Belmont Stakes 2015: An Early Look
As the racing world awaits with bated breath to see if the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, American Pharoah, can become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, let's take an early look to see who will likely stand in his way in the 2015 Belmont Stakes on June 6.
Horse | Comments | |
1 | (3-5) | Is the brilliant 2014 Juvenile Champion destined for immortality, or will he instead become another Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner to be defeated by all the pitfalls that come along with the 12-furlong Test of the Champion? His Preakness win likely did not take too much out of him. |
2 | (6-1) | The Wood Memorial winner was the only rallier to get within shouting distance of the winner in the ten furlong Kentucky Derby. Back home in New York, after taking the Preakness off, the grinding, gray son of Tapit rates as one of the biggest threats to the top one. |
3 | (6-1) | What might have been for the son of Belmont winner Afleet Alex if only he had been able to get off to a timely break at Churchill Downs? At the very least, the experience he got out of that solid effort should do a world of good for the inexperienced Florida Derby winner. |
4 | (12-1) | After never having run a poor race before the first Saturday in May, the good looking son of Giant's Causeway picked a bad day for his worst effort. Not good enough, or will the Blue Grass winner rebound with a big effort at Belmont? The answer may be somewhere in between. |
5 | (20-1) | The son of Lookin at Lucky, and the third straight Todd Pletcher trainee on the list, was no match for the top one in Arkansas. While Pharoah went on to find glory in Louisville and Baltimore, this one got in a very nice prep win over the track in the Peter Pan. |
6 | (25 -1) | A non-winner of one other than a maiden 24 hours ago, he made a name for himself with a last-to-second rally in the Preakness. The bad news is that he is still only a maiden winner, and yesterday's late run never worried the impressive champion. |
7 | (25-1) | The toast of Dubai over the early months in 2015 could only muster an eighth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. He's trained to handle a distance, and it is a good sign that his connections are willing to give him another try, but he will need major improvement second time out in America? |
8 | (30-1) | Don't look now, but the first of two sons of Curlin has really stepped it up in his last two races. First, his rally just missed the win in the Illinois Derby, and then he finished strongly to grab second in Belmont's Peter Pan. He might just be improving enough to make some noise over the testing trip. |
9 | (30-1) | Every year, there is one horse who never quite gets close to actually winning the Kentucky Derby, but finishes fast enough to bring back for the Belmont with real hope. Generally, these types do not fare well in New York, but the son of Curlin did run better than it looks on paper at Churchill. |
10 | (40-1) | The longest shot on the board could only manage to pass tired horses in the Derby. He looks destined to be the longest shot once again, but being trained by Nick Zito has been a positive Belmont Stakes factor over the years. |