McGaughey gives Orb green light for Belmont

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey on Sunday morning gave the

go-ahead for Kentucky Derby winner

Orb to face Preakness winner Oxbow in

Saturday's $1 million Belmont Stakes after the colt worked a half-mile

in :48 1/5 over the fast main track at Belmont Park.

With regular exercise rider Jennifer Patterson aboard and

working in company with Grade 1 winner Hymn Book, the Malibu Moon colt was

caught by NYRA clockers going the first quarter in :25 after an opening split

of :13. Pulling away from his workmate in the final yards, Orb galloped out

five furlongs in 1:00 2/5.

"He started off nice and steady, which Shug wanted, and

finished up strong," Patterson said. "I gave him his head at the eighth-pole and

he opened up his stride. He did everything very easily. I didn't have to

encourage him at all. He came off the track and he was kind of spooking and

playing, but in a good way.

"He's just happy and feeling good. Everything went right this morning."

"I think the Belmont is a race that stands on its own and we would love to be

able to compete in it and love to be able to have a good chance to win, and go

from there."

The race will be the 21st Belmont in which the Derby and

Preakness winner square off, although Orb and Oxbow will have plenty of company

with as many as 15 possible to enter. In head-to-head meetings, the Derby winner has won the

Belmont five times and the Preakness winner nine times. Most recently, Derby

winner Animal Kingdom finished fifth and Preakness winner Shackleford sixth in

the 2011 Belmont won by Ruler On Ice.

Orb was favored to win the Preakness, but finished fourth on a day during

which McGaughey said "nothing went right."

"It does shake your confidence a little bit," he admitted about the loss. "I remember back in

'89 when Easy Goer got beat in the

Derby, I attributed it to the (sloppy) racetrack. But I didn't know, because I

didn't have any comparison. Are we as good as Sunday Silence or is he two or

three lengths better than us? Then we ran in the Preakness and got beat a nose,

and I knew we were comparable to him.

"I think if things go right, next Saturday

I think you'll see a different horse than we saw two weeks ago."