Entering the home stretch Exaggerator and Destin should start pulling away from the rest of the field. Let’s do the same here with the Belmont Stakes, but we’ll issue the same warning as in those articles.
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“A mile or a mile and a half or over fits him like a glove”, Henderson said.
Will that be the case with Exaggerator, as well?
With his brother Keith, Exaggerator’s trainer, by his side, Desormeaux said: “I think that my brother, mostly my wife, and my family have supported me through all the years, and it was my turn to say thank you”. The Preakness victor, Exaggerator, was installed as the 9-to-5 morning line favorite after drawing post 11. The 2016 Belmont will be run on Saturday with the post time set for 6:32 p.m. ET.
CBS2’s Steve Overmyer reported the Belmont Stakes will feature one 3-year-old horse that’s made a name for himself on personality alone.
Just defeated solid group of maidens in Kentucky 13 days ago with little time for further progress. Lani’s daily training regimen of almost four miles should have him ready for the distance as well, and the gray Japanese-trained colt has been engaging in his workouts with much more regularity than he was prior to the Kentucky Derby. The more famous one Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, the jockey with over 5,700 wins, including three in the Kentucky Derby, in a career sidetracked at times by alcohol problems.
And with hopes of a Triple Crown dashed for Nyquist, the Kentucky Derby victor who opened his career 8-for-8 – as well as concerns over his health after a high white blood cell count and fever following the Preakness – only Exaggerator and Lani will be entering all three races.
Both Cherry Wine and Stradavari will have their fair share of backers, but I don’t like their chances on Saturday and will be playing against them.
Five of the last eight winners have been sent off at least 11-1, and since 1999, the Belmont has seen six winners at odds of 18-1 or higher. Odds: 12-1. 2.DESTIN (Todd Pletcher, Javier Castellano): A respectable sixth in Derby, skipped Preakness. He’s at 20-1 odds.
Added Note: Had my own remembrances of Muhammad Ali on Saturday, having shared seats and a remarkable conversation with the great champion and beloved humanitarian on a flight from NY to Louisville, 30 odd years ago.
After winning the Santa Anita Derby by a smashing 6 1/4 lengths over a sloppy track, he rallied from 15 lengths back to finish second in the Derby. Is Exaggerator going to get his leads messed up and lose his action and come up empty in the stretch?
Exaggerator, who finished second to Nyquist in the Kentucky Derby, worked five furlongs in 1:00.92 on Tuesday morning, according to Daily Racing Form clockers.
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Stradivari was a wild card going into the Preakness Stakes; he had never run in a stakes race before, but was coming off two straight romps against lesser. Interestingly, all but four of those 19 runners faced the Derby victor again, and none of those four won, with the best effort being Curlin’s runner-up finish to Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont. The Japan-based colt who would leave the barn screaming every morning at Churchill Downs, buck his way through attempted gate schooling sessions and borderline refuse to train now looks like a downright professional, demeanor and all. “I thought it was a good race”. He was sidelined briefly by a fever after the Preakness and is back in California. “He’s happy and training good”, said Richardson. With a quarter of a mile to go in the 1½-mile marathon, Exaggerator starts to run out of gas and finishes third behind Creator and Suddenbreakingnews.
