BELMONT STAKES NOTEBOOK: RIVAL QUESTIONS REAL QUIET.Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer One rival's trainer thinks Real Quiet is good enough to win the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown. He just isn't sure the horse is great enough. ``When I think about a Triple Crown winner, I think of Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew,'' David Cross, trainer of Classic Cat, said Wednesday morning outside his Belmont Park barn. ``I would have trouble putting this horse in the same boat as those horses.'' Cross referred to Real Quiet's crooked-legged conformation con·for·ma·tion n. One of the spatial arrangements of atoms in a molecule that can come about through free rotation of the atoms about a single chemical bond. and 4-for-14 record. He also disparaged Real Quiet's Kentucky Derby victory. ``I didn't think it was a good Derby, that's all,'' said the Santa Anita-based Cross, who won the 1983 Derby with Sunny's Halo. He added: ``The Preakness was awesome. If (Real Quiet) runs that race again here, we're all running for second.'' Classic Cat finished third in the Preakness. Running shoes: If you put much stock in workout times, you must like Hanuman Hanuman Monkey god of Hindu mythology, a central figure in the Ramayana. He was a guardian spirit, the offspring of a nymph and the wind god. His great heroic exploit was recovering Rama's wife, Sita, from captivity by the demon Ravana. Highway. The California-based gelding went 4 furlongs in :45 3/5 and galloped out 5 furlongs in :58 under jockey Jose Santos here on a clear, windy Wednesday morning. The day's second-fastest half-mile work was :46 2/5 by 1997 2-year-old champion Countess Diana. Trainer Kathy Walsh said a pair of glue-on shoes, applied after one of the nails in a regular shoe bothered Hanuman Highway's right forefoot forefoot /fore·foot/ (-foot) 1. one of the front feet of a quadruped. 2. the fore part of the foot. , came through the workout in good shape. The Arkansas Derby runner-up was the only Belmont Stakes horse to work out Wednesday. Quick draw: The field and post positions for Saturday's race will be set this morning. Unlike Churchill Downs and Pimlico, which had owners ``draft'' post positions in an order determined by chance, Belmont will choose starting slots purely by lot. ``Why change something that's been done for 200 years?'' Cross said. ``It doesn't matter where you draw - you've got a mile and a half to overcome any problems.'' Ten horses are expected to enter: Real Quiet, Victory Gallop, Classic Cat, Hanuman Highway, Parade Ground, Raffie's Majesty, Yarrow yarrow, a plant of the genus Achillea, perennial herbs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native to north temperate regions. Several species are cultivated as ornamentals for their flat-topped clusters of flowers and scented foliage. Brae brae n. Scots A hillside; a slope. [Middle English bra, from Old Norse br , Thomas Jo, Hot Wells and Basic Trainee. Two others might enter: Grand Slam and Limit Out. Trainer breaks down: Trainer Elliott Walden is wearing a cast - painted red and green, the colors of Victory Gallop owner Prestonwood Farm - on his dislocated dis·lo·cate tr.v. dis·lo·cat·ed, dis·lo·cat·ing, dis·lo·cates 1. To put out of usual or proper place, position, or relationship. 2. right ankle. He was hurt in a basketball game, battling for a loose ball against Matt Muzikar, husband of jockey Julie Krone. Walden said he might ask Bill Mott to put the saddle on Victory Gallop Saturday. ``I figure he'd be a good assistant,'' Walden said of Mott, the two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer of Cigar. Bygones? Bob Baffert attributes Silver Charm's defeat in the 1997 Belmont Stakes to ``bad racing luck,'' believing the colt would have won if he'd seen Touch Gold, who rallied on the outside of Free House. David Hofmans, trainer of Touch Gold, scoffs. ``He (Silver Charm) had two or three lengths (lead) on us turning for home. He wasn't slowing down. (Gary) Stevens was riding hard,'' Hofmans said last week at Hollywood Park. ``I think he got beat by a better horse.'' But Hofmans said he'd like to see Baffert-trained Real Quiet do what Silver Charm couldn't - complete the Triple Crown. ``It takes a special horse to win it,'' Hofmans said. ``It doesn't matter who's in the field, if you win those three races, you're a great horse.'' TRIPLE CROWN HISTORY-MAKERS Mike Pegram, owner of Real Quiet, is hoping to join a colorful list of Triple Crown-winning horse owners: Commander J.K.L. Ross (Sir Barton, 1919) was a Canadian war hero. William Woodward (Gallant Fox, '30, and Omaha, '35) dominated the decade with legendary trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons. Samuel D. Riddle Samuel Doyle Riddle (July 1, 1861 - January 8, 1951). He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name in honor of his grandfather. Mr. Samuel D. (War Admiral, '37) kept the great Man o' War out of the '20 Derby, believing then that May 8 was too early in the season for a 3-year-old to carry 126 pounds. Warren Wright (Whirlaway, '41, and Citation, '48) turned his father's standardbred Standardbred Breed of light horse developed in the U.S., primarily for harness racing. The foundation sire was an English Thoroughbred imported in 1788; his progeny were bred with other breeds, especially the Morgan, to produce speedy trotters and pacers. farm, Calumet Calumet, region, United States Calumet (kăl`y  mĕt'), industrialized region of NW Ind. and NE Ill., along the south shore of Lake Michigan. , into a thoroughbred dynasty. John D. Hertz John Daniel Hertz (April 10, 1879 - 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner, and philanthropist. Born Sandor Herz in the village of Sklabiňa, Slovakia[1], then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, later Czechoslovakia, he (Count Fleet, '43) founded a certain car-rental company. Robert J. Kleberg Robert Justus Kleberg, (christened Johan Christian Justus Robert Kleberg), a notable German Texan, was born in 1803, in Herstelle, Westphalia, in the former Kingdom of Prussia. He was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. (Assault, '46) owned the King Ranch, producer of the only two Texas-bred Derby winners. Penny Tweedy (Secretariat, '73) saved Virginia's Meadow Stud after her father's incapacitation in·ca·pac·i·tate tr.v. in·ca·pac·i·tat·ed, in·ca·pac·i·tat·ing, in·ca·pac·i·tates 1. To deprive of strength or ability; disable. 2. To make legally ineligible; disqualify. in '67. Karen Taylor (Seattle Slew, '77) got the colt as a $17,500 gift from husband Mickey. Louis and Patrice Wolfson (Affirmed, '78) continued the tradition of women's strong involvement - she's the breeding expert in the family. --- Kevin Modesti CAPTION(S): Box BOX: TRIPLE CROWN HISTORY-MAKERS (see text) |
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