those who wander: The Longshots of the Belmont

Ruler on Ice crossing the finish to the 143rd Belmont Stakes

The Test of Champions

This was quite a good Triple Crown year, in my opinion. A turf horse, who appears to be quite versatile, won the Derby, and then a massive draft-sized colt with the steps of a dressage horse won the Preakness, and then a horse who wasn't even qualified for the Derby won the Belmont.
As mentioned above, the gelded son of Roman Ruler wasn't qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby, because of lack of earnings. The colt skipped out on the Preakness Stakes, making him a fresh choice for the Belmont. He was also wearing blinkers for the first time. It really helped, apparently.
What's cool about Ruler on Ice's jockey, Jose Valdivia, was that this was his Belmont Stakes debut. Meaning that he had never run in the Belmont before, and he won it his first try. Jockey's run their entire life time for a win like that; Jose got on the perfect Belmont horse.
Shackleford shot out of the gate really fast, setting a quick pace during the first half-quarter. He stuck with the lead during most of the race. However, the muddy track and the distance was obviously too much for him. Fading back, Shackleford let Ruler on Ice, who had stuck close to the giant pace-setter most of the race, take command.

Nehro working at Belmont

My horse, Nehro, never really got deep into the race, unfortunately. He rested near the top of the pack, next to the rail. During the race, I didn't really see him move up any. He stayed in fourth from start to finish. I was kind of disappointed, but then again... that's horseracing. Completely unpredictable.
I haven't even mentioned the worst part of the race either. At the very beginning, the Derby winner, Animal Kingdom, broke from the gate terribly. He bumped into Mucho Macho Man, then clipped heels with Monzon. All in all, Animal Kingdom nearly collapsed and just about threw his jockey, John Velazquez. The skilled jockey managed to stay aboard. However, most of the first half of the race was used trying to get his foot back into his left stirrup. By that time, they were in dead last, trailing 12 lengths off the leader, Shackleford. The amazing pair of horse and jockey put their all in all into placing as good as they possibly could, knowing fully that they wouldn't be taking home the Belmont crown. They took sixth in a twelve horse field.

Animal Kingdom, the horse at the far back,
stumbling out of the starting gate

Shackleford, as mentioned several other places in this post, took the lead from the very beginning. When the race started, it didn't matter if you were watching a different horse shoot out. All attention went to the big chestnut colt roaring in front of all others. He was doing excellent during most of the race. I actually thought he was going to hold on for the Belmont win; but then the last turn came around and he faded like a bullet.
Animal Kingdom, after his dead last performance during most of the race and middle-place during the last half, made a final effort to maneuver passed horses on the outside. He fell short, obviously. But I have to hand it to him and his jockey: from their terrible finish, they sure did punch in a good placing.
John Velazquez, Animal Kingdom's jockey, rode Rags to Riches in the 2006 Belmont Stakes. The chestnut filly, daughter of the Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honor, out-dueled the eventual Horse of the Year Curlin for the win. However, she stumbled coming out of the gate. Seems John has a habit of that.
The pedigree of Ruler on Ice is every bit a ruler. His grandsire is Fusaichi Pegasus, the 2000 Kentucky Derby winner. On his dame's side is Saratoga Six. That horse is the son of Alydar, the horse who 'ran a throatlatch of Affirmed throughout the 1978 Triple Crown'.

Here's the complete result list of the Belmont Stakes:

1) Ruler on Ice
2) Stay Thirsty
3) Brilliant Speed
4) Nehro
5) Shackleford
6) Animal Kingdom
7) Mucho Macho Man
8) Santiva
9) Monzon
10) Master of Hounds
11) Prime Cut
12) Isn't He Perfect

The connections of Ruler on Ice
celebrating in the Winner's Circle.

As you can see, most of the better horses placed above 5th place. It's disappointing about Mucho Macho Man. I really like him; he a great racer. Guess Saturday wasn't his day; every racehorse, good or bad, has them. Brilliant Speed, as mentioned in my previous Belmont posts, was brilliant, just like I predicted. However, I'm mostly bummed by the performance of Prime Cut. Though his name be retarded, I was really hoping he'd pull through with a great placing. Apparently not. Master of Hounds was, I believe, the third favorite. He wasn't even in the race. Well, he ran it all right, but that doesn't mean he ran.
In my opinion, the outcome of the Belmont Stakes would have been completely different if it wasn't for the sloppy track. With a muddy track, a horse has to dig in deeper and run harder. As the Belmont is fittingly called the "Test of Champions", the state of the track only made the test more grueling.

Here are some Belmont pictures: