Curlin's Preakness Tied Record
Belmont to Feature Todd Pletcher's Best Filly, Rags to Riches
There cannot be a Triple Crown winner this season, but the Belmont Stakes offers girl versus boys; speedy Curlin versus speedy Hard Spun. Upsetter Tiago is also in.
Preliminary reports have ten horses headed to the Belmont Stakes on June 9, including Preakness champ Curlin, and Hard Spun, the Preakness show, upset minded Tiago, and interestingly enough, Rags to Riches, Todd Pletcher's leading filly.
No other Preakness fininshers have yet been named to the Belmont field. C.P. West was fourth; then came Circular Quay and King of the Roxy, the two Pletcher entries, respectively; Mint Slewlep, seventh; Xchanger, eighth; and the D.Wayne Lukas trained Flying First Class, last.
Pletcher hasn't won a triple crown race with any colt, despite copping the Eclipse Award for top trainer the last three seasons. Rags to Riches will be his last try this season.
Multiple owned Curlin, a $3.5 million purchase, ran the Preakness distance of 1-3/16 miles in record tying time of 1:53.46. Tank's Prospect was clocked in 1:53-2/5 in 1985, and Louis Quatorze did the same in 1996. A clocking dispute in 1973 left Secretariat's run at 1:54-2/5. Clockings used to be recorded in fifths of a second. Fractions of one hundredths are now in vogue.
Other Belmont contenders may be Barclay Tagg trained Nobiz Like Shobiz and Doug O'Neill's Great Hunter, both of whom had no moves in the Derby and skipped the Preakness.
Tagg's Nobiz, one of several disappointing favorites in the Derby, may rebound in the Belmont's lesser numbers and may benefit by Street Sense's absence. He ran very strongly in the Wood Memorial. O'Neill's Great Hunter has also been an underachiever that could still shine in 2007. He powered to a 1-1/4 length win in the March Robert B. Lewis Stakes, then was squeezed out of the Blue Grass Stakes stretch.
Chelokee, trained by Barbaro mentor Michael Matz, is a likely Belmont candidate. In his last effort, the long dark bay won the first running of the Barbaro Stakes on the Preakness day undercard.
Top trainers haven't faired well in 2007's first two classics. Pletcher will fight his losing odds by entering Rags to Riches against the boys. Lukas and Bob Baffert, rich winners in the classics in the past, will not have trainees in the Belmont.
Rags to Riches won the Kentucky Oaks last time out, May 5. It was her fourth consecutive triumph. She is Pletcher's most consistent winner this season. The powerful filly will run against colts for the first time to try to bring Pletcher his first Triple Crown race win. He is 0 for 28 in the classics.
John Sherriffs trained Tiago, who achieved an impresssive victory in the Santa Anita Derby in April, will add upset credentials to the Belmont.
Other contenders may include Imawildandcrazyguy; Sightseeing, second in the Wood Memorial, ridden by the Belmont crafty Edgar Prado; and Slew's Tizzy.
