ELMONT (New York), June 9: A stumble at the start cost Belmont Stakes favourite War Emblem his chance of becoming the first Triple Crown hero since 1978.
But Saturday’s race still made history as the longest price horse in the 134 running of the event took the prize with Sarava, a 70-1 shot ridden by Edgar Prado, defeating Medaglia d’Oro by a half a length.
Sunday Break finished another nine and a half lengths back in third in front of a record 103,222 fans.
War Emblem nearly fell coming out of the gate but made up ground in the middle of the race, only to flatten in the stretch and finish eighth of the 11 runners.
For Sarava’s trainer Ken McPeek, the victory was a measure of revenge in this year’s Triple Crown series.
He had the favourite Harlan’s Holiday in the Kentucky Derby, but the colt struggled and finished well beaten.
Trainer Bob Baffert could only watch helplessly as War Emblem, who wants to get the lead, stumbled as he broke from stall 10 and had to be hustled by jockey Victor Espinoza to even get into the race.
War Emblem, the 6-5 favourite, got within a half-length of Medaglia d’Oro with a half mile to go only to weaken badly in the stretch.
It was War Emblem’s early miscue that caught the attention of McPeek.
Medaglia d’Oro, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, was first or second all the way around before being collared by the winner. He ran fourth in the Kentucky Derby but was never a factor in the Preakness.
Sarava covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2 minutes 29.71 and returned $142.50 to win, $50 to place and $22.40 for a $2 stake. Medaglia d’Oro paid $16 and $10.60 and Sunday Break $7.10.
Connections of the winner are used to big prices. Sarava began his career in England for trainer Brian Meehan but finished no better than fourth in three races.
He won his US debut last November in a maiden race at Churchill Downs at odds of 36-1.
Saturday’s attendance easily eclipsed the old Belmont Stakes mark of 85,818 that saw Charismatic fail in a Triple Crown bid in 1999.
Results (horse, odds, jockey, trainer, distance):
Sarava, 70.25, Edgar Prado, K. McPeek, 1/2; Medaglio d’Oro, 16.00, Kent Desormeaux, B. Frankel, 9 1/2; Sunday Break, 8.10, Gary Stevens, N. Drysdale, 1; Magic Weisner, 7.30 Richard Migliore, N. Alberts, 1 1/4; Proud Citizen, 7.00, Mike Smith, D.W. Lukas, 1 1/4; Essence of Dubai, 20.60, Jerry Bailey, S. bin Suroor, 4 1/4; Like a Hero, 25.50, Pat Day, C.B. Greely, 1 3/4; War Emblem, 1.25, Victor Espinoza, Bob Baffert, 30, 3/4; Wiseman’s Ferry, 18.80, Jorge Chavez, N. O’Callaghan, 1; Perfect Drift, 5.60, Eddie Delahoussaye, M. Johnson, 24, 3/4; Artax Too, 71.75, Jose Santos, J. Pedersen.
Scratched: Puzzlement.—Reuters
