NEW YORK - Edgar Prado is one of thoroughbred racing's good guys. Yet when the starting gates spring open for the 140th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, there won't be many people rooting for the Hall of Fame jockey to win the race.
That's because he's already a two-time Triple Crown spoiler and will be aboard Casino Drive as he tries to stop unbeaten Big Brown from becoming the first horse in 30 years to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
The racing world is eager to crown Big Brown, who would become only the 12th Triple Crown winner should he win the 1.5-mile Belmont. But in the race, Prado will be trying to do what he does best - spoil the party.
“We know the sport needs a hero and the sport wants to see a Triple Crown,” Prado said on a recent afternoon at Belmont Park, “but I have a job, too.”
Since Affirmed's sweep in 1978, 10 horses have won the first two legs only to come up short in the race appropriately called the “Test of the Champion.” Overall, 18 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners have been tripped up in the oldest and longest race in the series.
Prado has spoiled two of the past three attempts, bringing home 36-1 long shot Birdstone in the 2004 Belmont to end unbeaten Smarty Jones' bid, and winning aboard 70-1 shot Sarava in 2002 after War Emblem stumbled at the start.
His Belmont success was one of the reasons Prado was chosen to ride the Japanese colt Casino Drive, considered Big Brown's top challenger.
“The reason we decided on Edgar was his experience in the Belmont Stakes,” said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto. “I think he is the best choice.”
For his part, the 40-year-old Prado experienced different emotions after each of his Belmont upsets.
“Smarty had so many fans, myself included,” he said. “When I was coming down the stretch on Birdstone, my arms were moving, my legs were moving, but my heart and my mind weren't into it.
“It was my job. But my heart was with Smarty that day along with 120,000 fans. As soon as I passed the wire I told Stewart Elliott (Smarty's jockey), `I'm sorry.”'
Two years earlier, Prado was thrilled with his upset victory.
“For War Emblem, the race was lost when he stumbled,” Prado said. “The race set up well for Sarava, and I was happy to win my first Triple Crown race.”
Nick Zito, who trained Birdstone, apologized to Smarty's trainer John Servis after the race, but had no regrets.
“It was different for me because I had all those second-place finishes,” said Zito, a five-time Belmont runner-up before his breakthrough. “To win was very gratifying.”
The spoilers' club has plenty of members, including a slew of Hall of Fame trainers who believed their horse was better and wanted a final chance to prove it.
Bobby Frankel is among them. In 2003, Frankel trained Triple Crown spoiler Empire Maker, the Derby favorite who finished second behind Funny Cide despite running with a bruised foot. After skipping the Preakness, Frankel was eager for another shot at the New York-bred gelding.
“You want to beat him, you don't want to give it to him,” Frankel said. “I just couldn't wait for the Belmont. You also want to be right, you know?”
In the 1990s, three horses came very close to following in Affirmed's footsteps.
In 1997, Silver Charm won the first two legs for trainer Bob Baffert, but was beaten by three-quarters of a length by Touch Gold in the Belmont.
Touch Gold was held out of the Derby by trainer David Hofmans after winning the Lexington Stakes two weeks earlier, then ran fourth in the Preakness - less than 2 lengths back - despite stumbling so badly at the start his nose hit the ground and he came away with a gash in his leg.
With three weeks to recover, Touch Gold was ready.
“We thought he was a fresh horse, where Silver Charm and Free House (third in the Derby, second in the Preakness) had been battling each other,” Hofmans said.
Under Chris McCarron, Touch Gold ran past Silver Charm in the final 70 yards for the win.
“It was great, one of the best feelings,” said Hofmans. “You can't give a horse the Triple Crown. A heavyweight has to beat the challengers. I didn't feel bad about it.”
Neither did McCarron.
“It's unfair to characterize Touch Gold as a spoiler, anyway,” the jockey said. “He was the best horse in the Preakness, and if he doesn't get in all that trouble he wins and there is no Triple Crown try. So, I was more than happy to play the role of spoiler.”
Perhaps the most dramatic Triple try came the next year, in the '98 Belmont, when Baffert's Real Quiet was beaten by a nose by Victory Gallop in the final stride.
Kent Desormeaux experienced the bitter defeat aboard Real Quiet, but gets another crack at it with Big Brown.
Victory Gallop, runner-up in the first two legs, was 5 lengths behind with a quarter-mile to go under Gary Stevens, but moved up steadily and the horses crossed the wire inches apart. A photo finish decided the winner.
“If I couldn't win it, I was rooting for Real Quiet,” said Stevens, denied a Triple aboard Silver Charm. “And from the half-mile pole home I was riding for second money. I didn't think I had a chance to catch him, but I saw him start to wander around and lose focus, and he probably made the lead too early.
“My horse was just building momentum and running steady at a target. When we hit the wire, I just prayed like I never prayed before that I had won the photo.”
Elliott Walden, the trainer of Victory Gallop, was delighted.
“Was I upset that it upset a Triple Crown? Did I feel bad about it? I didn't feel at all that way,” said Walden, now the racing manager for WinStar Farms. “I felt like he deserved one of them.”
Walden looks at the spoilers' role from a father's perspective:
“It's like your kid,” he said. “If you are going up against the greatest team on earth and your kid is on the opposing team, and you keep them from doing something special and upset them ... you're happy for your kid, not worried about the other team.”
A year later, an ailing Charismatic could not complete the sweep as Lemon Drop Kid ran past him in the stretch to take the '99 Belmont. Charismatic pulled up just past the finish line with a broken leg, and was vanned off the track.
The Sunday Silence-Easy Goer rivalry ended in the 1989 Belmont, with New York's Easy Goer pulling away for an 8-length win over Charlie Whittingham's Derby and Preakness winner. The colts were evenly matched, with Easy Goer the beaten favorite in the first two legs.
Bet Twice ran second in the 1987 Derby and Preakness to Alysheba, but when Alysheba was forced to check sharply nearing the stretch, Bet Twice pulled off to a 14-length win.
In 1981, Summing missed the first two legs of the Triple Crown, then thwarted Pleasant Colony's Triple try, and in 1979, Coastal pulled off a huge upset by beating the great Spectacular Bid, who stepped on a safety pin the morning of the race, weakened in the stretch and finished third.
“Of all of them since Affirmed, Spectacular Bid was the one who should have won it,” said Billy Turner, the trainer of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. “Spectacular Bid was a phenomenal horse.”
On Saturday, there could be another spoiler in the club, or racing will have what it has been craving since Affirmed outdueled Alydar in all three Classics.
Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., believes his colt is the one to pull it off. Zito, who will send out long shot Anak Nakal, knows all too well that anything can happen.
“It will be a beautiful thing for the fans, but as a trainer and a jock, we have jobs to do,” Zito said. “I'd like to be part of history again - by spoiling it.”
Triple Crown spoilers since 1978
NEW YORK -- Since Affirmed became the 11th Triple Crown winner in 1978, 10 horses have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness only to fail in the Belmont Stakes. A look at how the spoilers won:
2004 -- Birdstone (36-1) trails Smarty Jones by 6 lengths coming out of the far turn, then takes up the chase from the far outside. Drifts out in the upper stretch, a right-handed whip straightens his course with an eighth of a mile to go. Closes steadily with a sixteenth left, wears down Smarty Jones with 70 yards to go and wins by a length.
2003 -- Empire Maker (2-1) stalks pace set by Funny Cide, edges closer on the far turn and draws alongside with three-eighths of a mile to go. Shakes off Funny Cide for clear advantage leaving the quarter pole, turns back challenge by Ten Most Wanted and wins by three-quarters of a length with Funny Cide third, 5 lengths back.
2002 -- After War Emblem stumbles badly out of the gate, Sarava (70-1) bides time in midpack, then splits rivals and challenges for lead leaving the quarter pole. Surges to front with about an eighth of a mile to go, then turns back Medaglia d'Oro to win by a half-length. War Emblem finishes eighth.
1999 -- Lemon Drop Kid (29-1) moves into contention racing just off the rail on the far turn, goes five wide in the stretch, gains command over Charismatic and holds off Vision and Verse by a head. Charismatic finishes third, but pulls up abruptly a sixteenth of a mile past finish with a broken left leg.
1998 -- Victory Gallop (4-1) works his way toward front while four wide on the turn, splits rivals entering the stretch and wears down Real Quiet, who looked to have an insurmountable lead, in the final strides to win by a nose.
1997 -- Touch Gold (2-1) takes lead for the first half mile, relinquishes it and then moves in behind the leaders on the turn. Swings to the outside approaching the quarter pole, circles six wide to launch his bid entering the stretch and finishes strong under left-handed whip to wear down Silver Charm in the final 50 yards, winning by three-quarters of a length.
1989 -- Easy Goer (even money) moves quickly from the outside to take lead approaching the stretch, draws clear from Sunday Silence under brisk left-handed urging and continues to increase lead under hand ride for eight-length victory.
1987 -- Bet Twice follows early leaders from the outside, then moves to the front before going a mile. Draws off quickly under urging after entering the stretch and continues to increase advantage under hand ride to win by 14 lengths. Alysheba checks sharply behind Gone West nearing the stretch, and finishes fourth just behind Cryptoclearance and Gulch.
1981 -- Summing (7-1) sprints away from the field leaving the far turn, builds a solid lead and turns back Highland Blade to win by a neck. Pleasant Colony is fractious in the gate, runs into contention nearing the far turn but never gets closer than third, finishing 1.5 lengths behind the winner.
1979 -- Coastal (4-1) takes lead from weakening Spectacular Bid along the inside nearing the final eighth of a mile, and draws away to win by 3.25 lengths. The Bid finishes third.
The racing world is eager to crown Big Brown, who would become only the 12th Triple Crown winner should he win the 1.5-mile Belmont. But in the race, Prado will be trying to do what he does best - spoil the party.
“We know the sport needs a hero and the sport wants to see a Triple Crown,” Prado said on a recent afternoon at Belmont Park, “but I have a job, too.”
Since Affirmed's sweep in 1978, 10 horses have won the first two legs only to come up short in the race appropriately called the “Test of the Champion.” Overall, 18 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners have been tripped up in the oldest and longest race in the series.
Prado has spoiled two of the past three attempts, bringing home 36-1 long shot Birdstone in the 2004 Belmont to end unbeaten Smarty Jones' bid, and winning aboard 70-1 shot Sarava in 2002 after War Emblem stumbled at the start.
His Belmont success was one of the reasons Prado was chosen to ride the Japanese colt Casino Drive, considered Big Brown's top challenger.
“The reason we decided on Edgar was his experience in the Belmont Stakes,” said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto. “I think he is the best choice.”
For his part, the 40-year-old Prado experienced different emotions after each of his Belmont upsets.
“Smarty had so many fans, myself included,” he said. “When I was coming down the stretch on Birdstone, my arms were moving, my legs were moving, but my heart and my mind weren't into it.
“It was my job. But my heart was with Smarty that day along with 120,000 fans. As soon as I passed the wire I told Stewart Elliott (Smarty's jockey), `I'm sorry.”'
Two years earlier, Prado was thrilled with his upset victory.
“For War Emblem, the race was lost when he stumbled,” Prado said. “The race set up well for Sarava, and I was happy to win my first Triple Crown race.”
Nick Zito, who trained Birdstone, apologized to Smarty's trainer John Servis after the race, but had no regrets.
“It was different for me because I had all those second-place finishes,” said Zito, a five-time Belmont runner-up before his breakthrough. “To win was very gratifying.”
The spoilers' club has plenty of members, including a slew of Hall of Fame trainers who believed their horse was better and wanted a final chance to prove it.
Bobby Frankel is among them. In 2003, Frankel trained Triple Crown spoiler Empire Maker, the Derby favorite who finished second behind Funny Cide despite running with a bruised foot. After skipping the Preakness, Frankel was eager for another shot at the New York-bred gelding.
“You want to beat him, you don't want to give it to him,” Frankel said. “I just couldn't wait for the Belmont. You also want to be right, you know?”
In the 1990s, three horses came very close to following in Affirmed's footsteps.
In 1997, Silver Charm won the first two legs for trainer Bob Baffert, but was beaten by three-quarters of a length by Touch Gold in the Belmont.
Touch Gold was held out of the Derby by trainer David Hofmans after winning the Lexington Stakes two weeks earlier, then ran fourth in the Preakness - less than 2 lengths back - despite stumbling so badly at the start his nose hit the ground and he came away with a gash in his leg.
With three weeks to recover, Touch Gold was ready.
“We thought he was a fresh horse, where Silver Charm and Free House (third in the Derby, second in the Preakness) had been battling each other,” Hofmans said.
Under Chris McCarron, Touch Gold ran past Silver Charm in the final 70 yards for the win.
“It was great, one of the best feelings,” said Hofmans. “You can't give a horse the Triple Crown. A heavyweight has to beat the challengers. I didn't feel bad about it.”
Neither did McCarron.
“It's unfair to characterize Touch Gold as a spoiler, anyway,” the jockey said. “He was the best horse in the Preakness, and if he doesn't get in all that trouble he wins and there is no Triple Crown try. So, I was more than happy to play the role of spoiler.”
Perhaps the most dramatic Triple try came the next year, in the '98 Belmont, when Baffert's Real Quiet was beaten by a nose by Victory Gallop in the final stride.
Kent Desormeaux experienced the bitter defeat aboard Real Quiet, but gets another crack at it with Big Brown.
Victory Gallop, runner-up in the first two legs, was 5 lengths behind with a quarter-mile to go under Gary Stevens, but moved up steadily and the horses crossed the wire inches apart. A photo finish decided the winner.
“If I couldn't win it, I was rooting for Real Quiet,” said Stevens, denied a Triple aboard Silver Charm. “And from the half-mile pole home I was riding for second money. I didn't think I had a chance to catch him, but I saw him start to wander around and lose focus, and he probably made the lead too early.
“My horse was just building momentum and running steady at a target. When we hit the wire, I just prayed like I never prayed before that I had won the photo.”
Elliott Walden, the trainer of Victory Gallop, was delighted.
“Was I upset that it upset a Triple Crown? Did I feel bad about it? I didn't feel at all that way,” said Walden, now the racing manager for WinStar Farms. “I felt like he deserved one of them.”
Walden looks at the spoilers' role from a father's perspective:
“It's like your kid,” he said. “If you are going up against the greatest team on earth and your kid is on the opposing team, and you keep them from doing something special and upset them ... you're happy for your kid, not worried about the other team.”
A year later, an ailing Charismatic could not complete the sweep as Lemon Drop Kid ran past him in the stretch to take the '99 Belmont. Charismatic pulled up just past the finish line with a broken leg, and was vanned off the track.
The Sunday Silence-Easy Goer rivalry ended in the 1989 Belmont, with New York's Easy Goer pulling away for an 8-length win over Charlie Whittingham's Derby and Preakness winner. The colts were evenly matched, with Easy Goer the beaten favorite in the first two legs.
Bet Twice ran second in the 1987 Derby and Preakness to Alysheba, but when Alysheba was forced to check sharply nearing the stretch, Bet Twice pulled off to a 14-length win.
In 1981, Summing missed the first two legs of the Triple Crown, then thwarted Pleasant Colony's Triple try, and in 1979, Coastal pulled off a huge upset by beating the great Spectacular Bid, who stepped on a safety pin the morning of the race, weakened in the stretch and finished third.
“Of all of them since Affirmed, Spectacular Bid was the one who should have won it,” said Billy Turner, the trainer of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. “Spectacular Bid was a phenomenal horse.”
On Saturday, there could be another spoiler in the club, or racing will have what it has been craving since Affirmed outdueled Alydar in all three Classics.
Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., believes his colt is the one to pull it off. Zito, who will send out long shot Anak Nakal, knows all too well that anything can happen.
“It will be a beautiful thing for the fans, but as a trainer and a jock, we have jobs to do,” Zito said. “I'd like to be part of history again - by spoiling it.”
Triple Crown spoilers since 1978
NEW YORK -- Since Affirmed became the 11th Triple Crown winner in 1978, 10 horses have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness only to fail in the Belmont Stakes. A look at how the spoilers won:
2004 -- Birdstone (36-1) trails Smarty Jones by 6 lengths coming out of the far turn, then takes up the chase from the far outside. Drifts out in the upper stretch, a right-handed whip straightens his course with an eighth of a mile to go. Closes steadily with a sixteenth left, wears down Smarty Jones with 70 yards to go and wins by a length.
2003 -- Empire Maker (2-1) stalks pace set by Funny Cide, edges closer on the far turn and draws alongside with three-eighths of a mile to go. Shakes off Funny Cide for clear advantage leaving the quarter pole, turns back challenge by Ten Most Wanted and wins by three-quarters of a length with Funny Cide third, 5 lengths back.
2002 -- After War Emblem stumbles badly out of the gate, Sarava (70-1) bides time in midpack, then splits rivals and challenges for lead leaving the quarter pole. Surges to front with about an eighth of a mile to go, then turns back Medaglia d'Oro to win by a half-length. War Emblem finishes eighth.
1999 -- Lemon Drop Kid (29-1) moves into contention racing just off the rail on the far turn, goes five wide in the stretch, gains command over Charismatic and holds off Vision and Verse by a head. Charismatic finishes third, but pulls up abruptly a sixteenth of a mile past finish with a broken left leg.
1998 -- Victory Gallop (4-1) works his way toward front while four wide on the turn, splits rivals entering the stretch and wears down Real Quiet, who looked to have an insurmountable lead, in the final strides to win by a nose.
1997 -- Touch Gold (2-1) takes lead for the first half mile, relinquishes it and then moves in behind the leaders on the turn. Swings to the outside approaching the quarter pole, circles six wide to launch his bid entering the stretch and finishes strong under left-handed whip to wear down Silver Charm in the final 50 yards, winning by three-quarters of a length.
1989 -- Easy Goer (even money) moves quickly from the outside to take lead approaching the stretch, draws clear from Sunday Silence under brisk left-handed urging and continues to increase lead under hand ride for eight-length victory.
1987 -- Bet Twice follows early leaders from the outside, then moves to the front before going a mile. Draws off quickly under urging after entering the stretch and continues to increase advantage under hand ride to win by 14 lengths. Alysheba checks sharply behind Gone West nearing the stretch, and finishes fourth just behind Cryptoclearance and Gulch.
1981 -- Summing (7-1) sprints away from the field leaving the far turn, builds a solid lead and turns back Highland Blade to win by a neck. Pleasant Colony is fractious in the gate, runs into contention nearing the far turn but never gets closer than third, finishing 1.5 lengths behind the winner.
1979 -- Coastal (4-1) takes lead from weakening Spectacular Bid along the inside nearing the final eighth of a mile, and draws away to win by 3.25 lengths. The Bid finishes third.
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