| 2007 Belmont Stakes Preview: Will Street Sense Race? |
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| Written by Robert Johnson | |||||||
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Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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 The difference between this years’s 2007 Belmont Stakes being a horse race you have to watch and simply being the third leg of the Triple Crown was a nose. That nose belonged to Curlin, who got it over the finish line at the Preakness Stakes just before Street Sense did to eliminate the possibility of a Triple Crown attempt at the Belmont.With the Triple Crown off the table there’s no guarantee that Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense will even race in the Belmont on June 9. The decision is expected to be made sometime this week and one would imagine the Belmont organizers will be crossing their fingers that Street Sense shows up. If Street Sense does indeed decide to make the Belmont his last stand, it should give horse racing fans a pretty good showdown between him and Preakness winner Curlin. Curlin isn’t officially registered in the Belmont yet, but the news and reports make it look like the chances of him taking to the track at Belmont Park are pretty good. If Curlin does take part in the “Run for the Carnations”, he'll likely be the overall favorite after his spectacular charge to win the Preakness. The Belmont is a little different than its two Triple Crown predecessors. The Belmont Stakes is the longest of the three Triple Crown races, coming in at 1.5 miles. By comparison the Derby is 1.25 miles, while the Preakness is 1.19 miles. Last year’s Belmont was won by Jazil in a time of 2:27.81. That is more than three seconds off the Belmont record time of 2:24 flat, set by Secretariat during his Triple Crown run in 1973. While we don’t know all the horses that will be in the starting gates at Belmont Park on June 9, we do know a couple horses that won’t be there. Great Hunter was supposed to be in the Belmont, but a bone chip fracture was discovered on his right front ankle earlier this week that will require surgery and force him out of the race. Also out of the Belmont is Chelokee. Chelokee won the inaugural Barbaro Stakes at Pimlico on May 19, but his trainer Michael Matz said he expected to keep Chelokee out of the Belmont and race him in future races this season instead. Some of the horses expected to take part in the Belmont include Imawildandcrazyguy (who was fourth in the Derby), Slew’s Tizzy and Derby runner-up Hard Spun. If he runs in the Belmont, Hard Spun will have a different jockey as Garrett Gomez has been named as a replacement for Mario Pino, who rode Hard Spun in the Derby and the Preakness. Trainer Todd Pletcher could have up to three horses in the Belmont with Rags to Riches, Circular Quay and Any Given Saturday all being touted as possible Belmont entries. No matter which horses do end up in the 139th Belmont Stakes, it will lack that extra dash of excitement for all but the true horse racing fans, as another year passes without a Triple Crown winner.                        |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 May 2007 ) | |||||||