O'Neill glad that Belmont horses will be in 'same locker room'

I'll Have Another, who on Saturday will bid to become racing's 12th Triple

Crown winner in the $1 million Belmont Stakes, had his usual 1 1/2-mile tour of

Belmont Park's oval Monday morning, walking and jogging alongside stable pony

Lava Man before galloping through the lane.

"(Exercise rider) Jonny Garcia, who gets on him, thought he felt great, so we

were very happy with his training today," said trainer Doug O'Neill, who added

that I'll Have Another will move into the Belmont Stakes barn on Tuesday after

training.

All the starters in the 144th Belmont are required to be in the stakes barn

by noon on Wednesday.

"I know the other guys will probably hate me for this, but I like the thought

of showing the general public all the horses are in the same locker room,

they're all being looked after real thoroughly," he said.

"If he were to get lucky and win on June 9 I think it would be great,"

O'Neill said. "Anything we can do to show what a great game it is, how beautiful

these horses are, and how well they're cared for is, I'm hoping, a positive

step.

"One of the problems our industry has, we have a hard time falling in love

with horses, because oftentimes, once they get really good, the temptation of

the financial end of it is so strong that most of us have to take the money and

retire them," he added.

"Knowing (owner) Paul (Reddam), if the horse is right, he'd much rather see

the horse compete, and I think that would be great for the game as I'll Have

Another is gaining more and more fans. It would be nice to see him around for

another year or two if the racing gods are looking over him."

I'll Have Another's jockey, Mario Gutierrez, was scheduled to arrive later

Monday, and O'Neill said he and the 25-year-old rider will be reviewing tapes of

previous Belmonts over the next few days.