A classic rematch in a classic race on one of Thoroughbred racing?s grandest stages has generated added buzz for the $1-million Belmont Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Belmont Park.
When Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Animal Kingdom squares off against Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Shackleford, it will mark just the 22nd time that the Derby and Preakness winners have faced each other in the Belmont.
The previous two meetings of such winners?Monarchos and Point Given in 2001 and Giacomo and Afleet Alex in 2005?were more lopsided, however, as bettors expected the Preakness winners to justify that race rather than the Derby. Point Given was the 1.35-to-1 favorite; Afleet Alex was the 1.15-to-1 favorite.
That will not be the case on Saturday when Animal Kingdom will almost certainly be favored. He is 2-to-1 on the morning line with Shackleford tabbed at 9-to-2. Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro is between the two classic winners as the 4-to-1 second choice on the morning line.
Barry Irwin, president of the ownership syndicate Team Valor International that campaigns Animal Kingdom, said Tuesday that Mucho Macho Man is the horse he fears most, not Shackleford who beat his horse by a half-length in the Preakness.
It was good-natured ribbing, but it shows how competitive the Belmont field is.
Mucho Macho Man is the third horse who will have competed in all three jewels of the Triple Crown. He finished third in the Derby and sixth in the Preakness. The Derby superfecta along with the fifth-, sixth-, seventh-, and 12th-place finishers from that race are each in the Belmont as well.
Pace and riding tactics could make the difference in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. Shackleford set the pace in the Derby and pressed it in the Preakness, but Animal Kingdom was a lot closer early in the slower-paced Derby than in the quicker Preakness.
?I can?t be concerned or get caught up in what happens,? said Animal Kingdom?s trainer, H. Graham Motion, who called Jesus Castanon?s ride aboard Shackleford in the Preakness ?brilliant? and ?masterful.?
?I?ll leave it up to [Animal Kingdom?s jockey] John Velazquez, but I?m kind of glad Shackleford ended up on the outside [post 12 in a field of 12]. I see that as a handicap. It?s a big plus to have Johnny; experience matters in such an idiosyncratic race with the track and distance. I think the Triple Crown has been lost before because of a lack of experience from the jockey, so it?d be silly to think that doesn?t matter.?
Many trainers during Belmont week played coy with their strategy for running in the race.
?The Derby trip showed us that you never know what?s going to happen,? said trainer Steve Asmussen, whose Nehro made what looked like a potentially winning move on the far turn after being closer to the pace than in other races.
Kathy Ritvo, trainer of Mucho Macho Man, said she is leaving tactical decisions up to Eclipse Award-winning rider and leading local jockey Ramon Dominguez.
One thing that is a near certainty is that Shackleford will again be near the front. The Forestry colt had a one-mile gallop on Friday, and trainer Dale Romans said the colt has excelled during the Triple Crown season.
?The more he trains, the better he gets,? Romans said. ?I think if he can get a nice, slow, rhythmic pace, it would be perfect, but we don?t want to go too slow. Going 1 1/2 miles, fast or slow, they?re going to be getting tired at the end.
?We may have gone too slow in the Derby, because everyone came home so fast and we couldn?t hang on. The Preakness was different [opening half in :46.87] and they struggled a little bit at the end, and we had the stamina to finish.?
In the previous 21 meetings of Derby and Preakness winners in the Belmont, one of those classic winners has prevailed 15 times with the Preakness winner holding a 10-5 edge. The last Derby winner to defeat a Preakness winner in the Belmont was Swale over Gate Dancer (sixth) in 1984. The last non-classic winner to defeat separate Derby and Preakness winners in the Belmont was Colonial Affair in 1993.
New York Racing Association officials hope the rematch spurs business, as attendance last year when neither classic winner competed was just 45,243, the lowest since 1996 and a 13.3% drop from 2009. Total handle of $74,613,144 was its lowest since 2001 and a 16.8% drop versus 2009.
by Ed DeRosa
When Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Animal Kingdom squares off against Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Shackleford, it will mark just the 22nd time that the Derby and Preakness winners have faced each other in the Belmont.
The previous two meetings of such winners?Monarchos and Point Given in 2001 and Giacomo and Afleet Alex in 2005?were more lopsided, however, as bettors expected the Preakness winners to justify that race rather than the Derby. Point Given was the 1.35-to-1 favorite; Afleet Alex was the 1.15-to-1 favorite.
That will not be the case on Saturday when Animal Kingdom will almost certainly be favored. He is 2-to-1 on the morning line with Shackleford tabbed at 9-to-2. Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro is between the two classic winners as the 4-to-1 second choice on the morning line.
Barry Irwin, president of the ownership syndicate Team Valor International that campaigns Animal Kingdom, said Tuesday that Mucho Macho Man is the horse he fears most, not Shackleford who beat his horse by a half-length in the Preakness.
It was good-natured ribbing, but it shows how competitive the Belmont field is.
Mucho Macho Man is the third horse who will have competed in all three jewels of the Triple Crown. He finished third in the Derby and sixth in the Preakness. The Derby superfecta along with the fifth-, sixth-, seventh-, and 12th-place finishers from that race are each in the Belmont as well.
Pace and riding tactics could make the difference in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. Shackleford set the pace in the Derby and pressed it in the Preakness, but Animal Kingdom was a lot closer early in the slower-paced Derby than in the quicker Preakness.
?I can?t be concerned or get caught up in what happens,? said Animal Kingdom?s trainer, H. Graham Motion, who called Jesus Castanon?s ride aboard Shackleford in the Preakness ?brilliant? and ?masterful.?
?I?ll leave it up to [Animal Kingdom?s jockey] John Velazquez, but I?m kind of glad Shackleford ended up on the outside [post 12 in a field of 12]. I see that as a handicap. It?s a big plus to have Johnny; experience matters in such an idiosyncratic race with the track and distance. I think the Triple Crown has been lost before because of a lack of experience from the jockey, so it?d be silly to think that doesn?t matter.?
Many trainers during Belmont week played coy with their strategy for running in the race.
?The Derby trip showed us that you never know what?s going to happen,? said trainer Steve Asmussen, whose Nehro made what looked like a potentially winning move on the far turn after being closer to the pace than in other races.
Kathy Ritvo, trainer of Mucho Macho Man, said she is leaving tactical decisions up to Eclipse Award-winning rider and leading local jockey Ramon Dominguez.
One thing that is a near certainty is that Shackleford will again be near the front. The Forestry colt had a one-mile gallop on Friday, and trainer Dale Romans said the colt has excelled during the Triple Crown season.
?The more he trains, the better he gets,? Romans said. ?I think if he can get a nice, slow, rhythmic pace, it would be perfect, but we don?t want to go too slow. Going 1 1/2 miles, fast or slow, they?re going to be getting tired at the end.
?We may have gone too slow in the Derby, because everyone came home so fast and we couldn?t hang on. The Preakness was different [opening half in :46.87] and they struggled a little bit at the end, and we had the stamina to finish.?
In the previous 21 meetings of Derby and Preakness winners in the Belmont, one of those classic winners has prevailed 15 times with the Preakness winner holding a 10-5 edge. The last Derby winner to defeat a Preakness winner in the Belmont was Swale over Gate Dancer (sixth) in 1984. The last non-classic winner to defeat separate Derby and Preakness winners in the Belmont was Colonial Affair in 1993.
New York Racing Association officials hope the rematch spurs business, as attendance last year when neither classic winner competed was just 45,243, the lowest since 1996 and a 13.3% drop from 2009. Total handle of $74,613,144 was its lowest since 2001 and a 16.8% drop versus 2009.
by Ed DeRosa
