Belmont Promises Zito-Lucas Rematch Trainers Each Point Two Horses Toward Final Leg Of Triple Crown
The selling point for the Belmont Stakes will be a Triple Crown rubber match between trainers Nick Zito and D. Wayne Lukas.
“If that’s the story line, so be it,” Lukas said the morning after his Triple Crown winning streak was stopped at six when Zito’s Louis Quatorze scored a wire-to-wire victory in the Preakness. “We have a solid, respectful relationship.”
Louis Quatorze’s impressive victory Saturday in a stakes record-equaling 1:53-2/5 for the 1-3/16 miles came on the heels of a dismal 16th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
“Nick did a super job with him,” Lukas said. “He put it all together. That horse looked as good as any of them. He was a picture of composure.”
Zito has two wins and three seconds in the last eight Triple Crown races, but has been overshadowed by Lukas, who trained this year’s Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone.
Zito, a native New Yorker, would love to win his hometown Belmont Stakes on June 8 with Louis Quatorze.
“In the ‘90s, I’ve been second (in the Belmont) four times,” Zito said. “I’d like to get that one out of the way.”
Louis Quatorze left early Sunday morning for New York. Two of his rivals in the 1-1/2-mile Belmont will be Lukas-trained Editor’s Note and Prince of Thieves. Editor’s Note finished third in the Preakness, while Prince of Thieves was seventh.
Cavonnier, the Derby runner-up, also is headed for the Belmont. And trainer Sonny Hine said it’s 50-50 that the Belmont will be next for Skip Away, who rebounded from a 12th in the Derby to finish second in the Preakness.
As always, there will be several horses making their Triple Crown debuts in the Belmont. One of them is the Zito-trained Saratoga Dandy, winner of the Sir Barton on Saturday.
Jockey Pat Day, who rode Louis Quatorze to victory in the Preakness, kept his cool when Secreto de Estado almost stumbled into his horse at the start. Man-made trouble was avoided by the 12 3-year-olds on the final turn.
“At about the five-sixteenths pole there was a football on the track,” said Jerry Bailey, rider of Prince of Thieves. “Chris McCarron (on fourth-place Cavonnier) and I went around.” None of the other jockeys mentioned the football, which had come out of the infield packed with people.
Although Grindstone was the third Derby winner to miss the Preakness in 15 years, he played a part in Saturday’s drama. After Grindstone was retired last week because of a bone chip in his right knee, Lukas decided to put Bailey on Prince of Thieves, who was ridden in the Derby by Day. Lukas said the move was not a criticism of Day’s ride, merely a coaching decision.
Zito then put Day on Louis Quatorze, ridden by Chris Antley in the Derby.
“I’m happy - not that his (Lukas) streak ended, just that mine continued,” Day said after winning his third straight Preakness and fifth overall. “There’s no feeling of vengeance.”
A crowd of 85,122 saw Louis Quatorze beat Skip Away by 3-1/4 lengths in the first wire-to-wire Preakness victory since Aloma’s Ruler in 1982.
The time equaled the record set by Lukas-trained Tank’s Prospect in 1985 and the winning margin was the biggest since Hansel won by seven lengths in 1981. The winning mutuel return of $19 was the biggest since Hansel paid $20.20.