By Jerry Burke
The answer is simple: He would have been only the 12th horse to claim all three jewels of the Triple Crown. But rather than focus on the 'what ifs' the crowd of 62,274 at the Belmont Racetrack instead cheered the horse who was racing for more than just the big purses.
Jockey Jeremy Rose had an easier time turning the impressive colt loose in the final stretch than he did at the Preakness, where a near collision forced the horse nearly to his knees and almost cost Rose his life. But both athletes recovered and cruised to victory.
The win at Belmont on Saturday was a lot less harrowing. After hanging back for the first mile, Afleet Alex rode past the competition like they were frozen solid at the final turn, setting a new record of 24.50 seconds in the final quarter mile of the 1 and 1/2 mile race, a half-second better than legendary Secretariat did in 1973. Overall, Alex ran the race in 2:28.75, more than four seconds off of Secretariat's 2:24 benchmark in a race he won by 31 lengths.
"He's a beast, he's a freak of nature, he's made out of steel," Rose said after the race. "He's the best 3-year-old in the country."
With the crowd cut in half from last year's 120,000 who came out to watch Smarty Jones fail in his quest to win the Triple Crown, most in attendance found the day to be less hectic than the previous three years, all of which had a Triple Crown possibility on the racecard. "It's so much quieter today, but I'm here to cheer on a great horse," said Rose Duvall of Maryland, who made it to all three races this year." After seeing that miracle at Pimlico [the Baltimore track were the Preakness is run], how could I not be here for him and that little girl?"
The little girl Duvall referred to was one of the champion's namesakes, 8-year-old cancer victim Alexandra "Alex" Scott, who died last August. Before she died, Scott founded the most profitable lemonade stand in history, a business whose proceeds go to pediatric cancer research.
Alex's Lemonade Stand, which made $11,000 at the Kentucky Derby and $18,000 at the Preakness, was open for business at Belmont and 30 other racetracks across the United States and Canada Saturday. In addition, a healthy portion of all of Alex's winnings go to pediatric-cancer charities.
Afleet Alex, who had to be hand-fed as a yearling because his mother could not nurse him, became just the 11th thoroughbred to win the Preakness and Belmont after running, but not winning the Derby.
Alex easily won his "rubber match" with Giacomo, the 50-1 longshot who came out of nowhere to win the Derby last month. He finished seventh in the Belmont field of 11 3-year-olds. Andromeda's Hero was second and Nolan's Cat was third.
"He should be a Triple Crown winner, but I messed up," Rose said, referring to Afleet Alex's third-place finish at Churchill Downs.
Indy Storm came in fourth, followed by A.P. Arrow, Chekhov, Giacomo, Southern Africa, Watchmon, Reverberate and Pinpoint.
Sent off as the even-money favorite, Afleet Alex returned $4.30, $3.60 and $3, while Andromeda's Hero, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, paid $8.20 and $5.80. Nolan's Cat, with Norberto Arroyo, Jr. aboard, paid $7.20 to show. The exacta (9-7) paid $44, with the trifecta (9-7-1) paying $1249 and the superfecta (9-7-1-10) at $14,219.
With the win, Afleet Alex became just the second favorite in the last 10 years to win the Belmont, where four of the previous six races produced huge payoffs. Last year, Birdstone spoiled Smarty Jones' Triple Crown try and returned $74 for a $2 win ticket. In 2002, Sarava won and paid $142.50.
Afleet Alex, with his eighth win in 12 starts, earned $600,000 from the $1 million purse and boosted his total winnings to $2,765,800. Cash Is King Stables, which was formed by five friends from the Philadelphia area, bought Afleet Alex for $75,000 last year.
Officials believed the possibility of rain, which ended up being only a brief shower in the later afternoon, may have combined with the lack of a Triple Crown winner to drive attendance so much lower from last year. Despite the dip in the numbers, the crowd tended to be less of a party atmosphere and more of a celebration of racing. "We have been going to the Belmont for years," said Mark Davis of Hicksville, who came with his wife and two children. "It's just a very pleasant way of celebrating what Long Island has to offer."
Bad start, great finish
On Saturday, Afleet Alex became the 18th horse to win both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes after failing to capture the Kentucky Derby.
Horse Year Derby finish
Cloverbrook 1877 Did Not Run
Duke Of Magenta 1878 DNR
Grenada 1880 DNR
Saunterer 1881 DNR
Belmar 1895 DNR
Man o' War 1920 DNR
Pillory 1922 DNR
Bimelech 1940 2nd
Capot 1949 2nd
Native Dancer 1953 2nd
Nashua 1955 2nd
Damascus 1967 3rd
Little Current 1974 5th
Risen Star 1988 3rd
Hansel 1991 10th
Tabasco Cat 1994 6th
Point Given 2001 5th
Afleet Alex 2005 3rd
