“I want to run,” Romans said. I believe we will run,” he continued; “but I have to see that he has retained all of his energy, all of his conditioning, all of the good form we saw in the Derby and Preakness.
In the Kentucky Derby, Shackleford showed good overall speed, took the lead entering the stretch but faded late to finish fourth about 3-3/4 lengths behind stretch running Animal Kingdom.
In the Preakness, Shackleford shook off the early pressure put on him by the sprinter FLASHPOINT, took command of the race in the upper stretch and had enough left to hold off Animal Kingdom’s spirited late rally.
Those two classic races were run at 1-1/4 miles and 1-3/16 miles respectively and now they will be followed three weeks later by the grueling 1-1/2 mile Belmont Stakes, a race properly billed as the Test of the Champion.”
While there will be no Triple Crown winner for the 33rd straight year since AFFIRMED held the gallant ALYDAR at bay in all three races, the matchup between a Derby and Preakness winner has its own special niche in racing history.
During the past 22 years, there have been five such rubber matches in the Belmont Stakes and all five have been won by the Preakness winner.
In 1988, Derby winner WINNING COLORS set the pace in the Belmont under intense pressure, but faded late while Preakness winner RISEN STAR went on to a comfortable victory.
In 1991, Preakness winner HANSEL settled his rivalry with Derby winner STRIKE THE GOLD with a hard fought win in their Belmont Stakes.
In 1994, Preakness winner TABASCO CAT did the same in the Belmont to claim superiority over Derby winner GO FOR GIN. Despite their domination of the Triple Crown that year, neither Tabasco Cat, or Go For Gin was voted champion of the division, or Horse of the Year. Both of those honors went to fellow 3 year old Holy Bull, who won several major stakes during the summer and fall.
In 2001, Preakness winner POINT GIVEN easily handled Derby winner MONARCHOS in the Belmont to take a strong forward step towards a string of Grade-1 stakes victories and 2001 Horse of the Year.
In 2005, Preakness winner AFLEET ALEX also convincingly won the Belmont Stakes’ over Derby winner GIACOMO to earn an Eclipse Award as the nation’s top 3 year old.
Romans, who has gone on record saying that he believes the 3 year olds competing in this year’s Triple crown series are better than commonly rated, realizes that championships usually are decided during the summer and fall—in the Haskell Invitational and Travers Stakes during the summer and the Breeders’ Cup in the fall.
By JOE DRAPEThe rubber match between the Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and the Preakness Stakes champion Shackleford is, indeed, on for the 143rd renewal of the Belmont Stakes.
Shackleford worked five furlongs in 1:00.30 at Belmont Park on Saturday morning, good enough for trainer Dale Romans to commit his colt to the $1 million race on Saturday, June 11.
“As long as he comes out of the work good, he will run,” Romans said, after conferring via telephone with Shackleford’s owner, Michael Lauffer. “I am excited he’s doing so well and coming into the race the right way. I think he’s going to be very competitive.”
It will be just the 22nd time in the history of the Triple Crown that the Derby and Preakness winners have squared off in the Belmont. Romans said it is “fun to get a rivalry started” with Animal Kingdom. “It’s good for racing,” he said.
With the exercise rider Tammy Fox aboard on the main Belmont track, Shackleford went the first eighth in 12.41, three furlongs in 36.26, five furlongs in 1:00.30, and galloped out in 1:14.21.
“I wanted to see him work his normal work, and he did today,” said Romans of the 3-year-old son of Forestry out of the Unbridled mare Oatsee. “I thought he went around there really well, and it looked like he did everything the way he was supposed to.”
Shackleford, whose half-sister Lady Joanne won the Grade 1, 1¼-mile Alabama at Saratoga Race Course in 2007, will seek to become the 19th horse to complete the Preakness-Belmont double, a feat last accomplished by the 2005 3-year-old champion, Afleet Alex.
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Will Shackleford Run in the Belmont Stakes?
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