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| Staff Writer |
Journalism remains a strong possibility for the Belmont Stakes after his stunning Preakness Stakes triumph, with connections contemplating a mouth-watering rematch with Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty at the Saratoga finale.
In the aftermath of the final Preakness at the "old" Pimlico Racecourse, when Sovereignty skipped the race to target the Belmont and Journalism, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, posted a jaw-dropping win in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, interest in Round Two between the 3YO stars is reaching fever pitch.
With Sovereignty training for the Belmont at Saratoga, the ball is now in the court of Journalism's trainer, Michael McCarthy. He will monitor his colt and decide if the son of Curlin is ready to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown in a five-week period and face Sovereignty, who will have five weeks rest between races.
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"It would be three races in five weeks but if the horse is doing as well as he's doing now it would be hard to offer up any excuses," McCarthy said about the possibility of running in the Belmont. "Now it's two races in two weeks. He ate up last night and he seemed pleased with himself. So, we'll weigh the pros and cons.
"I think it would be great for the sport if these horses stay healthy and whether it's for the Belmont, Gr.1 Travers or Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Classic , we get a rematch," he added. "It would be great for racing. Period."
Should Team Journalism follow the process they employed for the Preakness, the final decision on the Belmont will not come until late next week so that Journalism can be monitored until the last minute.
"We'll go through the same analysis as we went through between the Derby and the Preakness. That horse in stall 33 will tell us whether he's ready to go back in three weeks," said Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Aron Wellman, managing partner of the ownership group that also includes Bridlewood Farm, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5, breeder Don Alberto Stable, and Coolmore.
The next step will come shortly when a decision is made on shipping Journalism. With Pimlico now in a deconstruction phase, Journalism has to leave the grounds soon with two possible destinations; Churchill Downs or Saratoga.
Until the decision is made, the connections will savour an amazing Preakness win in which Journalism was sandwiched between horses at the three-sixteenths pole and then made up five lengths on Gosger in the final furlong to win by a half-length under jockey Umberto Rispoli.
"It really defied logic. What he did there as a matter of guts and courage and bravery to begin with, and to then to have the physical ability to accelerate and mow down a good horse like Gosger," Wellman said, "you just don't see it happen. I hate to use the term 'impossible' but it was impossible what he did."
Trainer Brendan Walsh said runner-up Gosger was doing well and is heading back to Churchill Downs, with no Belmont decision yet.
Mark Casse, trainer of third-place finisher Sandman, said the son of Tapit exited the race fine and is shipping to Belmont Park but will not run in Belmont. He will be pointed at to the Gr.2 Jim Dandy.
Bob Baffert, trainer of fourth-place finisher Goal Oriented, said his 3YO looked fine and that he was heading back to California to prepare Gr.2 Wood Memorial winner Rodriguez for the Belmont.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said sixth-place finisher River Thames came back fine and a decision on the Belmont status for any of his horses would not be made for at least a week.
Heart of Honor is shipping to Saratoga and could be a possibility for the Belmont after finishing fifth in the Preakness in his United States debut.
The only other strong possibilities for the Belmont at the moment are Baeza, who was third in the Kentucky Derby, and Gr.3 Peter Pan Stakes winner Hill Road.
Trainer Steve Asmussen said Clever Again, who took the worst of the bumping in the stretch and finished ninth, came out of the incident with only superficial cuts and is shipping back to Churchill Downs.
The Belmont Stakes will be run at 1¼ miles for the second consecutive year, rather than its traditional 1½-mile distance, as renovations continue at Belmont Park. The shortened distance and US$2 million purse are attracting significant interest.
Bill Mott's Sovereignty, representing Godolphin, skipped the Preakness after his Kentucky Derby triumph. Before his Derby success, Sovereignty won the Gr.2 Fountain of Youth and finished second in the Gr.2 Florida Derby behind Tappan Street. Manny Franco is expected to maintain the partnership at Saratoga.
Another potential Belmont contender is John Shirreffs' Baeza, who closed for third in the Kentucky Derby despite being checked at the 5/16th pole. The C.R.K. Stable and Grandview Equine-owned colt had previously finished second behind Journalism in the Gr.1 Santa Anita Derby.
Final Gambit from the Brad Cox yard made up significant ground to finish fourth in the Derby, rallying from 19th after six furlongs. The Juddmonte-owned colt had previously captured the Jeff Ruby Stakes at Turfway Park with a remarkable last-to-first run.
Pletcher's lightly raced Grande, representing Repole Stable, was scratched from the Derby due to a heel crack. The Curlin colt had finished second behind Rodriguez in the Wood Memorial in just his third career start.
Chad Brown's Hill Road emerged as another strong Belmont contender after storming home in the final furlong to win the US$200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. The son of Quality Road powered past the duelling Rick Dutrow Jr-trained pair of McAfee and Captain Cook to win the Gr.3 contest by three-quarters of a length, completing the nine-furlong trip in 1:49.22.
"This horse wants a mile and a quarter," said Brown, who has been targeting the Gr.1 Belmont Stakes after the colt missed his opportunity to contest the Kentucky Derby due to illness.
"It's a hard phone call to make when you have a horse who wants to go a mile and a quarter early in his 3YO season," Brown said. "This was a horse you could see being a wise-guy horse in the Derby. But the owner took it as well as you can, and we started formulating plan B."
That plan now points squarely to the final leg of the Triple Crown, with Brown expressing gratitude to owner Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing USA for his patience.
"I want to thank the owner. It would have been easy for him to say 'The Preakness is coming up light. I want to go.' But he is starting to build an impressive stable in America and it's a pleasure working with him," Brown said. "He's all about his horse and listening to his trainer. He has let me lay out a plan to get to the Belmont and didn't second-guess me."