No sense to run Street Sense at Belmont

For those who disagree with the decision to keep Street Sense out the Belmont Stakes, think again.

Common sense says trainer Carl Nafzger and owner James Tafel made the right call in keeping their Kentucky Derby winner from a chance at avenging his narrow loss to Curlin in the Preakness.

Without a Triple Crown on the line in next Saturday's 1 1/2-mile Belmont, what's the rush to get back to the track and jeopardize the future of such a talented colt?

Nafzger and Tafel have more ambitious plans for Street Sense, including the $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga this summer and the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth Park in the fall.

Why send their colt out in the longest and most grueling race of the Triple Crown after he ran so gamely each time this year _ from a nose win in the Tampa Bay Derby, to a nose loss in the Blue Grass, to a breathtaking, rail-hugging rally in the Derby and a final-stride loss in the Preakness.

"There's not really any reason to go there," Nafzger said when asked about the Belmont a few hours after the disappointing Preakness defeat.

On Thursday, Nafzger didn't waver from his initial remark. That leaves the Belmont with Curlin as the likely favorite against Hard Spun, the Derby runner-up and Preakness third-place finisher.

Only three others were on the probable list early Friday _ Imawildandcrazyguy and Tiago, fourth and seventh, respectively, in the Derby; and Slew's Tizzy, winner of the Lone Star Derby.

It will be the second straight year the Belmont will be without the Derby winner, and the fourth time in the past 12 years.

"We'd love to go to the Belmont, but let's back off and look at a fall campaign," Nafzger said. "The Belmont is the ending of a spring campaign and the Travers is the start of the fall campaign. If we win the Belmont, then how can we bring him back sharp enough? We would not have time for a prep."

The Preakness loss hit Nafzger hard. The trainer was confident Street Sense would win to set up a chance at a first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978, but he knows it's time to regroup.

The process began Wednesday, when Street Sense worked 4 furlongs in 49 seconds at Churchill Downs. While the sporting thing might be to run in New York on June 9, Nafzger won't budge from his new plan, just as he stuck to his strategy to win the Derby.

Already, Street Sense is a history maker.

The son of Street Cry, out of Bedazzled, is the first winner of the BC Juvenile, first run in 1984, to go on and win the Derby. The colt became the first 2-year-old champion to take the run for the roses since Spectacular Bid in 1979. He also was the first winner off just two prep races.

There's more history to be made, too. No horse has won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the Derby, the Travers and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Nafzger said Street Sense will run next in either the Jim Dandy at Saratoga on July 28 or the Haskell on Aug. 5. There will be "a million races to choose from in the fall," he said, to prepare for the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Money doesn't seem to be an issue, either. Despite passing up a $600,000 payday for winning the Belmont, Tafel already has seen his homebred earn more than $3 million. The colt's value as a stallion is in the tens of millions and his stud fee most likely will be in the $100,000 range _ what last year's Preakness and Travers winner Bernardini stands for today.

Nafzger was noncommittal about Street Sense running as a 4-year-old.

"Knowing the offers that are coming in on this horse, which I don't know the details of, but I know it's getting economically impossible to run," Nafzger said. "But I also know Mr. Tafel. He's a sportsman and he wants to win."

A look at recent years may provide another reason the Derby winner won't run in the Belmont.

Giacomo won the 2005 Derby, finished third in the Preakness and seventh in the Belmont. His only other win after that was the San Diego Handicap. Afleet Alex was third in the Derby, won the Preakness and Belmont and was retired.

In 2004, Smarty Jones won the Derby and Preakness, finished second in the Belmont and was retired. Birdstone, on the other hand, skipped the Preakness after finishing eighth in the Derby and won the Belmont, Jim Dandy and Travers.

Funny Cide and War Emblem won the Derby and Preakness but were beaten in the Belmont. Funny Cide, a gelding, is still racing with only one significant win since the Preakness _ the 2005 Jockey Club Gold Cup. War Emblem's only other win was the Haskell Invitational before he was retired.

Also, Monarchos won the 2001 Derby and never won again, finishing sixth in the Preakness, third in Belmont and third in allowance optional claiming race. A year earlier, Fusaichi Pegasus won the Derby, ran second in the Preakness and skipped the Belmont. He won the Jerome Handicap, then finished sixth in the Breeders' Cup Classic in his final race.

No Street Sense in the Belmont? Makes perfect sense.