Dublin to bypass Belmont

By Marty McGee

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Dublin has been withdrawn from consideration for the 142nd Belmont Stakes on June 5, meaning no horse will have run in all three Triple Crown events this year.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said early Thursday at Churchill Downs that withdrawing the colt "wasn't an easy decision, because he's really doing good."

Lukas noted that Dublin "has had five races in 12 weeks" and he wanted to give the colt "a little break" before gearing back up for major races such as the Haskell, Jim Dandy, or Travers before ultimately pointing to the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill.

"The race in front of you always looms the most important one," Lukas said. "Then once you get past that, the next one has the greatest magnitude. Knowing how that goes, we'll sit this one out and wait for the next series of big races."

Dublin, seventh in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 and fifth in the Preakness last Saturday, would have been the only horse to have run in all three races. Five horses from the Derby also ran in the Preakness, but now none is back for the Belmont. The last time no horse raced in all three was in 2006, which also was the last time neither the Derby nor Preakness winner ran in the Belmont.

Garrett Gomez, the two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey who rode Dublin in the Preakness, currently is without a mount for the

1 1/2-mile Belmont.

The defection of Dublin leaves the Belmont with a prospective field of 11 3-year-olds, headed by the Derby runner-up Ice Box, based in New York with Nick Zito. Setsuko, based in California with trainer Richard Mandella, was ruled out Wednesday afternoon because of inflammation in his ankles.

Meanwhile, Stay Put took another step toward the Belmont by breezing six furlongs Thursday in 1:14 over a fast track at Churchill. Jamie Theriot, who has the Belmont mount, was aboard for the work, which came shortly after the regularly scheduled harrow break at 8:30 a.m. and without company. According to Churchill clocker John Nichols, the splits were 13.26 seconds, 38.60, 50.60, and 1:02.40, with a seven-furlong gallop-out in 1:27.

"I thought he looked really good," trainer Steve Margolis said. "Jamie said the horse felt good and just kept on going for him. The colt came out of it fine, so I'm really pleased. We're looking forward to shipping up to New York and going from there."

Stay Put is scheduled to ship to Belmont on Thursday, May 27, before having a workout over the track on May 29 or 30.

Stay Put, bred and owned by Richard, Bert, and Elaine Klein, is a pure stretch-runner whose two previous tries in stakes, the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby, both resulted in fifth-place finishes. The Broken Vow colt has won three times, all at two-turn distances, and comes off a second-level allowance victory on the Kentucky Derby undercard.