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Charismatic triple threat
Belmont could be crowning glory
On his way to the track, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness champion stepped on to Secretariat Ave. and crossed Count Fleet Rd., tree-lined lanes on the Belmont backstretch named for previous Triple Crown champions.
Tomorrow, Charismatic will take a run at getting his own road and becoming just the 12th Crown winner and the first since Affirmed 21 years ago.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who likes to get his work done at the crack of dawn, was there to oversee his horse's introduction to the Belmont racing surface.
"I liked the way he moved, he looks tighter, stronger," Lukas said. "He is getting rid of his baby fat he had prior to the Derby. He's a little more focused mentally, also. The (Triple Crown) has made him racier."
And then Lukas, who has trained winners of 12 Triple Crown races in his career, bordered on heresy when he likened his former claimer to one of the sport's greats.
"This is a terrible thing to say, but he looks just like Secretariat," Lukas said of Charismatic's great granddaddy and 1973 Triple Crown champ, who won the Belmont by 31 lengths.
"He's almost a clone -- a little larger than average, powerful, very correct through his limbs. He's perfect. And he's got a great heart-lung capacity."
This chestnut will need it all, too. Twenty-five horses have come to the Belmont with a chance at the Triple Crown and 14 have failed, including Real Quiet and Silver Charm the past two years.
Does Charismatic have the horsepower? Many wonder.
Unlike the late Big Red, Charismatic hasn't looked dominant and is far from a cinch in the field of 12 for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont.
After his win in the Derby at odds of 31-1, many dismissed Charismatic as one of those long bombs that occasionally find the target. He was 8-1 at the Preakness but won some over with a powerful winning move to seize the lead. But the final mile was raced in comparatively slow time without any serious challenges.
So some blanch at the prospect of a former $62,500 claimer -- who six weeks ago had won just one race -- joining the immortal ranks of Secretariat, Affirmed, Citation, Seattle Slew and the rest of the Triple Crown crew.
CONFIDENT
Still, Lukas has maintained all spring that Charismatic was better suited to the Belmont. The trainer is confident, but not counting a penny of the $600,000 US first prize or $5-million Triple Crown bonus on the line.
Charismatic galloped one mile and jogged another yesterday and returned to the barn, his neck ringed with a foamy wreath of sweat.
"He was eager to get out," Lukas said. "He was at the door all morning, waiting to go.
"This horse has fallen into a good scenario maybe to pull it off. That doesn't mean I'm sticking out my chest saying, 'We're going to do it.' I don't know, the Belmont can be a humbling race."