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ROAD TO THE TRIPLE CROWN MAY 25, 2005 by James Scully A spectacular display of athleticism enabled AFLEET ALEX (Northern Afleet) to stay on his feet in Saturday’s Preakness S. (G1), and his authoritative victory will be remembered as one of the greatest performances by a Thoroughbred. Jockey Jeremy Rose also deserves plenty of praise for staying aboard. The Tim Ritchey charge, who quickly regained his balance and momentum after nearly smacking his nose on the ground, recorded a terrific 112 BRIS Speed rating for the 4 3/4-length decision and earned some redemption after being narrowly defeated in the Kentucky Derby (G1). He improved his career mark to 11-8-2-1, with more than $2 million in earnings. With the exception of the Rebel S. (G3) when he had a lung infection, Afleet Alex has laid it all on the line in every career start and looks much the best for the Belmont S. (G1). The Rebel has to be a sore subject for jockey John Velazquez, who committed over the winter to ride Afleet Alex through the Triple Crown and then gave up the mount prematurely following only one ride in the Rebel. But his loss makes for a great story with Rose, who had ridden the bay colt in every other career start and retained the mount for the Triple Crown when other more high-profile riders were available. Rose said he momentarily thought Afleet Alex was going down when he stumbled and decided to go down with the horse. Other jockeys might have jumped, been dislodged or lost their irons in similar circumstances, but Rose recovered as quickly as his mount did. Cash is King Stable couldn’t have had a better jockey. Now it’s on to New York for the Test of the Champions. SCRAPPY T (Fit to Fight), who veered outward and nearly caused a disaster when smacked left-handed by jockey Ramon Dominguez, offered a tremendous run to swoop to the lead on the far turn and easily held second through the stretch even though Dominguez, who appeared very shaken and apologized for the incident after the race, wrapped up early on the gelding. The rest of the horses were essentially spinning their wheels behind them. Give trainer Robert Bailes credit for getting Scrappy T, who was coming off a win in the one-mile Withers S. (G3), ready for the 1 3/16-mile test. Scrappy T entered the Preakness in strong form, but many people couldn’t envision him getting the distance or being a factor at this level. He’s now earned century-topping Speed ratings from five of his last six starts, the exception being when his saddle slipped in the Wood Memorial (G1), and shouldn’t be overlooked again. GIACOMO (Holy Bull) was sluggish in the early stages of the Preakness but began to pick off rivals in the final half-mile, rallying to be third, beaten five lengths for the place, on Saturday. The gray colt offered another solid effort and has now finished off the board only once, a fourth in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), in his last eight starts. Giacomo will always be a late-running threat for trainer John Shirreffs, but the two-time winner may continue to finish second or third much more often. SUN KING (Charismatic) was another length back in fourth at 21-1 and finally produced a decent showing for Nick Zito in this year’s Triple Crown. After capturing the Wood, Florida Derby (G1) (finishing 1-2), Fountain of Youth S. (G2) and Tampa Bay Derby (G3) earlier this year, Zito headed to Churchill Downs with a powerful quintet and dreams of running 1-2-3 in the Kentucky Derby. Instead, the Triple Crown has proved to be a bitter disappointment for the New York native so far. HIGH FLY (Atticus) finished a terrible 10th in the Preakness and NOBLE CAUSEWAY (Giant’s Causeway) was beaten 18 lengths in sixth. Zito, who saddled the Derby favorite (Bellamy Road [Concerto]) and Preakness second choice (High Fly), doesn’t have a top three finisher from eight combined starters in the first two legs of the Triple Crown. GOING WILD (Golden Missile) did as well as one could expect finishing last, six lengths behind the 13th-placed runner. Considering how drastically his form had tailed off prior to the Preakness, Going Wild deserves credit for completing the race. He’s been beaten terribly in every start since the beginning of April and figures to receive a rest now, but the chestnut isn’t completely out of the woods yet. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas has spoken about running a recent allowance winner in the Belmont, but if that three-year-old can’t make it, he might have to enter Going Wild in order to have a starter in the field. This has unfortunately been a sad chapter in the Hall of Fame conditioner’s career.
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