2009 Belmont Stakes Undercard Part 2

By Cindy Pierson Dulay, About.com Guide

Winning trainer Todd Beattie said, "He loves going 6 furlongs at Belmont. I knew we were caught up in that 21 4/5 first quarter. But I also knew that Sixthirteen had to run a lot faster because he started flat-footed. I felt comfortable that he was not going to run by us. I know the track had a speed bias, and I didn't mind that. We won't rush back into anything. I'll have to speak to Mr. (Walter) Downey to discuss our options. Fabulous Strike runs pretty hard and I don't want to abuse him."

Jockey Ramon Dominguez added, "It was a dream trip for me with him breaking that sharp. That was going to be my No. 1 trip that I had in my mind, to be able to clear them and come to the rail. The only thing that really changed up was when (Benny the Bull) came outside of me. At that point, there was nothing more for me to do than to keep going. We were in a suicide mission, so to speak at that point because I wasn't going to take back in the middle. I'm very pleased with the way he continued- he's really just a running machine. I was aware Benny the Bull was going to be close, but I felt we were still running so it was going to take a real, real big run from Benny the Bull. My horse wasn't backing off."

The running time of 1:07.85 for 6 furlongs was just 0.19 seconds off the track record set by Artax in 1999.