Preakness Remainders
Afleet Alex earned a 112 Beyer speed figure in the Preakness. “The Preakness was as legitimate a race as the Derby was flukey.” (Daily Racing Form — sub. req.)
More bad luck for trainer Nick Zito: It was discovered Monday that Noble Causeway “entrapped his epiglottis” during the Preakness. The colt will have a myectomy. (Blood-Horse)
Wilko is also having surgery. Trainer Craig Dollase said the Breeders’ Cup juvenile winner came out of the Preakness with a chip in his right front ankle. He’ll have surgery on Thursday to remove it. (Daily Racing Form)
There’ll be no Triple Crown this year, which has NYRA officials plotting how to attract crowds to a race that suddenly seems a little irrelevant. They shouldn’t worry, writes Rick Bozich:
This time the Belmont Stakes will have to hustle for love, headlines and TV viewers. This time the Belmont will have to sell more than another faux Triple Crown contender.
Fine.
We all know how those Triple Crown buildups turned out. Lots of trips down memory lane for Steve Cauthen. No new members of the Triple Crown club. Six of the last eight years we’ve hit Belmont wondering whether racing would celebrate its first Triple Crown winner since Cauthen scored on Affirmed in 1978. Six times no champagne was popped.
This year the fairy tale ended three weeks earlier. Giacomo, the Kentucky Derby winner, finished third, nearly 10 lengths behind the unflappable Afleet Alex in the Preakness.
Fine.
Why do I keep saying everything will be all right? Easy. This time the plot lines will be enchanting without being predictable. (Courier Journal)
