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Belmont Stakes 2005

Belmont Stakes Results

Afleet Alex Dominates 137th Belmont Stakes

Saturday, June 11, 2005

By Bruno Zalubil

Afleet Alex wrote his name into the history books after passing eight horses on the final turn and exploding to the front to win the 137th Running of the Belmont Stakes (Gr. 1) in front of 62,274 fans on Saturday at Belmont Park.

"I don't want to hear any more criticism about my horse," said jockey Jeremy Rose. "He's one of the best we've see in a long time."

Afleet Alex, who is owned by Cash is King LLC, won the 1½-mile "Test of the Champion" by seven lengths in 2:28 3/5 over a fast track to become the 18th Thoroughbred to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

Andromeda's Hero, under Rafael Bejarano, finished second. Maiden Nolan's Cat, under Norberto Arroyo, Jr., was third.

                           

Pinpoint went to the lead and set the early fractions at :24 2/5, :48 3/5 and 1:12 4/5, with A. P. Arrow and Southern Africa coasting off his flank. Afleet Alex was content to settle back in ninth position in the 11-horse field and save ground about six lengths back for the first half of the race. The field bunched into three rows of three as it entered the turn for home. Afleet Alex was in the back row, stuck on the rail. Mike Smith asked Giacomo, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, to make his move to the outside of the pack, and, for a moment, it appeared that it would lead to victory.

Afleet Alex, however, was about to be freed from traffic. Chekhov and Reverberate drifted out slightly on the turn, allowing Afleet Alex room to advance between Watchmon and Indy Storm, then catch Giacomo and find open track in the middle of the stretch.

Then, Afleet Alex took off.

"He just exploded," said winning trainer Tim Ritchey.

The colt, who stumbled at the top of the stretch before rallying to win the Preakness Stakes, finished the grueling Belmont Stakes in :24 2/5, the fastest final quarter mile since Art and Letters in 1969.

"I had the best horse," Rose said. "The only thing that could get him beat was me, so I stayed out of his way."

Afleet Alex - a Florida-bred 3-year-old son of Northern Afleet, out of Maggy Hawk (Hawkster) - paid $4.30 as the favorite.

"We expected this kind of performance today," Ritchey said. "All I kept saying was: 'Be patient, be patient, be patient, wait, wait, wait.' That was the plan. With these big, wide turns you have to save all the ground you can. Jeremy Rose has now ridden three Triple Crown races like a Hall of Famer."

The 137th Belmont Stakes was billed as the rematch between Derby winner Giacomo and Preakness winner Afleet Alex, and nine other horses. It was the 13th such rematch since 1956 and the updated tally has the Preakness winners up, 5-3.

Trainer Nick Zito, who saddled seven different horses for a total of 11 starters in the three Triple Crown races, finished second with Andromeda's Hero, fourth with Indy Storm and last with Pinpoint.

"It's an honor to be second to this great horse," said Zito, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, 2005. "Without him in this race, we win the Belmont Stakes. (Andromeda's Hero) just ran great. All of my jockeys did what they were supposed to do. Pinpoint may not be ready for these horses yet, Indy Storm ran great and Andromeda's Hero ran unbelievable."

Bejarano was happy with the response he got from Andromeda's Hero. "My horse broke really good this time," he said, "so, I stayed comfortable in good position, trying to stay close to Afleet Alex. When he moved at the three-eighths pole, I followed him, and when I asked my horse at the quarter pole, my horse started running strong. But Afleet Alex just ran away."

Nolan's Cat, whom some believed sullied the Triple Crown by running as a maiden, surprised many with a solid stretch run and his third-place finish.

"If this horse didn't have some unfortunate events along the way, I think he would have been a contender throughout the entire Triple Crown," said trainer Dale Romans about Nolan's Cat, who is now 0-3-2 from six starts. "I was real pleased with the way he ran. He just had some nagging injuries as a 2-year-old and got caught up in quarantine early this year. I couldn't give him enough seasoning. I was pleased with his race, and happy the public showed him respect. We didn't have the pace that we had last year in this race. But he still ran good into a slower pace. He's the best maiden in the country."

Arroyo, Jr., was impressed with Nolan's Cat: "I had to take him wide at the top of the stretch," he said. "He really liked the distance. I had confidence in him. I knew there would be a lot of horses stopping going a mile and a half. I just let him relax the first part and started moving up little by little."

Giacomo finished seventh under Mike Smith in his attempt to become the 12th horse to win the Derby and Belmont Stakes. Smith surmised that Giacomo displaced his palate during the race.

"Down the backstretch, I could hear him make a loud, roaring noise," Smith said. "I knew he had (displaced his palate). So, I got him to the outside and dropped his head - a lot of times that will help get it back. But he never did. At the quarter-pole, he let out another one. Galloping out was the same. When a horse is doing that, he is not breathing right. I won't take anything away from Afleet Alex. He ran great today."

Added trainer John Shirreffs about his Giacomo: "Mike (Smith) said the horse started to make a lot of noise, and started displacing (his upper palate). He looks good now. The Triple Crown has been great to us. (Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss), my wife and I and for everyone involved, we've all enjoyed it. We've had a wonderful time with Giacomo. Every stop we've made, everyone has been great to us. He's going to get a break now."

In the immediate afterglow of the Belmont Stakes, on the track where 18 horses failed to complete the Triple Crown, including Smarty Jones last year and Funny Cide the year before, Rose felt remorse for what he felt could have been.

"He should be a Triple Crown winner, but I messed up or whatever," Rose told a live national television audience on NBC as he galloped back to the Winner's Circle. "I say I messed up because I had the best horse. You can't blame Tim (Ritchey) and you can't blame Afleet Alex. So, if you have to blame someone, blame me."

Afleet Alex finished third in the Kentucky Derby on May 7. He stumbled in the Preakness Stakes yet still pulled away to an impressive 4¾-length victory on May 21.

After the Belmont Stakes, Afleet Alex is now 8-2-1 from 12 starts with earnings of $2,765,800. He is now a three-time Grade 1 winner, with the Hopeful as a juvenile and the Preakness and Belmont as a 3-year-old on his resume.