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Aptitude favored in field of 11
ESPN.com news services
ELMONT, N.Y. -- The defections of Fusaichi Pegasus
and Red Bullet assured that the field for the 132nd running of
Saturday's 1½ mile Belmont Stakes moved from quality to
quantity.
|  | | Impeachment returns from a Wednesday morning workout on a wet and muddy Belmont track. Impeachment finished third in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. |
Earlier in the week, no more than seven runners were expected to
go to post in the final jewel of the Triple Crown. But with the
Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners on the sidelines for
the first time in 30 years, the entrants swelled to 11, led by
8-5 morning-line favorite Aptitude.
In 1970, both Derby winner Dust Commander and Preakness winner
Personality did not run in the Belmont, which was won by High
Echelon.
This will mark the first year since 1996 that a horse came into
the Belmont without having a chance to secure the Triple Crown. That was also the last year that different horses won the three
races.
Last month, Fusaichi Pegasus became the first favorite to win
the Kentucky Derby in 21 years. But he was stunned by Red
Bullet in the Preakness as the 1-5 favorite and settled for
second.
Since then, Fusaichi Pegasus incurred a hoof injury which drove
him to the sidelines and Red Bullet's connections decided to
gear up for the Fall schedule in lieu of a Belmont appearance.
Among the benefactors of those events is Aptitude. Trained by
native New Yorker Bobby Frankel and jockeyed by Alex Solis, the
Kentucky Derby runner-up drew post No. 5 on Wednesday.
Should Aptitude claim a victory on Saturday, the top three
finishers in the Wood Memorial would have a Triple Crown race
victory to their credit in the same order in which they finished
in the Wood.
A son of 1992 Belmont Stakes champ A.P. Indy, Aptitude has just
one win in six lifetime starts, but his late-running style seems
to be suited for the 1½ mile Belmont trek.
"It's a big race but it doesn't mean anything more to me because
I was born here," said Frankel, who is sending out his first
Belmont Stakes starter. "I've got the favorite, so I guess I've
got a good chance."
The 9-2 second choice is Impeachment, the only horse who will
start in all three jewels this season. Last year, a trio of
runners managed to endure the grueling grind of the Triple Crown
races.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, also sending out his first Belmont
Stakes starter, and ridden by Craig Perret, who won the 1987
edition aboard Bet Twice, Impeachment was able to show in the
first two jewels. He starts from the eight hole with just one
trip to the winner's circle in eight career outings.
"(Impeachment) is a rugged type of individual," Pletcher said.
"The way he comes from off the pace isn't as hard on him as it
would be for other horses. He is very well conditioned."
Unshaded was entered following the departure of the top two
Belmont contenders and had to be supplemented to the race for
$100,000 by Jim Tafel because he was not an original nominee to
the Triple Crown. He shares the role as 5-1 third choice with
Tampa Bay Derby winner Wheelaway.
Unshaded's last start was a second-place finish here in the
Peter Pan Stakes two weeks ago. The Bay gelding by Unbridled
has won half of his six career races. Shane Sellers has the
mount.
"He really got a lot of experience that he needed in the Peter
Pan," trainer Carl Nafzger said. "He came away from it in
really good shape and that's when we decided to bring him here.
He changed the way he was training leading up to that race. We
didn't change him, he changed himself."
Wheelaway breaks from post nine under Richard Migliore, who was
suspended for a week following his sixth-place Derby finish. Coming into the stretch, stewards ruled that Migliore failed to
control Wheelaway and permitted his charge to take a trio of
horses out of contention.
Sired by Unbridled, Wheelaway is another closer who should find
the long Belmont stretch to his liking, much to the pleasure of
trainer John Kimmel.
"He has some good tactical speed and he has some nice cruising
speed," Kimmel said. "You just have to decide when you want to
use it, because when you call on him, he's gonna give it to you.
We don't want to use it too soon."
Last year's winning Belmont Stakes trainer Scotty Schulhofer is
back with another entrant who has followed his proven winning
method.
Schulhofer, who prepped Lemon Drop Kid in the Peter Pan prior to
last year's Belmont win, sends out this year's Peter Pan champ
Postponed as a 6-1 choice under Edgar Prado from post two. Schulhofer also turned the trick with Colonial Affair, who used
his third-place Peter Pan effort to springboard to Belmont glory
in 1993. Lemon Drop Kid was second in the Peter Pan in 1999.
Tahkodha Hills, a 30-1 longshot who drew the outside 11th post,
will garner a $1 million bonus should he reach the winner's
circle. The Lone Star Derby winner became eligible for the bonus
from Lone Star Park for winning that track's premier race for
3-year-olds and any Triple Crown event.
The Belmont will be televised live by ABC from 4:30 to 6:00
p.m. ET. Post time is 5:27 p.m. The winner's share is $600,000.
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