Taking on the boys at Belmont

NEW YORK – A fantastic filly has put some pizazz back in the Belmont Stakes and shaken up the field as well.

Rags to Riches will take on the boys in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont on Saturday in an attempt to become the first filly to win the race in 102 years and give trainer Todd Pletcher his first win in a Triple Crown race.

Without Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense running, the Belmont was shaping up as a far-from-glamorous matchup between Preakness winner Curlin and Derby runner-up Hard Spun, with a half-dozen also-rans thrown in.

Now, there’s intrigue surrounding the final jewel of the Triple Crown.

Rags to Riches will be the first filly in eight years and 22nd overall to run in the Belmont. Silverbulletday finished seventh in 1999, and two fillies have won – Tanya in 1905 and Ruthless in 1867. Three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby – Regret in 1915, Genuine Risk in 1980 and Winning Colors in 1988.

With Rags to Riches in, the Belmont underwent several changes Tuesday, from who’s running to who’s riding which horse.

Time Squared is out, and Digger likely will be, too, when entries are taken today. C P West, who finished fourth in the Preakness for trainer Nick Zito, is another new addition, leaving a probable seven-horse field.

Jockey John Velazquez, who was set to ride Slew’s Tizzy, moves to Rags to Riches. Garrett Gomez has ridden the filly to four wins in a row, including the Kentucky Oaks, but will stay aboard Hard Spun – replacing Mario Pino. Rafael Bejarano gets the call on Slew’s Tizzy.

The hope was Gomez, not Velazquez, would be given the OK to switch to Rags to Riches.

“We made a move to try to get loose, but the owner wasn’t receptive,” said Gomez’s agent, Ron Anderson, referring to Hard Spun owner Rick Porter. “We made a commitment when we thought Rags to Riches wasn’t going to run. Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Pletcher based his Belmont decision on several factors – Rags to Riches is bred to run 1 1/2 miles and has been training well, and the defection of Street Sense opened up the field.

The 3-year-old filly is a daughter of 1992 Belmont winner A.P. Indy and a half-sister to Jazil, last year’s Belmont winner. “Arguably, she has the best pedigree for this race any horse could ever have,” Pletcher said.

Rags to Riches put in a five-furlong workout in 1:03.84 at Belmont on Sunday, and the trainer was impressed with the way she handled the track.

Most important, Pletcher believes his filly can win.

“We’re going in because we think we have a chance to win,” he said. “If I was anyone else in the race, I wouldn’t be excited that she was in there running against me.”