I'll Have Another looking good at Belmont
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Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another was reported to be doing well the morning after he arrived at Belmont Park by van and will soon begin training on the Belmont main track, according to Jack Sisterson, assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill. "He looks fantastic this morning," said Sisterson on Monday. "He ate everything up last night and is a very happy horse. He walked the shedrow this morning. I have to speak with Doug, but it's likely he will go to the main track at some point this week." In both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, I'll Have Another made an inexorable charge to overtake pacesetter Bodemeister, who has been ruled out of consideration for the Belmont Stakes. "He came out of the Preakness fantastic, just like he came out of the Derby," Sisterson said. "He acts like he never even ran a race." I'll Have Another, who is owned by J. Paul and Zillah Reddam's Reddam Racing LLC, carries a four-race winning streak into the Belmont, having also won Santa Anita's Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis in February and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April. He'll be the 31st horse to head into the Belmont with a chance to win the Triple Crown, one of the most elusive prizes in sports.
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Since 1919, when Sir Barton became the first to win the Kentucky Derby,
Preakness, and Belmont, only 11 horses have managed to sweep all three races,
most recently in 1978 when Affirmed beat archrival Alydar by a head in the "Test
of the Champion." Five years earlier, Secretariat became the first horse since
Citation (1948) to win the Triple Crown, with his 31-length Belmont triumph
ending a 25-year drought, and in 1977 Seattle Slew became the first undefeated
Triple Crown winner with his Belmont victory running his record to 9-0.
Completing the roster of champions are Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War
Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), and Assault (1946).
Beyond the 11 champions, the 1 1/2-mile Belmont has tripped up 19 Triple
Crown hopefuls, most recently Big Brown, who did not finish behind longshot
winner Da' Tara in 2008. There were consecutive Triple Crown tries from
2002-2004, with the Bob Baffert-trained War Emblem finishing eighth behind
Sarava in 2002, New York-bred Funny Cide coming in third behind Empire Maker in
2003, and Smarty Jones being caught by Birdstone in the shadow of the wire
before a record 120,139 fans in 2004.
In other Belmont news:
Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes winner Mark Valeski is "doubtful" to return for the
Belmont, trainer Larry Jones told Daily Racing Form Monday.
"Mark's actually doing OK, but he got a little tired after the race," Jones
said. "He doesn't have the same energy level.
"I'm not saying he's 100 percent out. But we may end up bypassing the Belmont
and just waiting for the Dwyer (Grade 2 going 1 1/8 miles at Belmont Park June
30)."
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Trainer Dale Romans told DRF that Javier Castellano will pick up the mount aboard Dullahan in the Belmont. The jockey change comes after the colt's former rider, Kent Desormeaux, failed a breathalyzer test last Friday. Dullahan, the only horse besides Hall of Famer Round Table to turn the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity/Blue Grass double at Keeneland, was most recently third in the Kentucky Derby. BelmontStakes.com to enter a free drawing for a prize package for two that includes airfare, hotel accommodations, and premium tickets to watch I'll Have Another attempt to become the 12th Triple Crown winner when he competes in the June 9 Belmont Stakes. After flying in to either John F. Kennedy International Airport or LaGuardia Airport, the grand prize winner will stay overnight in New York on June 8 and June 9. Accommodations will be provided by the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale.
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In addition to the grand prize, a $100 gift certificate to the online NYRA
Store will be awarded to the runner-up.
Entries will close May 31 at 6 p.m. (EDT), according to the official
posted on BelmontStakes.com. The winner and runner-up will be
contacted via e-mail and telephone on June 1.
Contestants can enter at
www.belmontstakes.com/contest.aspx. Entry is restricted to United States
residents.
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