Afleet Alex a star after remarkable Preakness win
BALTIMORE - Afleet Alex may not need a Triple Crown to become the darling of thoroughbred racing. A remarkable victory in the Preakness Stakes looks good enough.
Afleet Alex nearly fell at the top of the stretch when Scrappy T veered suddenly into his path, but the colt incredibly regained his balance and pulled away for an easy victory in the second leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday.
Two weeks earlier, Afleet Alex finished a gallant third in the Kentucky Derby, losing in the final strides to 50-1 long shot Giacomo and runner-up Closing Argument, a nearly 72-1 shot.
Afleet Alex certainly has come a long way since a bunch of first-time owners from the Philadelphia area paid a mere $75,000 for him last year at the Timonium sales just down the road from Pimlico. Spotting Afleet Alex at the sale was trainer Tim Ritchey, a 30-year veteran who had never been on the Triple Crown trail.
And now, Afleet Alex is headed to the Belmont Stakes on June 11 as the top 3-year-old in the world.
"This Alex is so incredibly bright for American horse racing," two-time Derby winning trainer Nick Zito said Sunday at Pimlico, hours after three of his horses were soundly beaten by Afleet Alex.
"And having him make part of history is what this game's about," Zito said. "Could you imagine going to that sale and paying $75,000 and have a horse like this in this day and age?"
Actually, it's been the trend. Giacomo, a homebred owned by A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss, won the Derby for John Shirreffs, a longtime trainer also on the Triple Crown trail for the first time.
Last year, it was Ritchey's friend, John Servis, who hit it big with Pennsylvania-bred Smarty Jones on his first Triple go-around. Before that, it was grizzled veteran Barclay Tagg, who trained Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, a $75,000 pickup by a bunch of high school buddies from upstate New York.
"You never know where a good horse comes from," Zito said. "That's the beauty of this game -- that everybody has a chance. Why do we want a conglomeration in anything in life? Do you want just the rich guys to win all the time? You don't want that. So this is a beautiful, beautiful."
Reminded that he trains for rich folks, Zito smiled: "I do. Don't get me wrong. I'm not giving up my real job now. I like training for Barnes & Noble. I like training for Campbell's Soup, and I like training for George Steinbrenner. But on the other hand, I'm just saying this is what makes it good."
Zito trains Noble Causeway (sixth in the Preakness) for Barnes & Noble chairman Leonard Riggio, High Fly (10th) for Campbell's Soup heiress Charlotte Weber and Bellamy Road (seventh in the Derby) for Yankees boss George Steinbrenner.
Ritchey says any competent trainer can win a classic as long as he has the right horse, and is able to keep him.
"You don't have to be a D. Wayne Lukas or a Bob Baffert," Ritchey said. "They get more exposure, and they get more horses with better pedigrees. They may start out with 50 or 100 2-year-olds. I start out with four or five. And they come up with these kinds of horses because they are paying lots and lots of money. We got $75,000 and that was the most I've ever had a client pay for a horse."
Zito, in fact, was sent two horses -- Bellamy Road and High Fly -- originally trained by others. High Limit (fifth in the Preakness) was sent to trainer Bobby Frankel after winning his first two races for someone else.
"I feel sorry for them," Ritchey said of the original trainers. "They found the horses. They developed the horses. I have high regard for my owners for staying with me, and hopefully it will prove to some other owners that if you have the horse, and a trainer who's competent, you can get there."
Afleet Alex nearly didn't. Other than a slightly scraped left front ankle, Afleet Alex seemed to be in great shape after the Preakness.
"He seems to be fine," Ritchey said, "but what concerns me are muscle injuries because he was contorted in a way horses aren't meant to be. He walked well this morning, he ate everything and he certainly looks good now."
Ritchey said Afleet Alex would remain at Pimlico a few more days, then probably head to New York on Friday to prepare for the Belmont Stakes on June 11.
The frightening collision was still the talk of racing.
"It could have been horrific," Rose said. But somehow, Afleet Alex gathered himself and won by 4} lengths, with Scrappy T second and Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo third -- ending any chance of a Triple Crown try in the Belmont.
Ritchey, a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fans, was happy to equate Afleet Alex's "big play" in the Preakness with one pulled off by his favorite team in 1972.
"The Steelers had the Immaculate Reception," Ritchey said. "What do you call this? The Immaculate Recovery?"
Giacomo could be headed to the Belmont, along with Andromeda's Hero (eighth in the Derby) and Sir Barton Stakes winner Pinpoint, a pair of Zito-trained horses. Other possibles include Buzzards Bay (fifth in the Derby), Southern Africa and Shamoan.
Watch the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 11 at 5 p.m. ET on NBC
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
