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Notebook Traveling to track makes for anxious momentsPosted: Tuesday June 04, 2002 9:48 PMNEW YORK (AP) -- War Emblem is two trips away from Triple Crown history. Before the 3-year-old colt can run in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, he'll make the trip from Louisville, Ky., to New York on Wednesday. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner is one of four Churchill Downs-based Belmont contenders who'll share an 8 a.m. flight. Also on board: Perfect Drift, Proud Citizen and Wiseman's Ferry. There will be human cargo, too, in the form of D. Wayne Lukas, who trains Proud Citizen. The horses will be loaded into vans at about 6:30 a.m. for a ride to the Louisville airport. "It's a time when it can be a little nerve-racking, worrying about all the little things," said Bob Baffert, who trains War Emblem. "I think trainers sort of worry ourselves to death because we know so many things can go wrong. The main thing is just to sit back and enjoy the whole ride and the excitement. Once we get to New York, I think we'll have fun."
Pace makes raceWith the Belmont draw looming Wednesday, strategy and placement was on the minds of some trainers. Neil Drysdale, who will saddle Sunday Break, said how the race unfolds depends on the draw. "We'd like not to lose a lot of ground," he said. Drysdale's last Belmont winner, A.P. Indy, started from the No. 1 post in 1992. That position has produced the most winners at 22. Thirteen winners broke from either the No. 2 or No. 4 posts. Bobby Frankel initially had his doubts about starting Medaglia d'Oro, who was a lackluster ninth in the Preakness and fourth in the Kentucky Derby. "He's come out of the Preakness really well and you've got to take a chance," he said. Frankel said someone is going to have to hook, or not let another horse go by during the race. "I hope they go faster so we can pick up the pieces," he said. Essence of Dubai, a $2.3 million colt owned by Sheik Mohammed al Maktoum, will try to improve on a ninth-place Derby finish. "Hopefully, we're not too far back. I could see him being about five [lengths] off the lead on the backstretch," assistant trainer Tom Albertrani said. "If the pace is slower, he could be closer. We're hoping the distance will suit him better and a stronger pace would give us a better shot."
Puzzling workWhile some of his rivals put in their final works Tuesday, Puzzlement spent the morning lolling in a sand pen at the Belmont barn of trainer Allen Jerkens. "His play pen," Jerkens said. The colt breezed 1 1/8 miles in 1:55 Monday, an unusually long distance so close to a 11/2-mile race. But Jerkens said it was the only way to make Puzzlement aware that he has a lot of running to do Saturday. "I hope people don't think I know more than anybody else," said Jerkens, who's been training in New York for 52 years. "I certainly don't have any reason to think I know more than anybody else. I haven't done any good in this race." Jerkens has had three Belmont starters; Best of Luck produced his highest finish of fourth in 1999.
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