Union Rags, under new jockey John Velazquez, proved that he is the superstar everyone thought he was during the winter when he rallied up the fence to win the $1,000,000 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) by a head.
Coming off of a seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, in which he encountered a great deal of trouble, Union Rags was sent off as the second choice at 5-2 in a field of eleven, reduced from twelve by the scratch of I'll Have Another yesterday morning.
In the Kentucky Derby, Union Rags' trouble was due almost entirely to a sluggish start that left him too far off of the pace. In the Belmont Stakes, Union Rags broke much quicker before settling comfortably into the fifth position, about three to four lengths off of a slow early pace set by Paynter. The latter colt, under Mike Smith, quickly cleared the field after breaking from gate nine and held a one-length lead over Optimizer and Unstoppable U in the early stages of the race. My Adonis was racing in fourth, with Atigun, Five Sixteen, and Guyana Star Dweej racing in mid-pack. Ravelo's Boy, Dullahan, and Street Life were the early trailers.
Through very moderate fractions of :49.23, 1:14.72, and 1:38.85, Paynter continued to show the way while facing very little pressure. Rounding the far turn, he turned back a mild challenge from longshot Unstoppable U to briefly take a clear advantage, but Atigun was making a bold run on the far outside to reach contention, and Union Rags was rallying strongly along the rail. At the top of the stretch, it appeared as though any of those three could be the winner, but in deep stretch, Union Rags and Paynter pulled away ever so slightly from Atigun, with Union Rags triumphing by a head under a brilliant ride.
The final time for the twelve-furlong distance was 2:30.42. Atigun held on to finish third, almost six lengths clear of Street Life. Dullahan, the mild favorite at 5-2, failed to fire and finished seventh.
The winner is trained by Michael Matz and owned by Chadds Ford Stable.
-Keelerman
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