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Final gate again Point Given draws outside post for Belmont Stakes
Updated: Thursday June 07, 2001 10:01 AM
Point Given on Wednesday drew the ninth post for the 133rd Belmont Stakes on Saturday, the third consecutive Triple Crown race he will break from the final gate. Installed as the morning line 8-5 favorite, Point Given will continue his budding rivalry with Monarchos, who was named the second choice at 5-2 and will break from the fifth post. Point Given restored his tarnished image with an impressive win in the Preakness, a race in which he started from the 11th post. The chestnut colt, who had the 17th post in the Kentucky Derby and finished out of the money, will attempt to become the 17th horse to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes after faltering in the Derby. Monarchos was never a factor in the Preakness after his dominating win at Churchill Downs. The grueling 1 1/2-mile race at Belmont Park will include just four horses that will compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown. After a series of disappointments, A P Valentine was a strong second at Pimlico and trainer Nick Zito has been pointing his horse toward the Belmont. A P Valentine has the No. 8 post and is the third choice at 5-1. Zito has won Triple Crown races three times, but the New York native has never won the Belmont Stakes in 10 attempts. The closest he has come to winning the Belmont was in 1990 when Derby winner Strike the Gold came up a head short to Hansel. Dollar Bill, who avoided some of his recent bumping problems to finish fourth at Pimlico, has the No. 3 post and is 6-1. Point Given made sure there would be no Triple Crown for a 23rd straight year when he defeated Monarchos. But at least the winners of the first two races are back. Last year, both Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus and Preakness winner Red Bullet sat out the race. Trainer Bob Baffert won his third Preakness in five years and now sets his sights on the one Triple Crown race that has eluded him. Because of the long distance and the wide turns at Belmont Park, the post positions are not as pivotal as in the other races, but Baffert could not help but notice the luck of the draw. "Maybe the fix was in," Baffert joked. "But it should not be problem. This horse lets you know when he's ready to go." Once again, Gary Stevens will be aboard Point Given. The Belmont Stakes provides a chance at redemption for Monarchos, who will have local favorite Jorge Chavez aboard. Many trainers shy away from the Belmont due to the unusually long distance. "It's sort of a goofy race," Baffert said. "It's an odd distance for these horses, something they aren't really used to." Some of the stiffest challenge could come from the horses that stayed away from the Preakness. If there was moral victory at Churchill Downs, it was turned in by Invisible Ink, a 30-1 long shot who was a stunning second in the Kentucky Derby. Bettors have taken notice of Invisible Ink, who drew the inside post for the Belmont Stakes and is down to 8-1. Thunder Blitz, the son of Holy Bull who was fourth at Churchill Downs, has the fourth post at 10-1. Another returnee is Balto Star, who set a blistering pace in the Kentucky Derby before faltering and finishing 14th. The colt will get the services of Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron, who has the ability to get frontrunners to relax. Balto Star, who drew the No. 2 post and is 15-1, and Invisible Ink both are trained by Todd Pletcher. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will have an entrant in Buckle Down Ben. The colt was out of the money in the Spiral Stakes, prompting Lukas to stay away from the first two Triple Crown races. Buckle Down Ben has the sixth post and is 30-1. Four of Lukas' 13 Triple Crown wins have come in the Belmont, including an upset last year with Commendable. The other newcomer is Team Valor's Dr. Greenfield, an Irish horse that has three victories in four career outings. Dr. Greenfield is 30-1 from the seventh post. Congaree, a Baffert-trained horse who was third in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, is not entered in the Belmont. Post time is 6:04 p.m. EDT Saturday.
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