April 9, 2005
Kinsman Stable's favored Bellamy Road put on a show Saturday afternoon that awed 9,944 Aqueduct fans, NBC's national television audience, and even stable owner George Steinbrenner and trainer Nick Zito. The Concerto colt tied Aqueduct's nine-furlong track record of 1:47 on Saturday afternoon, winning the 81st running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Wood Memorial for three-year-olds by more than 17 lengths. Naturally, this was also the stakes record, breaking Private Terms' 1988 mark of 1:47 1/5. Bold Forbes held the Wood Memorial nine-furlong record of 1:47 2/5 from 1976 through 1987.
By winning New York's final major steppingstone to the May 7th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, Bellamy Road gives "The Boss" Steinbrenner, president of the New York Yankees, a legitimate Derby contender. It was the third Wood Memorial victory for trainer Nick Zito, who won this race in 1990 with Thirty Six Red and with Adonis in 1999. More importantly, it bolsters an already strong hand for Zito in the Kentucky Derby. Last week, Zito ran 1-2 in the Florida Derby with High Fly and Noble Causeway, respectively. Next Saturday, he will be strong in the Toyota Blue Grass at Keeneland with Sun King and in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park with Andromeda's Hero. All could make "The Run for the Roses," but they will have a lot to do to top Bellamy Road's Wood Memorial effort.
"I told Javier (Castellano, jockey) that the plan was to let him get to the first turn," said Zito, who took over the training of this colt from Michael Dickinson in early 2005. "We'll take our chances, and just hope we don't get into a speed duel - and let the horse run his race, because he's a big, long horse and he wants to run free. Boy, he was unbelievable today. He just kept going." What is particularly impressive about Bellamy Road is that, since Zito has taken over his conditioning, he has put in two huge efforts. On March 12th, he won a one-mile Gulfstream Park allowance by more than 15 lengths in 1:35 4/5.
"I hope Bellamy Road stays this way for four weeks, and he'll have a good shot, too," said Zito, who also won the Kentucky Derby in 1991 with Strike the Gold. "He had a great race first time out. If you heard what [fellow trainer] Shug McGaughey said, of all the horses in Florida, this one really impressed him. Obviously, he ran back to that race. I'm happy for George (Steinbrenner). It's like being a parent. You're not going to take one son or daughter over another. I'm just happy (Bellamy Road) is in the family."
Bellamy road broke from post 3 and easily grabbed an uncontested lead on a track that was lighting fast. His fractions under jockey Javier Castellano were :23; :46; 1:09 4/5 and 1:34 2/5, and he never looked distressed. "He wasn't pressured," Castellano said. "He wants to go longer, no question about it; the more distance, the better. He's an impressive horse. He's really unbelievable. He looked beautiful today. I'll keep my fingers crossed and pray that everything works out good."
"I'm just happy to be in the game with this many horses at this time," Zito said. "We'll see what happens next weekend. We have two spots with Sun King and Andromeda's Hero. This is pretty impressive today, there's no question. We flew Bellamy Road up Thursday night from Kentucky. He took the ship well. He took the van ride well over to Aqueduct. When he was in the paddock, he was calm and collected. As soon as he got on the track, you saw him prancing. He might be a special horse. This is tremendous, his last two races."
Survivalist, who is trained by Hall of Famer McGaughey, rallied to be second by three-quarters of a length over Scrappy T. "I thought he ran a good race," McGaughey said. "We had to get into the action earlier than we wanted to, but he gutted it out and he looked good. As for Bellamy Road, I was impressed with him. He's a pretty talented colt. It's going to be different on Derby Day, since he won't be on the lead by himself. But Nick (Zito) is in a very good spot right now." On Sunday, McGaughey said there are no plans for the Phipps Stable homebred and added that the Kentucky Derby was a "very slim possibility."
Scrappy T, who won the Count Fleet on the inner track here this winter, was eight lengths in front of Galloping Grocer. Naughty New Yorker, Pavo and Going Wild have, in all likelihood, taken themselves off the Derby trail. "The saddle slipped up on him a little bit, and that probably cost him second money," said Scrappy T's trainer, Robert Bales. "Obviously, the winner is a real nice horse. I haven't thought about what we'll do next."
