ROAD TO THE TRIPLE CROWN
MAY 25, 2005
by James Scully
A spectacular display of athleticism enabled AFLEET ALEX (Northern Afleet)
to stay on his feet in Saturday’s Preakness S. (G1), and his authoritative
victory will be remembered as one of the greatest performances by a
Thoroughbred. Jockey Jeremy Rose also deserves plenty of praise for
staying
aboard.
The Tim Ritchey charge, who quickly regained his balance and momentum
after
nearly smacking his nose on the ground, recorded a terrific 112 BRIS Speed
rating for the 4 3/4-length decision and earned some redemption after
being
narrowly defeated in the Kentucky Derby (G1). He improved his career mark
to
11-8-2-1, with more than $2 million in earnings.
With the exception of the Rebel S. (G3) when he had a lung infection,
Afleet
Alex has laid it all on the line in every career start and looks much the
best for the Belmont S. (G1).
The Rebel has to be a sore subject for jockey John Velazquez, who
committed
over the winter to ride Afleet Alex through the Triple Crown and then gave
up the mount prematurely following only one ride in the Rebel. But his
loss
makes for a great story with Rose, who had ridden the bay colt in every
other career start and retained the mount for the Triple Crown when other
more high-profile riders were available.
Rose said he momentarily thought Afleet Alex was going down when he
stumbled
and decided to go down with the horse. Other jockeys
might
have jumped, been dislodged or lost their irons in similar circumstances,
but Rose recovered as quickly as his mount did. Cash is King Stable
couldn’t
have had a better jockey.
Now it’s on to New York for the Test of the Champions.
SCRAPPY T (Fit to Fight), who veered outward and nearly caused a disaster
when smacked left-handed by jockey Ramon Dominguez, offered a tremendous
run
to swoop to the lead on the far turn and easily held second through the
stretch even though Dominguez, who appeared very shaken and apologized for
the incident after the race, wrapped up early on the gelding. The rest of
the horses were essentially spinning their wheels behind them.
Give trainer Robert Bailes credit for getting Scrappy T, who was coming
off
a win in the one-mile Withers S. (G3), ready for the 1 3/16-mile test.
Scrappy T entered the Preakness in strong form, but many people couldn’t
envision him getting the distance or being a factor at this level. He’s
now
earned century-topping Speed ratings from five of his last six starts, the
exception being when his saddle slipped in the Wood Memorial (G1), and
shouldn’t be overlooked again.
GIACOMO (Holy Bull) was sluggish in the early stages of the Preakness but
began to pick off rivals in the final half-mile, rallying to be third,
beaten five lengths for the place, on Saturday. The gray colt offered
another solid effort and has now finished off the board only once, a
fourth
in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), in his last eight starts. Giacomo will
always
be a late-running threat for trainer John Shirreffs, but the two-time
winner
may continue to finish second or third much more often.
SUN KING (Charismatic) was another length back in fourth at 21-1 and
finally
produced a decent showing for Nick Zito in this year’s Triple Crown. After
capturing the Wood, Florida Derby (G1) (finishing 1-2),
Fountain of Youth S. (G2) and Tampa Bay Derby (G3) earlier this year, Zito
headed to Churchill Downs with a powerful quintet and dreams of running
1-2-3 in the Kentucky Derby. Instead, the Triple Crown has proved to be a
bitter disappointment for the New York native so far.
HIGH FLY (Atticus) finished a terrible 10th in the Preakness and NOBLE
CAUSEWAY (Giant’s Causeway) was beaten 18 lengths in sixth. Zito, who
saddled the Derby favorite (Bellamy Road [Concerto]) and Preakness second
choice (High Fly), doesn’t have a top three finisher from eight combined
starters in the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
GOING WILD (Golden Missile) did as well as one could expect finishing
last,
six lengths behind the 13th-placed runner. Considering how drastically his
form had tailed off prior to the Preakness, Going Wild deserves credit for
completing the race. He’s been beaten terribly in every start since the
beginning of April and figures to receive a rest now, but the chestnut
isn’t
completely out of the woods yet.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas has spoken about running a recent allowance winner
in the Belmont, but if that three-year-old can’t make it, he might
have
to enter Going Wild in order to have a starter in the field. This has
unfortunately been a sad chapter in the Hall of Fame conditioner’s
career.