Zito reflects on spoiling a pair of Triple Crown bids

Nick Zito is no stranger to upsetting the Belmont Stakes (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

A day before California Chrome attempts to become the first
Triple Crown winner in 36 years in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito reflected on two
Triple Crown bids spoiled by his horses, and what it might take to finally end
the drought.

Zito first won the Belmont Stakes in 2004 with Birdstone,
who thwarted Smarty Jones’ bid for the Triple Crown in the waning stages of the
race. In 2008, Zito won again with Da’ Tara, while Triple Crown hopeful Big
Brown was pulled up on the far turn. Both Smarty Jones and Big Brown were
undefeated heading into the Belmont Stakes.

“Our stable is different,” Zito noted. “You might say, ‘What
do you mean?’ At the time of our first one, we had five seconds. Five seconds in
the Belmont. Our stats are two wins, seven seconds, couple of thirds. Our stable
is different.

“Were we confident? Just about every time we run a mile and a half,
in our head, we know we’ve got a little bit of a chance. It’s the way we run our
stable and the way we prepare them.”

Zito’s outstanding record in the Belmont Stakes puts him in
rarefied air. In the case of California Chrome, he believes racing fans may
witness something special on Saturday.

“It’s a very interesting scenario with that horse, the way
he trains,” Zito said. “They say that’s the way he goes, the way he trains. Boy,
those workouts are tremendous. I don’t care what anybody tells me. That horse is
smooth as can be, when he works, when he gallops, whatever.”

How California Chrome handles the additional two furlongs
he’s asked to run in the “Test of the Champion” is pivotal to his chances,
according to the trainer.