Freedom Child's Jim Dandy Clunker Mystifies Albertrani

Trainer Tom Albertrani remains mystified by the second straight dull performance of Freedom Child, who ran last of 10 in Saturday's Jim Dandy.

"It's one of those things you can't figure out," Albertrani said Sunday morning. "[Jockey Luis Saez] said he was traveling great until about the time he needed him to go, and he just never responded."

Impressive front-running winner of the Grade 2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park on May 11, Freedom Child was 13th of 14 in the Belmont Stakes. In the Jim Dandy, he ran third behind Moreno and Palace Malice for six furlongs before dropping back, beaten 32 ½ lengths.

"I know for a fact that he doesn't like it hot too much. He never trained well in the heat, so I don't know if that was a factor or not," Albertrani said. "We'll just regroup, breeze him a couple of times and see. Nothing really surfaced, so we don't know. It's almost like you'd rather find a little explanation so you can fix it.

"The way he was acting in the paddock ... it looked like he was really on his toes. We'll just have to start all over again. It's all we can do."