With a steady rain falling, dual classic winner I'll Have Another galloped a mile at Belmont Park May 25 as he continued to prepare for attempt at history in the JUne 9 Belmont Stakes (gr. I).
The 3-year-old son of Flower Alley galloped for the first time since his arrival in New York following his game victory in the May 19 Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Accompanied by multi-millionaire stable pony Lava Man, I’ll Have Another and exercise rider Humberto Gomez went to the track shortly after the track maintenance break.
As the rain began to fall, Gomez kept I’ll Have Another well off the rail toward the center of the track. I’ll Have Another had his ears pricked forward as he rolled through the stretch before being pulled up on the clubhouse turn.
“He was a little hard to pull up,” Gomez told New York Racing Association officials. “He felt really good. We’re happy because he came out of the last race very good. He handled the track very, very well.”
“He looked super,” said Jack Sisterson, assistant to trainer Doug O’Neill. “One thing we were looking to see how he got over the track, stride-wise, and he looked fantastic. The rider said he felt good, and he’s happy, so we’re happy.”
Reddam Racing Stable’s colt, winner of the May 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), could become the 12th horse in history and first since Affirmed in 1978 to win the coveted Triple Crown with a victory in the Belmont.
NYRA reports as many as 11 challengers could face I’ll Have Another in the Belmont. They are Alpha , Atigun, Dullahan, Five Sixteen, Guyana Star Dweej, Optimizer , Paynter , Ravelo's Boy, Street Life, Union Rags , and Unstoppable U.