Nasal strip ban in New York has foul odor
The May 27 article "Nasal strips taboo in N.Y." told of the ruling by Belmont Park stewards (whose authority is unclear) that the nasal strip that I'll Have Another has utilized will not be permitted for the Belmont Stakes.
Significantly, no one has accused the manufacturer, the distributor, or the trainer of utilizing the nasal strips for an ulterior purpose, such as to enhance performance.
In 1946, racing writer Joe Palmer of the New York Herald Tribune, called Honeymoon “the best performer bred in California since the revival of racing there.” That same year, Paul Lowry, sports writer for the Los Angeles Times, called her “the best filly ever bred in California.”
A lifetime winner of 13 stakes races, Honeymoon often beat males, including victories in the 1946 Cinema Handicap and Hollywood Derby. That same season, she took on older males and was beaten just a neck in the Hollywood Gold Cup.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Despite a bevy of negative press – which included an erroneous report that there are separate rules for him than the other trainers competing in the Belmont Stakes – trainer Doug O’Neill is just rolling with the punches.
Maintaining an upbeat attitude, O’Neill said Friday morning, is made easier by how well his horse I’ll Have Another is doing leading up to his date with destiny in the June 9 Belmont Stakes, where he will attempt to become Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner
Rapid Redux, the 6-year-old gelding who holds the modern United States record of 22 consecutive wins, received an official welcome Friday at the Old Friends retirement haven in Georgetown, Ky.
Owner Robert Cole Jr., has pensioned the chestnut Rapid Redux there. Rapid Redux has a paddock across from 1988 sprint champion Gulch. Another close neighbor is dual Grade 1 winner Afternoon Deelites.
Morrissey’s Horse Pullmans brought Rapid Redux, free of charge, to Old Friends from his trainer David Wells’s farm near Penn National Race Course in central Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.
3 things you won’t read anywhere else
Smarty Jones, bred in Pennsylvania and unbeaten through the Preakness, by all rights should have been the 12th Triple Crown winner. If you thought Bodemeister was impressive in losing the 2012 Kentucky Derby under extreme early pressure, go ahead, punch up a replay of the 2004 Belmont Stakes and get a load of what Smarty faced. I’ll wait. . . .
(Start spreading the news/I’m leaving today/I want to be a part of it/New York, New York.)
Funny Cide could have turned Triple Crown history on its head. Here was a gelding, labeled as a New York-bred, owned by a bunch of upstate party animals and trained by a guy who could do without all the fuss. Establishment Funny Cide was not.
He was, however, a rock-solid racehorse who was at his best in the 2003 Kentucky Derby and even better in the Preakness, which he won by nearly 10 lengths. This made for great headlines, but trainer Barclay Tagg was not as thrilled, knowing that the Triple Crown is a long haul and a horse can peak too soon. If he peaks at all.
Charismatic, bursting upon the scene in 1999, was not the first headline horse to come to a bad ending in the Belmont Stakes.
In 1941, on his way to a 25-length win and the Triple Crown, Count Fleet rapped his right foreleg severely enough to end his brilliant career. In 1958, also going for the Triple Crown, Tim Tam shattered the sesamoids of his right foreleg while finishing second and never raced again.
