ESPN.com - Triple Crown 2000 - Winning time second slowest in 30 years

Winning time second slowest in 30 years
Associated Press

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Trainer D. Wayne Lukas thought the Belmont Stakes was tailor-made for Commendable.


	Commendable finished 1½ lengths in front of 9-5 favorite Aptitude.

He was right, but then the final race of the Triple Crown was an off-the-rack contest with the absence of Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus and Preakness winner Red Bullet.

"Well, you have to look at what you're up against in the race and the field you are faced with," the Hall of Fame trainer said Saturday after his colt gave him his fourth Belmont victory in the past seven years and his 13th Triple Crown win. "We had a horse to fit this very well. We took advantage of certain things."

Commendable's 10 rivals had won a total of five stakes in 28 starts and had no victories in Grade I events.

In fact, it was the winner's first stakes victory, snapping a six-race losing streak dating back to a win in his debut last Aug. 14. This was the first time since 1970 that the Belmont was raced without the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners.

"I have to commend Mr. Lukas for his ability in bringing the horse up to the race and his courage to take a shot," said Pat Day, who rode his third Belmont winner.

Commendable, who dueled for the lead with Hugh Hefner for much of the 1½ miles, took charge at the quarter pole. He was not about to be caught on a sunny, 95-degree day that managed to draw 67,810 fans to Belmont Park despite the lackluster field.

He got to the wire 1½ lengths in front of Derby runner-up Aptitude, who was a length ahead of Unshaded, whose owner, James B. Tafel, supplemented the horse to the race for $100,000.

Immediately after the finish, Unshaded had to be treated for what Dr. Celeste Kunz, a veterinarian, called a mild case of heat exhaustion. She said the horse's body temperature was lowered by dousing him with ice water. "He acted like a person would if overcome by heat. He walked back to his barn," she said.

It was a sweet victory for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, who suffered disappointing losses in the Belmont when Silver Charm in 1997 and Charismatic in 1999 failed to win the Triple Crown.

"The elusive Belmont is finally ours," Bob Lewis said. "Wayne Lukas is a great trainer."

LEWISES GET
ELUSIVE BELMONT WIN

Without a doubt, Bob and Beverly Lewis were delighted with the results of Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

"The elusive Belmont is finally ours," Bob Lewis beamed after Commendable beat Aptitude by 1½ lengths to win the final leg of the Triple Crown.

Twice before, the Lewises were on the verge of winning the Triple Crown only to be foiled in the Belmont, the Test of the Champion.

In '97, their Silver Charm won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, then finished second to Touch Gold in the Belmont. In '99, their Charismatic won the first two legs of the Triple Crown but the colt injured his leg in the Belmont stretch and finished third.

"I give all the credit in the world for this to Wayne Lukas," Bob Lewis said. "He is a great trainer."

Lukas finished third last year with Charismatic, who broke a bone in his leg during the stretch drive. His other Belmont winners were Tabasco Cat in 1994, Thunder Gulch in 1995 and Editor's Note in 1996.

Perhaps there was a lucky horseshoe involved with Commendable's victory, which led to a three-way split of the Triple Crown for the first time since 1996.

Commendable lost a shoe while being saddled in the paddock.

"That brick stuff, footing in the stall is famous for that," Lukas said. "He didn't do anything. He just stood there and turned and it held in the footing and came off real clean. The blacksmith did a good job of putting it back on."

While Lukas thought Commendable, who skipped the Preakness after finishing 17th in the Derby, had a shot at the Belmont, he said: "We didn't have any grandiose ideas that we could overwhelm this field. We didn't think he could do what he did as easily as he did."

Neither did the bettors, sending Commendable off at odds of almost 19-1.

Commendable, who was timed in 2:31, returned $39.60, $12.80 and $6.30 in earning $600,000 from a $1 million purse. That boosted his career bankroll to $688,470.

Aptitude, who also skipped the Preakness, returned $3.80 and $2.80, while Unshaded was $4.40 to show.

Completing the order of finish were Wheelaway, Impeachment, Appearing Now, Postponed, Hugh Hefner, Tahkodha Hills and Globalize. Curule was pulled up in the stretch.

Commendable was never worse than second and might have gotten his head in front of pace-setting Hugh Hefner, ridden by Jorge Chavez, for a moment in the run down the backstretch. Hugh Hefner, however, was in the lead with a half-mile to go, a head in front of Commendable.

At this point, Aptitude, ridden by Alex Solis, was 10th.

He began to move on the turn and was sixth at the quarter pole as Commendable took the lead. Aptitude moved to third with an eighth of a mile remaining, but could get no closer than 1½ lengths, the same margin he was beaten by in the Derby.

While Aptitude's only win in six races was in his first start, last Oct. 21, he earned the favorite's role by finishing second to Red Bullet in the Gotham, third behind Fusaichi Pegasus and Red Bullet in the Wood Memorial and then second in the Derby.

"I was hoping for more pace," said Solis. "He felt good most of the way but he was spinning his wheels on the first turn. He's not used to this kind of a track. He got better when we got to the mile pole. At the eighth pole, I still thought I had a chance, but Commendable had too easy a time."

While this Belmont might be better remembered for who didn't run, Lukas said: "We'll count our blessings and we'll go to the bank Monday smiling."

Commendable became the first horse in modern times to win the Belmont without running a race after competing in the Kentucky Derby.