Rags to Riches Runs to Victory: She Held Off Preakness Winner Curlin and Became the First Filly Sinc

Jun 10, 03:37 AM

Current Headlines: By Mike Jensen, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Jun. 10--ELMONT, N.Y. -- Less than a head in front at the end, Rags to Riches didn't need any more to make thoroughbred history.

For the first time in more than a century, the fastest horse in the Belmont Stakes was a female. Yesterday, Rags to Riches became only the third filly to win the longest of the Triple Crown races.

As she blazed down Belmont Park's long homestretch, holding off Preakness winner Curlin, Rags to Riches achieved another feat: She is the biggest star in the sport, eclipsing all the boys. And the plan is to keep her racing into next year.

Yesterday's crowd for the 139th Belmont was the smallest since 1996, just 46,870. But the place went nuts as the filly with a fabulous pedigree dueled Curlin to the finish. The crowd even cheered the replay on the big screen in the infield and another replay after that.

"I thought at one point he could come back and get her, but she is tough," said Robby Albarado, Curlin's jockey. "She is an amazing filly . . . phenomenal, because I will tell you, we were running the last part."

In horse-racing circles, the comparisons that top trainer Todd Pletcher often heard were to men such as golfer Phil Mickelson and NFL star Peyton Manning before they won the big one. He had won three Eclipse awards for top trainer and wins stakes races at an astonishing pace, but this was Pletcher's first win in 28 Triple Crown tries.

"Couldn't do it the easy way, [with] a colt. . . . Maybe that's the problem. I've been looking at the wrong gender all this time," Pletcher joked afterward.

He said this race was "pretty special when you look at the historical perspective." All week, Pletcher kept hearing that same story.

"No filly has won it in 102 years," Pletcher said. "That's pretty intimidating stuff."

Rags to Riches jockey John Velazquez, Pletcher's regular rider, was 0 for 19 in Triple Crown races. His ride did get one advantage racing the boys. She got to carry five less pounds. That's no small thing in a race decided by a head, but Curlin trainer Steve Asmussen didn't offer it as an excuse. His first thought about the race: "Wow!"

"I think everybody should be impressed with the [Triple Crown] races he's put together and the two races before that," Asmussen said of Curlin, who finished third in the Derby.

A glacial early pace had set up the sizzling finish, with a last quarter-mile run in 24.68 seconds. The final time for the 11/2-mile race was 2 minutes, 28.74 seconds. For the first time since 1969, the last quarter mile of the 11/2-mile race was quicker than the first.

Chester County-bred Hard Spun, who had finished second in the Derby and third in the Preakness, was right behind the leaders with two furlongs to go but faded to fourth behind Tiago and 11 lengths behind Rags to Riches. Trainer Larry Jones said the slow early fractions should have suited Hard Spun except he hadn't taken the lead. "Apparently, we had a miscommunication somewhere," Jones said.

In other words, this wasn't the greatest of days for jockey Garrett Gomez, since he had been on Rags to Riches for all her previous victories but switched to Hard Spun when he didn't think the filly was going in this race. Gomez tried to switch back to Rags to Riches, but Hard Spun's connections weren't going for it.

Velazquez was the beneficiary, and he talked about how Gomez had told him this week that the filly would keep giving him 100 percent even if he didn't shake her around. Galloping out wide, purposefully keeping dirt out of her face, "She didn't waste a lot of energy," the jockey said.

It was there for everybody to see at the end.

Contact staff writer Mike Jensen at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com.

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