Legitimate Triple Threat

BALTIMORE —  That so-called one-dimensional colt who won the Kentucky Derby a couple of weeks ago showed his opposition some new looks at chilly Pimlico on Saturday. War Emblem sat off the lead instead of making it, spurted away after he felt Victor Espinoza’s whip for the first time and, by winning the Preakness, gives trainer Bob Baffert his third shot at the Triple Crown in six years.

Affirmed was the 11th and most recent Triple Crown winner, in 1978, and since then no trainer other than Baffert has won the first two legs in the series more than once. War Emblem will try to take the 49-year-old former quarter horse trainer where Silver Charm and Real Quiet couldn’t. After winning the Derby and the Preakness, both horses finished second in the Belmont Stakes, Silver Charm losing to Touch Gold in 1997 and Real Quiet getting outrun at the wire against Victory Gallop in 1998.

The Belmont, at 11/2 miles the longest of the three races, will be run in New York on June 8. War Emblem will be running for a $1-million purse with the rest of the horses but can earn a $5-million Triple Crown bonus for completing the sweep.

“Our chances are very good,” Baffert said. “If I can keep him like he is, he can do it.”

In the Derby, War Emblem set an uncontested pace, and his win at Churchill Downs was derided in some circles even though he ran the ninth-fastest Derby. This time, before a crowd of 101,138 on a cool, overcast day, it was Menacing Dennis, a 51-1 shot, who made the lead. Espinoza had a stranglehold on War Emblem going down the backstretch. They were never more than a length from the front, and when he cut the colt loose, on the far turn, the race appeared to be over.

But another longshot, the 45-1 Magic Weisner, came out of the crowd to battle War Emblem to the wire. Over a drying-out track that was called fast, the margin after 13/16 miles was three-quarters of a length. After brisk opening fractions of :46 and 1:103/5, the final time of 1:561/5 was the slowest for a Preakness winner since Tabasco Cat’s 1:562/5 in 1994.

“At the eighth pole,” Baffert said, “I started saying to myself, ‘Where’s the wire?’ That’s an awfully long stretch.”

This was Baffert’s fourth Preakness win, and starting with Silver Charm, he has won eight of the last 17 Triple Crown races. Last year, Baffert finished fifth with the Derby favorite, Point Given, who rebounded to win the Preakness and the Belmont.

Point Given was bred and owned by Ahmed Salman, the Saudi Arabian prince and international publisher who bought War Emblem as a pre-packaged horse for $900,000 on April 11, five days after he won the Illinois Derby. Chicagoan Russell Reineman, who kept a 10% interest in War Emblem, had consigned him to a yearling auction in 2000, buying him back for $20,000 when the bidding stalled. Saturday’s win, War Emblem’s sixth in nine starts, was worth $650,000 and increased his earnings to $2.8 million. The total includes a $1-million Sportsman’s Park bonus for winning the Illinois Derby and at least one Triple Crown race. Reineman, the owner of the horse for the Illinois Derby, has said that he will sue Sportsman’s Park, claiming that he deserves half of the bonus.

Magic Weisner, who didn’t run in the Derby and is expected to skip the Belmont, finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Proud Citizen, who was third in the Derby. Then came Harlan’s Holiday, Easyfromthegitgo, U S S Tinosa, Crimson Hero, Medaglia d’Oro, Straight Gin, Menacing Dennis, Table Limit, Booklet and Equality. Straight Gin was pulled up by his jockey, Robby Albarado, after the race and suffered a career-ending injury to his left foreleg.

War Emblem, who went off the favorite, paid $7.60 to win. The $2 exacta on War Emblem and Magic Weisner was worth $327, and a $2 trifecta on the first three finishers returned $2,311.

The biggest disappointment was Medaglia d’Oro, who was the morning-line favorite but ran eighth as the 3-1 second choice. Medaglia d’Oro, handicappers theorized, would move up off his troubled fourth-place finish in the Derby, but Saturday he stayed close to the pace for a half-mile before folding.

“We were in a perfect spot early, but the horse just backed up,” said Bobby Frankel, who trains Medaglia d’Oro. “I saw enough the first time watching the race, I’m not going to watch a replay. I was scared of War Emblem from the start. My horse is going to New York [Saturday night]. I’ll give him a month or so off, then try the turf.”

Another bomber was Booklet, who was expected to challenge War Emblem early if Baffert’s colt attempted a rerun of his Derby sprint-off. After running in fourth place for about six furlongs, Booklet faded to 12th.

Mike Smith, aboard Wayne Lukas-trained Proud Citizen, had hoped for a better trip.

“There were two things that really cost me,” Smith said. “At the break, I got off a step to the side, and that cost me a half-length. Then I was hoping Booklet would keep War Emblem inside, but instead he pushed me seven-wide around the turn.”

Lukas finished 11th with his other horse, Table Limit. Lukas wasn’t certain if either horse would try the Belmont.

As he did with Silver Charm and Real Quiet, Baffert will ship War Emblem back to his barn at Churchill Downs today, then fly the horse to New York a few days before the Belmont.

“Racing needs a Triple Crown winner,” Baffert said, then turning to Salman he asked the 43-year-old Saudi if he was having fun.

“Yeah,” the prince said. “And I’m losing weight, too.”

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*--* The Finish at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore PP HORSE WIN PLACE SHOW 8 War Emblem $7.60 $6.00 $4.40 2 Magic Weisner $33.00 $14.00 12 Proud Citizen $5.00 EXOTICS PAYOFF $2 Exacta (8-2) $327.00 $2 Trifecta (8-2-12) $2,311.00 $1 Superfecta (8-2-12-6) $6,701.50

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*--* Field of Dreams The 11 Triple Crown winners: YEAR HORSE JOCKEY 1919 Sir Barton John Loftus 1930 Gallant Fox Earl Sande 1935 Omaha Willie Saunders 1937 War Admiral Charles Kurtsinger 1941 Whirlaway Eddie Arcaro 1943 Count Fleet John Longden 1946 Assault Warren Mehrtens 1948 Citation Eddie Arcaro 1973 Secretariat Ron Turcotte 1977 Seattle Slew Jean Cruguet 1978 Affirmed Steve Cauthen NEAR MISSES Horses who have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes) and failed to win at Belmont: 1944: Pensive (2nd to Bounding Home). 1958: Tim Tam (2nd, Cavan). 1961: Carry Back (7th, Sherluck). 1964: Northern Dancer (3rd, Quadrangle). 1966: Kauai King (4th, Amberoid). 1968: Forward Pass (2nd, Stage Door Johnny). 1969: Majestic Prince (2nd, Arts And Letters). 1971: Canonero II (4th, Pass Catcher). 1979: Spectacular Bid (3rd, Coastal). 1981: Pleasant Colony (3rd, Summing). 1987: Alysheba (4th, Bet Twice). 1989: Sunday Silence (2nd, Easy Goer). 1997: Silver Charm (2nd, Touch Gold). 1998: Real Quiet (2nd, Victory Gallop). 1999: Charismatic (3rd, Lemon Drop Kid)

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Preakness

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