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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS JUNE 11, 2010 by Dick Powell What did we learn from this year's just-concluded Triple Crown? For me, the thing that most stands out is that all three winners had lost their last start. SUPER SAVER (Maria's Mon) was beaten in the Arkansas Derby (G1) before the Kentucky Derby (G1), LOOKIN AT LUCKY (Smart Strike) was beaten in the Kentucky Derby before the Preakness (G1) and DROSSELMEYER (Distorted Humor) was beaten in the Dwyer S. (G2) before his win in Saturday's Belmont S. (G1). Try to remember this fact next year when we all fall in love with the horses that just won their last race. With thunderstorms in the forecast for Saturday, the Belmont main track was sealed Friday night in anticipation of rain that never came. On Saturday, it was hot and humid, perfect ingredients for afternoon storms but once again, they never came. The Belmont main track was very dry and for some reason, very deep for Saturday's races which is fine by me if it means a safe racing surface. Instead of the usual big day, blazing-fast main track, we had a tiring one that played a few ticks slow. You had to go back to 1956 to find a winner of the Acorn S. (G1) slower than CHAMPAGNE D'ORO's (Medaglia d'Oro) 1:37.44. So if you are going to have a 1 1/2-mile contest on a main track that is playing slow, which trainer would you want that is most likely to have his/her horse the most fit? Yes, Nick Zito comes to mind with his proven history of success in America's longest classic race. And right along with Nick has to be fellow Hall of Fame member Bill Mott, who just missed winning the 1999 Belmont Stakes with Vision and Verse. Mott has won a lot of races but never a Triple Crown race. In the early 1990s, he won a lot of races in New York and many times his rider was Mike Smith. So it should not have come as a surprise when Kent Desormeaux was removed as Drosselmeyer's rider in favor of Smith. The consensus opinion on Drosselmeyer going into the Belmont was that he was a nice colt but too one-paced. Despite being sired by brilliant miler Distorted Humor (Forty Niner), he seemed to be able to grind along without showing a sudden burst where he could pass horses quickly. But on Saturday's Belmont track, maybe that was what you wanted. As expected, Ramon Dominguez sent Preakness runner-up First Dude (Stephen Got Even) to the front. At least that is what I think happened but I am not sure since ABC decided to go with a camera shot that looked like someone standing by the finish line using their camcorder. They did switch to a head-on shot going into the first turn and there was a crush of horses behind First Dude trying to get position with Fly Down (Mineshaft) looking like he got the worst of it. Dominguez kept First Dude in front down the backstretch and he was stalked by Interactif (Broken Vow) and Game on Dude (Awesome Again). Uptowncharlybrown (Limehouse) was in the mix and Smith moved Drosselmeyer up on the outside to chase the leaders while at least four wide. Johnny Velazquez, aboard Fly Down, wound up inside of Drosselmeyer for most of the trip and even though he was able to save some ground, he never was able to get clear running. Smith, in the best tradition of New York racing, was riding his horse and Johnny's horse. It was ironically similar to what Angel Cordero Jr. used to do years ago and he is now Velazquez's agent. Why Smith seemed to focus on Fly Down is anyone's guess but it turned out to be the right move. Despite losing ground on both turns, he never had a single horse in his path and at the top of the stretch his grinding running style began to pay off. First Dude resisted for as long as he could but Drosselmeyer kept coming and at the sixteenth pole, Drosselmeyer surged to a short lead. The race looked over and Fly Down's Belmont run looked over but once Velazquez was able to get him clear on the outside he came with a final rally that fell three-quarters of a length short. It was a great ride by Smith, who won his first Belmont. It was a great training job by Mott, who won his first Triple Crown race. It completed a Triple Crown of sorts for Drosselmeyer's sire, Distorted Humor, as he now has sired a winner of all three races due to Funny Cide's wins in the Derby and Preakness. And, it completed an odd fete for Nick Zito who had three different horses finish in the money in all three Triple Crown races. Early this year, WinStar Farm looked loaded with sophomore runners and they wound up living up to expectations with Super Saver winning the Derby and Drosselmeyer's Belmont victory. Trash this year's Triple Crown all you want but with eight different horses filling the top three positions in its three races, there should be some contentious racing in the division for the rest of the year. The food might have been poor this year, but at least we got large portions. Good things can come in bunches and we have seen that recently in racing throughout the world. Juddmonte Farms' PROVISO (Dansili) won the Just a Game S. (G1) for Mott/Smith earlier on the card and the Juddmonte juggernaut has been in full steam around the world as their WORKFORCE (King's Best) won the Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) in only his third start. King's Best (Kingmambo) also has recently sired the winner of the Japanese Derby (Jpn-G1). WinStar not only won the Derby and Belmont, but they stand Distorted Humor at their farm in Kentucky. And, Smith will look to parlay his Belmont success when he gets back aboard ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]) this Sunday at Hollywood Park and tries to win the Vanity H. (G1) for the third straight time.
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