Triple Crown Spoiler Zito Talks Belmont 2014

A day before California Chrome attempts to become the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito reflected on two Triple Crown bids spoiled by his horses, and what it might take to finally end the drought.

Zito first won the Belmont Stakes in 2004 with Birdstone, who thwarted Smarty Jones' bid for the Triple Crown in the waning stages of the race. In 2008, Zito won again with Da' Tara, while Triple Crown hopeful Big Brown was pulled up on the far turn.

"Our stable is different," said Zito. "You might say, 'What do you mean?' At the time of our first one, we had five seconds. Five seconds in the Belmont. Our stats are two wins, seven seconds, couple of thirds. Our stable is different. Were we confident?

Just about every time we run a mile and a half, in our head, we know we've got a little bit of a chance. It's the way we run our stable and the way we prepare them."

Zito's outstanding record in the Belmont Stakes puts him in rarefied air. In the case of California Chrome, he believes racing fans may witness something special on Saturday.

"It's a very interesting scenario with that horse, the way he trains," Zito said. "They say that's the way he goes, the way he trains. Boy, those workouts are tremendous. I don't care what anybody tells me. That horse is smooth as can be, when he works, when he gallops, whatever."

How California Chrome handles the additional two furlongs he's asked to run in the "Test of the Champion" is pivotal to his chances, according to the trainer.

"It's just that last quarter of a mile because if you look, Smarty Jones was in front going a mile and a quarter, and that last quarter of a mile got him," said Zito. "It's different. Mile and a half, mile and a quarter. It's different. It's a different race. It's just longer, that's all it comes down to."