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Belmont Stakes post positions

Belmont Stakes breakdown

McNamara: Oh, what could have been

Johnson: My take on Triple Crown 2000

Fusaichi Pegasus out of Belmont with hoof injury

Quite frankly, Frankel likes Aptitude's chances

Trainer says Wheelaway ready for Belmont



Aptitude favored in field of 11


ELMONT, N.Y. -- The defections of Fusaichi Pegasus and Red Bullet assured that the field for the 132nd running of Saturday's 1½ mile Belmont Stakes moved from quality to quantity.

Impeachment
Impeachment returns from a Wednesday morning workout on a wet and muddy Belmont track. Impeachment finished third in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Earlier in the week, no more than seven runners were expected to go to post in the final jewel of the Triple Crown. But with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners on the sidelines for the first time in 30 years, the entrants swelled to 11, led by 8-5 morning-line favorite Aptitude.

In 1970, both Derby winner Dust Commander and Preakness winner Personality did not run in the Belmont, which was won by High Echelon.

This will mark the first year since 1996 that a horse came into the Belmont without having a chance to secure the Triple Crown. That was also the last year that different horses won the three races.

Last month, Fusaichi Pegasus became the first favorite to win the Kentucky Derby in 21 years. But he was stunned by Red Bullet in the Preakness as the 1-5 favorite and settled for second.

Since then, Fusaichi Pegasus incurred a hoof injury which drove him to the sidelines and Red Bullet's connections decided to gear up for the Fall schedule in lieu of a Belmont appearance.

Among the benefactors of those events is Aptitude. Trained by native New Yorker Bobby Frankel and jockeyed by Alex Solis, the Kentucky Derby runner-up drew post No. 5 on Wednesday.

Should Aptitude claim a victory on Saturday, the top three finishers in the Wood Memorial would have a Triple Crown race victory to their credit in the same order in which they finished in the Wood.

A son of 1992 Belmont Stakes champ A.P. Indy, Aptitude has just one win in six lifetime starts, but his late-running style seems to be suited for the 1½ mile Belmont trek.

"It's a big race but it doesn't mean anything more to me because I was born here," said Frankel, who is sending out his first Belmont Stakes starter. "I've got the favorite, so I guess I've got a good chance."

The 9-2 second choice is Impeachment, the only horse who will start in all three jewels this season. Last year, a trio of runners managed to endure the grueling grind of the Triple Crown races.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, also sending out his first Belmont Stakes starter, and ridden by Craig Perret, who won the 1987 edition aboard Bet Twice, Impeachment was able to show in the first two jewels. He starts from the eight hole with just one trip to the winner's circle in eight career outings.

"(Impeachment) is a rugged type of individual," Pletcher said. "The way he comes from off the pace isn't as hard on him as it would be for other horses. He is very well conditioned."

Unshaded was entered following the departure of the top two Belmont contenders and had to be supplemented to the race for $100,000 by Jim Tafel because he was not an original nominee to the Triple Crown. He shares the role as 5-1 third choice with Tampa Bay Derby winner Wheelaway.

Unshaded's last start was a second-place finish here in the Peter Pan Stakes two weeks ago. The Bay gelding by Unbridled has won half of his six career races. Shane Sellers has the mount.

"He really got a lot of experience that he needed in the Peter Pan," trainer Carl Nafzger said. "He came away from it in really good shape and that's when we decided to bring him here. He changed the way he was training leading up to that race. We didn't change him, he changed himself."

Wheelaway breaks from post nine under Richard Migliore, who was suspended for a week following his sixth-place Derby finish. Coming into the stretch, stewards ruled that Migliore failed to control Wheelaway and permitted his charge to take a trio of horses out of contention.

Sired by Unbridled, Wheelaway is another closer who should find the long Belmont stretch to his liking, much to the pleasure of trainer John Kimmel.

"He has some good tactical speed and he has some nice cruising speed," Kimmel said. "You just have to decide when you want to use it, because when you call on him, he's gonna give it to you. We don't want to use it too soon."

Last year's winning Belmont Stakes trainer Scotty Schulhofer is back with another entrant who has followed his proven winning method.

Schulhofer, who prepped Lemon Drop Kid in the Peter Pan prior to last year's Belmont win, sends out this year's Peter Pan champ Postponed as a 6-1 choice under Edgar Prado from post two. Schulhofer also turned the trick with Colonial Affair, who used his third-place Peter Pan effort to springboard to Belmont glory in 1993. Lemon Drop Kid was second in the Peter Pan in 1999.

Tahkodha Hills, a 30-1 longshot who drew the outside 11th post, will garner a $1 million bonus should he reach the winner's circle. The Lone Star Derby winner became eligible for the bonus from Lone Star Park for winning that track's premier race for 3-year-olds and any Triple Crown event.

The Belmont will be televised live by ABC from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. ET. Post time is 5:27 p.m. The winner's share is $600,000.



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