Results of the 139th Belmont Stakes
Thu, 06/14/2007 - 04:32
Although the turnout for the 2007 Belmont Stakes was a disappointing 46,870, the results were anything but disappointing. Rags to Riches became the first filly in over one hundred years to win the third leg of the Triple Crown. She ran the 1½ mile race in 2 minutes and 29 seconds (Secretariat holds the record at 2 minutes 24 seconds, run June 9th, 1973).
The filly took home a $1 million purse and paid $10.60.
Win: Rags to Riches
Place: Curlin
Show: Tiago
Rags to Riches paid $10.60, $4.40, and $3.20 on a $2 bet. Curlin, the winner of the Preakness and a 6-5 favorite, paid $3 and $3.30, and Tiago paid $3.70 to show.
The weather was beautiful on Saturday, with a cool breeze permeating warm and sunny temperatures throughout the day. The turf was firm and the track was fast, though rain threatened for a brief period in the mid afternoon.
Making the win all the more remarkable is the fact that Rags to Riches stumbled as she left the gate, startling her jockey, John Velasquez. “My heart stopped,” The jockey said. “The first thing you think is ‘I hope she doesn’t get hurt’ and the second thing is, ‘I hope she doesn’t pull a shoe. It was a good thing the race was a mile and a half. She got herself together. She was wide and running comfortably.”
After the initial stumble, Velasquez and Rags to Riches settled in about six lengths from the lead. The pair made their move when Velasquez saw Curlin move towards the inside at the quarter pole. The filly dug in as Curlin came back to challenge her mid-stretch after staying in good position for much of the race. The two horses were heads apart in the deep stretch, but Rags to Riches continued to race hard and prevailed with the right hand urging of Velasquez. Rags to Riches and Curlin went so far as to exchange mild bumps as they fought gamely for the lead. This was Velasquez’ first Triple Crown win, after 20 tries. Originally the jockey was set to ride Slew’s Tizzy, a 20-1 longshot going into the Belmont. But, 4 days before the race, when it became apparent that Rags to Riches was ready to run with the boys, Velasquez was asked to switch.
Like the winning filly, Tiago slipped at the gate, hitting the side and then bumping Imawildandcrazyguy at the start of the race. Tiago ran easily in the beginning of the race and stayed competitive. He rallied for a moment but was no match for the top two finishers, coming in at an easy-going third place.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness were nice to Hard Spun, but the Belmont kept the possibly fatigued Triple Crown veteran to a fourth place finish. One issue may be that the horse’s regular jockey, Mario Pino, was replaced for the Belmont by Garrett Gomez (the regular rider of Rags to Riches). The change showed, with Hard Spun having a hard time adjusting to the distance and pace of the Belmont. The third place finisher of the Preakness and second place finisher in the Derby fought jockey Gomez early in the race, drifted out on the first turn. He seemed to threaten the leaders for a moment as he approached the quarter pole, but appeared to fatigue quickly, and faded to fourth by the end.
Hard Spun’s Trainer Larry Jones acknowledged the problems and commented on the handicaps put in place for the race:
“Everything seems okay, he’s just a little tired,” Jones said. “There’s nothing we can do but lick our wounds and see what happens later down the road. The pace was very slow. I thought that was our game plan leaving the paddock: to have these kinds of fractions, but be in front doing it. Apparently, we had a miscommunication somewhere. I know C P West and Slew’s Tizzy that were on the front finished behind us, so I don’t know how much slower you can get it and still hang out there.
“The filly ran very well. A mile and a half and getting five pounds makes a lot more difference than running three-quarters and getting five pounds. Maybe that did it. She was fresh. Curlin and my horse had been battling on pretty hard. Maybe the fatigue factor starts taking its toll a little more here. It looked like he came back okay and will live to fight another day.”
Rags to Riches carried only 121 pounds of weight, while the male horses carried 126 pounds.
The rest of the field:
4. Hard Spun
5. CP West
6. Imawildandcrazyguy
7. Slew's Tizzy
Future possibilities for the filly are the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama or the Haskell and Travers, taking place in August at Saratoga Springs.