If Wishes Were Horses
January 10th, 2005by Jude T. Feld
For the last two years, I have checked into the Radisson JFK, with prospect of witnessing a Triple Crown winner filling me with anticipation. In 2003, Funny Cide seemed so invincible, and when the track came up gumbo, it made it look even more of a sure thing that history would be made.
Last year, Smarty Jones mania took even this hardened race fan by storm. It looked great at the five-sixteenths and hopeless at the quarter pole. The surreal quiet from the eighth pole to the wire was that horrific sound of silence that overcomes a boisterous crowd when they are notified that the president has been shot or the pope has died.
Watching Mrs. Whitney’s Eton blue and brown rush by the Chapman’s royal blue dots ripped my heart out, and the three hour ride into the city for dinner made me vow not to return in 2005, no matter what.
Now, I wish I hadn’t made that vow.
Eleven horses were entered for 100th running of the Belmont Stakes (G1) and I would agree with someone who I am sure would prefer to remain nameless, “looks like mostly a bunch of manes and tails to me,” he said.
It starts with spotlight hungry Ken Ramsey trying to make a name for his stallion by entering maiden Nolan’s Cat and D. Wayne Lukas, treating his Hall of Fame plaque to a reverse mortgage by entering A. P. Arrow.
Certainly every entrant has a chance of winning the Belmont (G1), but I have a better chance of leaving a bar with Jennifer Garner draped all over me than either these two have of crossing the wire in front.
You gotta love Nicky Zito. With five entrants off the board in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and three out of the money in the Preakness (G1), Zito is undaunted. Pinpoint, Andromeda’s Hero and Indy Storm are all entered in Saturday’s race. At least you can’t say Nicky is afraid to lose.
Reverberate has backed up every time he’s run a mile and an eighth, so it would seem he might need a taxi if he is going to go a mile and a half.
The $3.3 million horse, Checkov, is less of a stretch. His trainer, Patrick Biancone owns success on three continents, as does his Hall of Fame jockey, Gary Stevens. But Checkov still needs to do the running and he’ll have to run farther and faster than he is ever run before to even get a sniff.
Watchmon has won a race going 1 7/16 miles earning a Beyer speed figure of 78, although his rider did drop the whip. That’s really not Belmont (G1) material.
Remember that Johnny Cash song “I’ve Been Everywhere”? The only place Southern Africa hasn’t run is in Southern Africa. He’s been to Newbury, Sandown, Ascot, Hollywood, Santa Anita, Sunland and Lone Star. His trainer, Mike Puhich, has more stickers on his luggage than John Goddard. The son of Capetown is a hard-knocker and has improving speed figures so we’ll say at least he belongs in the race.
Wow! All that pontificating and look what’s left. Afleet Alex at 6-5 and Giacomo at 4-1. There’s a shocker – the two morning line favorites. Two horses who hardly ever run a bad race. The Derby (G1) winner and the Preakness (G1) winner. If they ran the Triple Crown like the Little Brown Jug, this would be the race.
Basically, it is.
Giacomo won the Kentucky Derby (G1) on the square and validated himself in the Preakness (G1). A mile and a half seems well within his range and his seven-eighths work, for laid-back trainer John Shirreffs, tells me that the campaign hasn’t turned either one of them into a raisin.
Afleet Alex, whose race in the Preakness (G1) drew the Daily Racing Form comments “clipped heels, stumbled,” is now spoken of in legendary terms. One of the most incredible races ever run, Afleet Alex’s performance at Pimlico was nothing but amazing. Trainer Tim Ritchey has him fit and it is unlikely that a bounce is in store.
I don’t know which one of these colts will win, but I wish I was going to be there to see it.
My Mom is fond of saying, “If wishes were horses than beggars would ride.”
Now, I wish I hadn’t made that vow.
