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BELMONT STAKES DRAW THEY SAID IT
JUNE 6, 2012
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| I'll Have Another moves to the stakes barn at Belmont Park
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
"It's been an unbelievable ride, and I think we've just stayed focused on the
whole journey because of the great I'll Have Another. I have obviously got
caught up in some other issues on the side and got cleared of any wrongdoing,
still kind of goofy a little bit. But everything's going good and we every day
give thanks to be part of the I'll Have Another team."
Doug
O'Neill after I'll Have Another received post position 11 during Wednesday's
post position draw
"He's doing great. He's continued to gallop good, his energy's been
good, his appetite's been strong, and he's handled this whole journey as good as
you could possibly ask a horse. He hasn't lost a bit of his flesh at all, his
coat continues to shine and look great, so we couldn't ask for him to be coming
in to this any better."
—O'Neill on I'll
Have Another's current condition
"Not really. We're going to huddle up and talk; being in the 11th hole, we're
able to kind of see how the pace sets up. If they're crawling, we'll hopefully
be leading the crawl, and if they're flying, we'll be sitting in behind the
horses flying. Mario is just such a confident rider and he's so confident in
I'll Have Another. They get along so well, so we're in good shape."
—O'Neill
on whether he's talked to jockey Mario Gutierrez about how the race would set up
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"Bill Mott told me one time the thing that makes a good owner is that
you never disagree with your trainer's decision. I'm here today as a bad owner.
But I think (trainer) Dale (Romans) agrees that it all worked out for the best.
If we had won the Kentucky Derby -- and we thought we would, the race showed we
clearly should have -- we would have gone to the Preakness. Having failed to do
that, if you examine the genetic code of Dullahan and his sire, Even the Score,
it clearly mitigated in favor of giving him some rest and coming here."
Jerry
Crawford, managing partner of owner Donegal Stable, on the decision to skip the
Preakness and train up to the Belmont Stakes with Kentucky Derby third-placer
Dullahan; trainer Dale Romans initially wanted to run the colt back in the
second leg of the Triple Crown
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| Dullahan enters the Belmont off a third in the Kentucky Derby
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
"I don't think I'll Have Another, as much attention as he has gotten,
has really gotten his full due yet, and the reason is that Ahmed Zayat's horse,
Bodemeister, has just been spectacular in both races, and yet I'll Have Another
has managed to find a way to beat him in both races. Ahmed and I talked with
Paul (Reddam) earlier today and told him we're going to do everything we can to
keep him from being a Triple Crown winner, but after what he has already done,
and if he gets it done Saturday, he'll not only be a worthy Triple Crown winner,
he will have exceeded all possible expectations."
—Crawford
on I'll Have Another; Ahmed Zayat will also try to spoil the Triple Crown bid
with new shooter Paynter
"(Former President Bill Clinton) has certainly been invited. He didn't quite
have all of his facts dialed in, but we appreciated his support."
—Crawford on Bill
Clinton's endorsement of Dullahan's chances in the Belmont Park
"Obviously, we have been a little disappointed, but we still feel Union
Rags hasn't run his race. We had some problems in the Derby...But we still think
he can do really, really well, and we've switched jockeys to Johnny (Velazquez),
and he just had a really nice work."
owner
Phyllis Wyeth on Union Rags, who will look to rebound from an extremely troubled
seventh in the Kentucky Derby
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"If I had my choice I would have picked a little further out. I think
the horse has enough speed to be in a decent position."
—trainer
Michael Matz after receiving post 3 with Union Rags
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| Paynter is campaigned by the same connections of Derby and Preakness runner-up Bodemeister
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
"He's more versatile than people think. He can probably do anything, but it
looks like we have drawn a nice post. There is a lack of speed, so maybe he'll
be on the lead, but I'm not sure."
—Zayat on
Paynter, who will make his Triple Crown debut following an impressive allowance
win on the Preakness undercard
"I don't think 'disappointed' is the right word. Our colt (Bodemeister)
ran his heart out in the Derby. It was a spectacular, unbelievable Derby. We
have an incredible horse in I'll Have Another. He's a true champ. He's a really,
really nice horse. Seeing what I saw, you really appreciate the game more. You
know how hard it is. So I really wasn't disappointed because coming out of a
huge race, (Bodemeister) ran another huge race. We were just beaten be a better
horse, fair and square."
Zayat on whether
he was disappointed after nearly winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with
runner-up Bodemeister
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"If you asked me personally, I always thought Bodemeister is a very nice
colt. (Trainer) Bob Baffert, (from) day 1, thought Paynter was the better horse.
He thinks he's a really, really nice horse."
—Zayat
when asked to compare Bodemeister and Paynter
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| Street Life will bring just five lifetime starts into his Belmont bid
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
"I talked to my jockey the other day, Jose Lezcano, and I asked him, 'Where
do you want to be?' and he said, 'I like to be inside.' You can't get any more
inside than that. He got his wish. That's where he wants to be. I don't know
that we're going to take him back. We're going to let him be where he's
comfortable. He seems to take himself back. If the pace isn't very fast, I could
foresee this horse closer...he's getting more mature, he's getting sharper every
day I see him training out there. I think that he's going to evolve into a more
versatile horse, you're going to see. Whether it's Saturday or not, I don't
know, but as he matures, he will."
—trainer
Chad Brown discussing the late-running Street Life and his rail post
"Can I change (the post) (laughs)? No, I think it's a good post, but
I'll have to talk things over with Ramon (Dominguez) and figure out a strategy."
—trainer
Kelly Breen after My Adonis received the far outside post in the 12-horse
Belmont Stakes field
"We think he's a good horse. We think he's got some class, and even though
some of his races were disappointing, we think he's shown enough talent that we
can make a case that he belongs in the field. Of course we have incredible
memories of the Belmont, so just being in the paddock will be a privilege. But,
again, we wouldn't do it just for the sake of doing it if we didn't think we had
a horse with enough class."
—co-owner
George Hall on My Adonis, who was a surprise late entrant to the Belmont and has
been installed at 20-1 on the morning line; George and Lori Hall and trainer
Kelly Breen captured the 2011 Belmont with the 24-1 Ruler on Ice
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"I think he's a better fit (than the Kentucky Derby or Preakness), but
I'm realistic. There's better horses in the race but the times that I have won
it, there were better horses in the race then, too. So, we'll see. I think we're
a good fit."
four-time Belmont
Stakes winner D.
Wayne Lukas on saddling Optimizer, a 20-1 outsider on the morning line;
Optimizer will be the only horse to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown
with I'll Have Another
"Post has no bearing for us. I don't think anybody was upset with it. I
think everybody's happy where they are. It really doesn't mean a lot here.
There's a long run and big, sweeping turns, so I don't know that it makes any
difference at all."
—Lukas on getting
post 10
"It's good. I thought maybe we would be better off being outside Paynter, but
inside, outside, we're the two speed horses (referring to Paynter and
Unstoppable U), it looks like, so we'll let that unfold as it may. It's up to
(jockey) Junior (Alvarado, on Unstoppable U). The other colt (Atigun) can run
from about anywhere. I'm glad he's inside, because he's going to need a
ground-saving trip to win it."
—trainer Ken
McPeek, who will saddle longshots Unstoppable U and Atigun; McPeek will be
looking to be play spoiler again after sending out Sarava to a 70-1 upset in
2002 when War
Emblem was seeking the Triple Crown
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| Ravelo's Boy will have to show major improvement off his Tampa Bay Derby fifth to factor in the Belmont Stakes
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
"Yes and no (on it being fun to be a Triple Crown spoiler with Sarava).
It's fun winning. I think even if we'd have hit the board, it was OK. But yeah,
it was kind of neat. It was a good day. Nobody threw any stones at me on the way
out. It was fine; I'm a bit bullet-proof, anyway. It was all positive. Not one
negative comment from anybody. I think it would have been one thing if we'd have
beat him in a photo, but we didn't (War Emblem was eighth). We're in a good spot
in that Unstoppable U is on the inside and the other horse is coming from
behind, that works out well. But these horses admittedly are not of the class
level of I'll Have Another, Dullahan, Union Rags. They haven't proven it at that
level. So I really kind of needed to run both of them to have a real shot."
McPeek
"I think I'm very happy with the draw. We were hoping for a 7-8-9, somewhere
outside but not too outside, so it worked out very well for us. The horse is
doing phenomenal. Our trainer, Dominick Schettino, has been doing a great job
with him. He's been taking his time. We've gradually brought him into this race,
rested him. He's in the best shape he can be for this race. I've always said
Rosie (Napravnik is) one of the top riders in the country. Male or female, as a
jockey, she's one of the top jockeys. By winning the Kentucky Oaks and winning
constantly and being a top rider, I think we've got a jockey that's going to
really try and do well on him."
—Anthony Bonomo
Jr., assistant to trainer Dominick Schettino and general manager for MeB Stable,
owner of Five Sixteen; the 50-1 outsider will break from post 7
"I prefer to be a little more inside, but the eight is a good draw for me. I
like my horse to draw inside, but this horse is good and capable. He can do
anything. The eight post is not a bad post for me. I like that he won't go early
in the gate and get stale, and the eight is a lucky number for me."
—owner/trainer
Doodnauth Shivmangal on Guyana Star Dweej, who is listed at 50-1 on the morning
line
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"We decided to run after the race in Tampa. He had a problem in Tampa. He
grabbed his front leg. We took 15 days to do what we have to do and after that
he was his old self. We had to give him time. We took our time with him, but
he's come along. I believe we are in good shape now. He's been doing everything
right. We took Alex Solis (to ride) 15 days ago, and he's liked the way he's
looked. Like I told everybody, we have the black sheep of the race and anything
can happen. He's doing great."
—trainer Manny
Azpurua on Ravelo's Boy, a 50-1 longshot on the morning line; the colt will be
making his first start since a fifth in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 10
and is unplaced in his last three starts
Bet the Belmont Stakes at TwinSpires.com
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