JC / Railbird

Triple Crown Archive

Belmont Day

Like Alan, I’ll be watching this afternoon’s Belmont Stakes more as a fan than bettor, cheering on Rags to Riches. Sure, no filly has won the Belmont Stakes since Tanya in 1905, but of the 21 fillies that have started, two have won and seven finished second or third (that’s 43% in the money) and Rags to Riches has a good shot to become the third filly winner of the Belmont. There’s her pedigree (sired by Belmont winner A.P. Indy, half sib to Belmont winner Jazil), her class (three Grade 1 wins this year), and her freshness (she comes into the race off a five week layoff, trainer Todd Pletcher’s sweet spot). Curlin will be formidable, but he’s going against history as well — no horse unraced as a two-year-old has won the Belmont since 1885 (Courier-Journal, via). Cases can be made for almost all of the starters (and Steve Haskin tries hard to do just that), but for me it comes down to Rags to Riches with Hard Spun, Tiago, and Curlin following.

Posted in Triple Crown on June 9, 2007

Belmont Post Positions

2008 Belmont Stakes post positions:

Posted in Triple Crown on June 6, 2007

Pletcher’s Sporting Side

What’s especially fun about Rags to Riches entering the Belmont is that the move seems to have given trainer Todd Pletcher a chance to reveal his sporting side. The horseman famous for his cool, detached ways around the track and his blandly professional pronouncements is suddenly saying things like, “She is just a good filly…. Aside from having testicles, she has it all” (Blood-Horse), and “At the end of the day, competing in the Belmont with a chance to win is more exciting than going in the Mother Goose and being 1-to-5” (Courier-Journal). Makes me wish we had the chance to see more of this Pletcher and less of TPI.

Posted in Triple Crown on June 6, 2007