Union Rags wins the Belmont Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – At the top of the stretch in Saturday's 144th Belmont Stakes, Union Ragsyet again looked headed for trouble.Phyllis Wyeth's 3-year-old colt was blocked behind horses with seemingly nowhere to go. But with John Velazquez riding him for the first time, Union Rags determinedly budged through a narrow opening on front-running Paynter's left flank with eight strides to go and snatched a dramatic neck victory in the Triple Crownfinale.

"I waited for a hole to open up, and I got lucky," Velazquez said. "The horse did it all. … If it happens, it's brilliant. If it doesn't happen, you're a bum, basically."

• COLUMN: Even Triple Crown can't solve racing's problems

• STORY: I'll Have Another overshadows race day

• STORY: Bob Baffert needs Triple Crown 'for seconds'

An enthusiastic crowd of 85,811 showed up at Belmont Park, even after Kentucky Derby and Preakness winnerI'll Have Another was retired suddenly Friday with a tendon injury. It wasn't the drama they originally hoped to see, but it was an awfully good substitute.

Erased was the disappointment of a head defeat in theBreeders' Cup Classic, when Union Rags and Javier Castellano were wide much of the race and couldn't catch champion Hansen. And the third place by a total of 1¼ lengths in the Florida Derby, when he and Julien Leparoux were stuck behind horses and got clear too late. And, of course, the Kentucky Derby, when he broke awkwardly, was buried behind horses and did well to get seventh.

"We always thought this horse had Triple Crown potential," trainer Michael Matz. "… I do really think that this horse, when he has a clean trip and can show himself, is one of the best 3-year-olds in this crop. Whether he could have done something against I'll Have Another, I don't know. But it sure would have been fun to see."

For owner-breeder Wyeth, it was validation. She sold the colt for $145,000 as a yearling but bought him back for $390,000 the next year because she just had a feeling she was supposed to.

"I had a dream," said Wyeth, who owns only two racehorses. "I knew he would make it. … I knew Michael could do it with him. It was my dream, and he made it come true. Nobody would have gotten through on the rail other than Johnny, I can tell you that. That was unbelievable. He just said, 'Move over; I'm coming.'"

In the Paynter camp, it was another valiant but excruciatingly close defeat for ownerAhmed Zayat, trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Mike Smith, who completed their own unique Triple Crown of runner-up finishes. They also were second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with another front-runner in Bodemeister.

"I'm extremely proud of my horse. I thought he ran incredible," Smith said. "I'm not going to say I rode bad, but I made one little mistake: He (Union Rags) got inside of me, and it cost me the race. I'm a veteran. Ain't no one supposed to get inside of me."

After going the first quarter-mile in a reasonable 23.72 seconds, Smith got away with a leisurely half-mile in 49.23 and six furlongs in 1:14.72 with a clear lead over Unstoppable U. Union Rags, starting from post 3, was in striking distance on the rail throughout but was going to need an opening somewhere.

Velazquez set up the move by putting Union Rags in Smith's blind spot. But he still could only hope that 4-1 third choice Paynter would move ever so slightly off the rail. With 20-1 Atigun making a run on the outside, Smith switched to his left-hand stick — and Velazquez seized the opportunity.

"I said this could be my chance," he said. "… At first the hole was pretty tight."

Smith said he didn't see Velazquez until too late.

"I could have tried to make a difference, but you don't want to let the stewards (decide) the outcome of a race like this," he said. "If I tried to do anything, I was going to put him in harm, and I certainly didn't want to do that, either."

Velazquez, who will join Smith in racing's Hall of Fame in August, said Smith was too hard on himself.

"I was right behind him. He could not see me," he said. "We all do it. Sometimes it works for you, sometimes it doesn't. It worked today."

Union Rags finished the 1½ miles in 2:30.42, paying $7.50 as the narrow second choice to Dullahan.

"I thought he rode a brilliant race," Matz said of Velazquez. "Whether he got up there or wouldn't, he still rode a great race. … He's a strong rider, he knows Belmont, and those were some of the things that went into picking John."

Velazquez now has won three Triple Crown races, and all came after rider changes. He won the 2007 Belmont with Kentucky Oaks winner Rags to Riches jockey Garrett Gomezhad a prior commitment for the race. He won last year's Kentucky Derby on Animal Kingdom after Robby Albarado was kicked in the face by a horse.

Union Rags, a son of the late Dixie Union, is 5-1-1 in eight starts, earning $1,798,800 with the $600,000 payday.

"I don't think those things can be blamed on the horse," Matz, who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby with the ill-fated Barbaro, said of Union Rags' defeats. "I'm not blaming the riders, either. It was just circumstance that happened. But those were three races worth $5 million, so it turns out to be a big deal, yes."

The Kenny McPeek-trained Atigun, who seemed to threaten the winner in midstretch, finished another 1¾ lengths back in third at 20-1.

The biggest disappointment was 5-2 favorite Dullahan, who finished seventh in the field of 11.

"I thought he was the justified favorite, and he was going to show it here," said trainerDale Romans. "It is disappointing."

I'll Have Another spent the race in his barn after being honored with a retirement ceremony earlier in the day in the winner's circle and being paraded around the paddock to cheers.

"He's had an incredible run. In any sport you have to stay injury free. Unfortunately he came up with a slight injury. Could we have run him? Yes. But would that have been the right move? No," said trainer Doug O'Neill. "I was proud of the whole team. It was unanimous in not running him. It's been such an unbelievable run. He's a once in a lifetime horse. We're just focused on all the great part of this journey he took us through."

Union Rags has look of a champion but has to prove it

Were he a human athlete, he'd be that guy a team would want coming off the bus first -- the kind who reeks of powerful presence both in his physical makeup and mental focus.

Even if the connections of his 19 other competitors aren't conceding any part of the 138th Kentucky Derby to Union Rags, the universal opinion regarding the son of Dixie Union is he has the look of a horse who knows he's something special.

Whether or not he backs that up with his effort in the 11/4-mile classic Saturday, Union Rags has already proven exceptional in his ability to inspire confidence even when he shows chinks in his armor.

Union Rags has lost two of his last three starts -- first when he ran second to eventual champion Hansen in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs last November and more recently when he took third as the heavy favorite in the Grade I Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 31.

Even after those defeats, Union Rags is regarded by many as the one to beat in the first leg of the Triple Crown and would have been the morning-line favorite had Bodemeister not been so dominant winning the Arkansas Derby by 91/2 lengths on April 14.

As much as Thoroughbred racing is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately environment, it is also a sport that can produce ample excuses when things go awry.

In the Breeders' Cup, an extremely wide trip throughout was seen as the culprit for Union Rags' defeat by a head -- the lone loss in his four-race juvenile campaign. When Take Charge Indy finished 11/4 lengths in front of Union Rags in the Florida Derby, some thought the fact the bay colt was kept off the pace behind tepid fractions on a track that favors speed was too much to overcome regardless of talent.

"I think everyone knows he's a good horse," said trainer Michael Matz, who saddled Barbaro to victory in the 2006 Kentucky Derby. "The two races that he lost, they obviously know there was a problem, whether he got shuffled wide or get hemmed in.

"It was a length and a half that cost him two Grade I's, $1.2 million and an Eclipse Award, but there's nothing you can do about it," Matz said. "I'll settle for the consolation prize. If they told me which I had to choose from the Breeders' Cup or the Derby, I'll take that."

Much of the reason Phyllis Wyeth's colt has been forgiven for his bobbles is how striking he looked in his winning efforts and how much he stands out physically from many of his class.

His 71/4-length victory in the Grade II Saratoga Special last August still ranks as his most gaudy winning margin, but it was Union Rags' third career start in the Grade I Champagne Stakes last October that had people thinking the Breeders' Cup would be his coronation.

In that outing, he went from being hopelessly stuck behind horses to a 51/4-length win in a matter of strides. When he made his season debut this February in the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes, Union Rags again was able find another gear without breaking a sweat, winning that 11â „16-mile test by 4 lengths in his typical off-the-pace style.

"It's been amazing, the further he goes the stronger he gets," said Matz, whose only other Derby starter since Barbaro has been Visionaire, 12th in 2008. "He's really matured physically and mentally. I've had one great horse in Barbaro and I think I might have a second one."

Both around the barn and on the track, Union Rags gives off a rarefied air, so much so that his owner had seller's remorse after initially parting with the colt for $145,000 at 2010 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

Wyeth, the wife of famed artist Jamie Wyeth, says she had a vivid dream of her colt becoming a stakes winner and subsequently ponied up $390,000 to get her boy back.

"I really did have that dream. I said, 'How could I have sold him? That was a big mistake," Wyeth said in March. "He was so gorgeous and his temperament was so wonderful."

As much as his well-balanced build and smooth-as-silk stride contribute to Union Rags' aptitude, so too does his mature mind. He will need it in order to take care of himself in the most challenging race of his life, one his connections hope will not necessitate the need to find excuses for him.

"You can always train them as hard as you want to up to a race and hopefully you've done enough," Matz said. "It's exciting for me to be back again with a horse that really has a chance to win the Kentucky Derby if not the Triple Crown. And it's an exciting time for Phyllis. She's never had a horse like this."