Cal Chrome draws post 2 in Belmont, rates as 3-5 favorite for Triple Crown sweep

hero California Chrome will break from post 2 in Saturday's Grade 1, $1.5

million Belmont Stakes, where he will aim to end the Triple Crown drought that

racing fans have endured since Affirmed's conquest in 1978. The flashy chestnut

has been installed as the 3-5 favorite to make history in the 1 1/2-mile classic

at Belmont Park, both the oldest and longest of the jewels of the Triple Crown.

Ten rivals hope to stand

athwart history and yell "Stop," including Commanding Curve and Ride On Curlin,

the respective runners-up in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness; Wicked Strong,

Samraat and Medal Count, who like Commanding Curve, have all been freshened

since their Derby losses; General a Rod, who had traffic trouble en route to a

closing fourth in the Preakness; and impressive Peter Pan winner Tonalist,

arguably the most dangerous of the new shooters. The speedy Social Inclusion,

who would have been the key pace factor, passed in favor of the seven-furlong

Woody Stephens earlier on the card.

Trained by Art Sherman,

California Chrome is unbeaten since teaming up with jockey Victor Espinoza over

the winter. The pair are six-for-six together, with blowout scores in the

December 22 King Glorious at Hollywood, the January 25 Cal Cup Derby at Santa

Anita, the March 8 San Felipe and the April 5 Santa Anita Derby before taking

the Triple Crown scene by storm.

California Chrome employed

stalking trips en route to glory in the May 3 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

and the May 17 Preakness at Pimlico, but he has previously shown versatility by

setting or contesting the pace this spring at Santa Anita. Espinoza thus has

more tactical options in his second chance at completing the elusive Triple

Crown; in 2002, he guided confirmed front runner War Emblem to victories in the

Derby and Preakness, only to see his Belmont hopes wiped out by a stumble at the

start.

Inclusion to liven up the pace. Nevertheless, the Dallas Stewart trainee has

rallied powerfully off middling fractions in both the March 29 Louisiana Derby,

finishing a barnstorming third after being slammed at the break, and in the

Kentucky Derby, where he closed from the tail of the field and reduced

California Chrome's margin to 1 3/4 lengths. Skipping the Preakness to

concentrate on the Belmont, Commanding Curve posted a sharp half-mile work over

the track on Sunday. Derby rider Shaun Bridgmohan, who has yet to finish worse

than second in three starts aboard Commanding Curve, has the return call.

"Basically, you're just concentrating on your horse and trying

to get that feeling that you can win," Stewart said of his chance to thwart a

Triple Crown. "It's not like you're trying to upset something special. I don't

personally think like that. I just want to train my horse to win the race and

let everything fall where it may. That's my job, and that's what I do. He beat

us fair and square at a mile and a quarter. Hopefully, the extra quarter of a

mile in this race will be what we need."

Aside from California Chrome, Ride On Curlin and General a Rod are the only other Belmont

runners who have competed in both the Derby and Preakness, and both fared better

in Baltimore. Interestingly, each will have been ridden by three different

jockeys during the Triple Crown.

Arkansas Derby runner-up Ride On Curlin dropped

uncharacteristically back to last in the early going at Churchill, with jockey

Calvin Borel determined to angle over to his favored rail, and his mount met

with trouble before closing for seventh. With a rider switch to Joel Rosario for

the Preakness, Ride On Curlin got a better trip and made the most of it, briefly

looming as a challenger to Chrome and ultimately settling for second. The Billy

Gowan pupil gets another change of jockey, this time to Hall of Famer John

Velazquez.

Louisville. Wicked Strong, the convincing winner of the TwinSpires.com Wood

Memorial, had a rough go of it early from post 19, and again found a checkered

passage down the stretch. The Jimmy Jerkens colt did well to get up fourth

despite it all. Rested since, he is now back on his home track, the site of his

maiden victory, and just fired a bullet five-eighths on the local training track

in :59. If Wicked Strong can halt California Chrome's Triple Crown dreams, then

his trainer would be following the pattern set by his Hall of Fame father, Allen

Jerkens, well known for his role in upsetting such legends as Kelso and

Secretariat.

"I'm pretty confident; as confident as I can be," Jimmy Jerkens

said. "I really like how he's doing. I think we're going into the race as good

as we can hope. It's a big, prestigious race and people are going to take a

shot, especially with the distance being a big question for everybody. People

are more apt to take a shot here than anywhere."

The Dale Romans-trained Medal Count had a busy April on

Keeneland's Polytrack, winning the off-the-turf Transylvania and earning his

Derby ticket with a clear second in the Blue Grass. But the son of stamina

influence Dynaformer didn't have much of an opportunity to run his race in the

Run for the Roses, where he suffered interference and checked in eighth. Another

who enters off a five-week break, Medal Count has blitzed consecutive bullets at

his Churchill base, capped by a six-furlong breeze in 1:10 3/5.

lung infection that forced him to miss the April 5 Wood Memorial. The

highly-regarded colt would likely have made an impact in that race, considering

that he had been second in a salty Gulfstream allowance to eventual Florida

Derby hero Constitution, leaving Wicked Strong back fourth. Trainer Christophe

Clement patiently waited for the May 11 Peter Pan, and Tonalist responded with a

front-running, four-length romp in the Belmont slop. In the process, he notched

a 107 BRIS Speed rating -- the highest in the field, eclipsing California

Chrome's best (a 106 in the Santa Anita Derby). Although Tonalist reportedly

shed the frogs in both front feet in the Peter Pan, and was subsequently

training in bar shoes, he has made a solid appearance in his morning exercise.

Joel Rosario stays aboard.

"We missed a bit of time in Florida, but now he's doing well,"

Clement said. "He's training great and looks well. I'm very happy on my side.

We'll just keep him sound for a few more days and go from there."

Commissioner and Matterhorn,

respectively second and fourth in the Peter Pan, are two new shooters for

trainer Todd Pletcher. Commissioner, who beat the promising Top Billing in a

January 3 Gulfstream allowance, didn't prosper in a trio of preps over the

spring, finishing sixth in both the Fountain of Youth and Arkansas Derby and

third in the Sunland Derby. But the son of 1992 Belmont winner A.P. Indy, out of

a mare by 1997 Belmont winner Touch Gold, might have turned the corner in the

Peter Pan. Commissioner was no match for Tonalist then, but his steady, grinding

style tends to fit the Belmont, and he gets Castellano back in the saddle.

Matterhorn, on the other hand, has class concerns and must improve markedly to

factor.