HORSE RACING: BELMONT HAS NO SENSE.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

The competitor in Carl Nafzger wanted to enter Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense in the Belmont Stakes for a rematch with Preakness victor Curlin, but the trainer in him argued otherwise.

After Nafzger and owner James Tafel debated for two hours the viability of sending the colt to New York for the final leg of the Triple Crown, the trainer side won.

Street Sense will skip the Belmont so Nafzger can point him toward the Travers Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Classic later this year.

"The competitive side said, 'Go,'" Nafzger said Thursday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., where Street Sense has been training. "The logical side said 'No, no, no."'

Street Sense was healthy enough to tackle the 1 1/2-mile Belmont on June 9, Nafzger said. But when the dreams of a Triple Crown evaporated in the final yards of the Preakness two weeks ago, Tafel decided to try another route at history.

"Mr. Tafel said, 'Let's not chase spilled water,'" Nafzger said. "We spilled our water during the Preakness. We got beat."

Street Sense and jockey Calvin Borel appeared headed to a chance at the first Triple Crown since 1978 when they took the lead deep in the stretch at the Preakness. Curlin and jockey Robby Albarado, however, mounted a late charge to slip by at the wire.

Plenty of opportunities remain for Street Sense to make his mark, Tafel said. The colt could become the first horse to win the Derby, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the Travers and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

The Travers is Aug. 25 at Saratoga. The Breeders' Cup Classic is Oct. 27 at Monmouth Park.

Nafzger said there was concern Street Sense wouldn't have time to properly prepare for the Travers if he ran the Belmont. The horse will be able to rest and compete in one or two races between now and the Travers, including possibly the Jim Dandy.

"I know there's disappointment we're not going to the Belmont," Nafzger said. "But somewhere we want to make another stand."

Steve Asmussen, Curlin's trainer, said he was readying for another duel with Street Sense, but the small field remains challenging.

"I was fully prepared to run against him, as well as Hard Spun," Asmussen said.

Garrett Gomez, the nation's leading jockey, will replace regular rider Mario Pino on Hard Spun for the Belmont.

Interesting move: Kip Deville, a 4-year-old colt who finished sixth as the 7-to-5 favorite in the Shoemaker Mile on the turf Monday at Hollywood Park, was supplemented for $5,000 and entered in the $250,000 Californian on Saturday.

"The Shoemaker didn't take much out of him, and he has been training so well on the (synthetic) track here," explained Chip Dutrow, assistant to and brother of trainer Rick Dutrow, of the decision to run back in only five days.

Kip Deville, who was trapped along the rail just behind a slow pace much of the way, saw a three-race winning streak on turf snapped in the Shoemaker. The Oklahoma-bred son of Kipling has made his last ten starts on grass but began his career with five of his first seven outings on dirt. He won three of those five starts.

The Californian is the major local prep for the June 30 Hollywood Gold Cup.

The 12-horse field: Perfect Drift, Jon Court; Saint Stephen, Victor Espinoza; Porfido, Joe Talamo; Boboman, Alex Solis; Hockey the General, Martin Garcia; Jack's Wild, Brice Blanc; Sun Boat, Michael Baze; Wilko, Corey Nakatani; Buzzards Bay, Jose Valdivia Jr.; Kip Deville, Mike Smith; Grand Point, Aaron Gryder, and A.P. Xcellent, Richard Migliore.

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Photo:

Street Sense, right, with Calvin Borel, was nosed out by Curlin and Robby Albarado at the Preakness on May 19.

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

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