In the crosshairs

War Emblem prepares for historic run

War Emblem goes through the paces at Belmont. AP

By David Seigerman, Special to CNNSI.com

ELMONT, N.Y. -- After toying with the fields in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, War Emblem finally has become someone else's play thing.

Perfect Drift, who finished third to War Emblem in the Kentucky Derby, has spent the last two weeks nuzzling, knocking and gnawing on a green rubber Jolly Ball hanging from a bungee cord outside the front of his stall. But this is no ordinary horse toy. Trainer Murray Johnson has made certain customized additions -- in black marker, there's a rough rendering of a racehorse on one side of the ball, the name War Emblem on the other.

It would be like Mike Tyson taping a picture of Lennox Lewis to his speedbag -- presumably, right down to the biting.

"He pops it with his nose or goes after it with the teeth," said Johnson, whose horse skipped the Preakness after finishing 4 3/4 lengths back at Churchill Downs. "I wouldn't want it to be me he's chewing on like that."

Actually, there's little chance Perfect Drift or anyone else will forget what the target is in Saturday's Belmont Stakes. War Emblem has been in everyone's sights since winning the Preakness three weeks ago. Virtually every step of his quest to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 has been followed by a flock of fans, media and would-be historians. Even in getting his first taste of the Belmont track surface Thursday, War Emblem was trailed by a sizable pack.

"He's not only tough, he's mentally tough," said War Emblem trainer Bob Baffert. "He's getting used to all the cameras; I see his little ears clicking away. He's cool now. He knows he rules the barn."

Ironically, it's the traditionally laid-back Baffert who seems the more nervous of the two. War Emblem's familiar feistiness never surfaced Thursday; he didn't kick or nip at anyone, as has been his disposition. Baffert, though, has been candid about his own unsettled emotions. "You're nervous when you know you can do it," he said.

Baffert has had the opportunity to do it before. Silver Charm lost a Triple Crown shot at the Belmont by 3/4 of a length in 1997, and Real Quiet missed becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner by a nose a year later. The hard-learned lesson Baffert carries with him this time around: "Losing is not very fun."

In spite of his nervous anticipation, Baffert, characteristically, has taken advantage of his return to racing's spotlight. He was on a nationally syndicated radio show Thursday morning before getting to the track and had plans to hook up with Ralph Lauren later in the day.

"The horse-racing world needs a horse going for the Triple Crown. When history is being made, everyone gets involved," said Baffert, who was on hand in 1996 to watch Cigar go for his record 16th consecutive win and saw Kirk Gibson hit his memorable home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. "If somebody else's horse was going for it, I'd still like to see it happen."

That is where Baffert's opinion differs from that of his colleagues (another Triple Crown tradition, it would seem). There are some who admittedly would appreciate being on hand for a historic victory. "If I don't win, it would be nice to see a Triple Crown," said jockey Jose Santos, who will ride Artax Too in the Belmont.

"Screw that," said trainer D. Wayne Lukas, whose Proud Citizen finished second in the Derby and third in the Preakness. "I'm not interested in that one iota. I'll be sick if he wins. I don't want him to win at my expense."

Lukas' bluntness can be forgiven. In 1999, Charismatic led the field turning into the stretch during his quest for the Triple Crown. But the colt finished third and sustained a career-ending injury. No horse has had the same chance since.

That said, though Thursday's talk centered on War Emblem's opportunity, no one was content to play second fiddle to a storyline.

"The pride is in winning it," said Niall O'Callaghan, trainer of expected pacesetter Wiseman's Ferry. "I don't ship just to be running. I don't come here to practice."

"No one is here to be the spoiler," said trainer Allen Jerkins, whose 30-1 longshot Puzzlement was scratched on Thursday with a foot injury. "You come to win a million dollars, you come to win a race as prestigious as the Belmont."

In fact, there's a popular notion that a Triple Crown coronation Saturday might not have much long-term impact on the sport's popularity. "Especially in the East, where nothing gets them excited, when the sun sets on Saturday they'll say, 'What about the Lakers and Nets?'" said Lukas. "I don't think if we had a Triple Crown winner there are going to be 10 percent more people in the grandstand next week. A Triple Crown winner, whenever it happens, will have to carry it through the fall to carry the fan base."

Still, posterity has a prestigious placement reserved for War Emblem, should the odds-on favorite succeed on Saturday.

And if he does, perhaps Johnson had better get out his pen. There will be a crown to color in on his caricature.

Horsing around