his own performance in the La. Derby and must have assured the connections a win that didn’t happen. In the Dwyer, he chased Fly Down home for second at pennies on the dollar.

Today, in the G1 $1,000,000 Belmont, Drosselmeyer turned the tables on Fly Down to win the Third Leg of the Triple Crown.

Ice Box, who was bet down off his come from behind performance in the Kentucky Derby that was arguably the better barring the redirects he was guided to make by Jose Lezcano. Nevertheless the troubles he endured, his flourishing finish, no doubt, was because the track was sloppy.

It was a performance that Bill Mott got from his decision to give Desormeaux the boot, and the luck of the draw. In return he got a masterful ride from the veteran Hall of Fame Jockey, Mike Smith, who was able to keep John Velazquez stuck inside THROUGHOUT that turned the tables on Fly Down and denied Nick Zito his ‘hat-track’ in the Belmont.

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Who’s the rat in the Ice Box?

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Nick Zito, the quintessential New Yorker, happens to be a very good horseman and it’s no surprise that he has won two Belmont Stakes already with Birdstone in 2004 and Da’ Tara in 2008.

In a video shot the other morning outside his barn at Saratoga, Zito talked about his two runners for the 142nd Running of the G1 Belmont Stakes, Fly Down, and current 3 to 1 favorite, Ice Box.

Watching the video, it seems Zito is leaning elsewhere when talking about the way Ice Box is coming up to the race. When talk turns to Fly Down his eyes get a bit wider and he cracks a little smile, as if he has another surprise for the odds makers who list Fly Down third choice at 9 to 2 behind First Dude.

In contrast, Drosselmeyer, a recent second to Fly Down in the G2 Dwyer is listed at 12 to 1. Yet with a noted “foot problem” recently worked a bullet over the track.

The numbers don’t add up.


Belmont has the reputation of being a tricky track and Jockey, John Velazquez  probably said it best when he summed up they way he rides the track…”Most important, you got to know where the poles are and then you got to ride the racetrack the way it’s playing,” so in theory any theory is just that until after the race.

On paper, there doesn’t appear to be much pace in the race and Fly Down looks to be poised in a stalking position similar to his Dwyer performance and at 9 to 2 he maybe a better bet than Ice Box even with his Kentucky Derby finish.

But the real ‘rat in the Ice Box’ just may be the 10 to 1 odds on Uptowncharlybrown. Follow your nose and see where it leads.

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Zito looking for hat-trick in Belmont

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Looking ahead to the Belmont Stakes this weekend the discussion isn’t centered around any particular one of the dozen or so contenders who are expected to line-up for the 142nd Running on Saturday, June 5, 2010.

The race is for 3-year-olds with a purse of $1,000,000 at 1 1/2 Miles and is G1 stakes race.

Here are a few points to keep in mind as the draw approaches and the morning line comes out.

It’s the longest of the three Triple Crown races and has proven to be the race that makes the series what it is in American horse racing as many horses have been able to win the first two legs only to fall short in the Belmont.

Can’t help but foreseeing Nick Zito recording his third Belmont winner with one of his two entrants, Ice Box or Fly Down, both giving him a very strong hand going into the race.

A look back at the Kentucky Derby replay reveals a much troubled trip for Ice Box as Jose Lezcano struggled to find the ‘safest’ path for his fast closing mount only to be too late in beating Super Saver to the finish line.

Lezcano also rode Fly Down to victory in the G2 Dwyer but has opted to stick with Ice Box leaving Johnny V. to try and land the third punch for Zito.

After the fast workout by Drosselmeyer and the quick running time of Quality Road in the Met Mile in which he earned 114 Beyer points expect quick times this weekend as well.

The weather forecast calls for slight rain on Friday but no rain on Saturday.

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Go East ‘youngman’

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

If no one else has realized it yet, Garrett Gomez sure has. He’s packed his tack and headed east to the circuit of the stars of the Derby.

To win the Kentucky Derby, Calvin Borel and Kent Desormeaux have ridden at Belmont, Pimlico, Gulfstream and the like, because that’s horse racing American style. Nothing fancy. No plastic, wax or rubber to put a bounce in the step of their young hopefuls. Just good old fashioned dirt. The kind at Churchill.

Gomez has ridden out west for years where he has comfortably led the jockey colony away from the star circuit.  And until recently that was working just fine.

Stars of the past like Gary Stevens, Eddie D., McCarron and Shoemaker all did it from out west. Even the ‘now’ jockey, Victor Espinoza, did it for Baffert in 2002 when War Emblem won the Kentucky Derby.

As a matter of fact, that’s where all the stars of yesteryear rode, and shined so bright you couldn’t see a difference between riding in the east or west if you wanted to win the Derby.

Boy those were the days. A jockey could pick his spot. The sunny California Pacific coastline, or the Bluegrass of Kentucky and the Everglades of Florida. Just thinking of those days brings back fond memories of Affirmed holding off Alydar in grueling races to become the last horse to win the Triple Crown. Steve Cauthen rode Affirmed. He was 18.



Gomez isn’t getting any younger and he has now watched, from behind, Calvin Borel win three of the last four runnings of America’s crown jewel of racing. And he must realize why.

Only time will tell what other effects the switch to synthetic surfaces might have on the Triple Crown. Literally, after several years of trial and error, Gomez must have decided that to win the Derby the horse is going to have to come from the east.

On Saturday, Monmouth Park opens with a bang! They’re touting this season with $1,000,000 purse days and that’s attractive. How long Monmouth is able to maintain the purse promises and keep a top rider like Gomez interested is a matter of time.

And at 38, you can bet he realizes that for him to win the Kentucky Derby, it’s also a matter of time.

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