Will Rags to Riches Win the Belmont Stakes?

Writing by admin on Wednesday, 6 of June , 2007 at 6:31 pm

The Triple Crown is about to embrace its feminine side.

Todd Pletcher has confirmed that Rags to Riches will run in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. The prize chestnut filly has won each of her last four races, including the prestigious Kentucky Oaks, and Pletcher is confident she has a chance to take New York by storm.

Winning the race, on the other hand, appears to be beyond even Pletcher’s dreams. Even though Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense will not be in the field, Curlin will be there after taking first place at the Preakness. “I would certainly identify Curlin as the horse for everyone to beat,” Pletcher told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “If I was anybody else in the race, I wouldn’t be excited that she was in there running against me.”

Entirely reasonable. The last filly to claim the Belmont Stakes was Tanya in 1905. Pletcher himself has yet to train Triple Crown winner in 28 attempts. And Rags to Riches will have an unfamiliar (and yet to be named) jockey in the saddle on Saturday; John Velazquez will be atop Slew’s Tizzy, while No. 2 choice Garrett Gomez will riding Hard Spun.

Having said that, Rags to Riches is no ordinary horse. She was born to run the mile-and-a-half; her sire was 1992 Belmont winner A.P. Indy, and his father was the incomparable Seattle Slew, the 1977 Triple Crown sensation. For good measure, her brother is 2006 Belmont champion Jazil.

This is shaping up to be a field of eight, and with no Triple Crown on the line, Rags to Riches will be an easy fan favorite. But Curlin is very likely to spoil the party. He is expected to carry a lot of chalk into Saturday’s race, and for good reason: four wins in five career races, all as a 3-year-old, and a third-place finish at the Kentucky Derby.

For now, we’ll put Rags to Riches in the Danica Patrick file: definitely talented, regardless of gender, but yet to defeat the big boys.

For all your Belmont Stakes odds, check this sportsbook out. (And for more horse racing and sports betting information, check this out!)

Category: Online Horse Racing

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