(RESENDING)

*Sarava wins Belmont, spoils Triple Crown bid by War Emblem*
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By Doug Mittler 
SportsTicker Horse Racing Editor

ELMONT, New York (Ticker) -- After War Emblem won the Preakness 
Stakes, Bob Baffert said that the Belmont Stakes would be a 
"piece of cake." Sarava made him eat those words.

Sarava, a 70-1 long shot, was the stunning winner of Saturday's
134th Belmont Stakes, spoiling War Emblem's quest to become the
12th Triple Crown winner in racing history.

The third time was no charm for Baffert, the outspoken trainer
who won the first two legs of the Triple Crown with Silver Charm
in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998.  Both colts finished second in
the Belmont by less than 1 1/2 lengths combined.

Baffert came up way short on Saturday as War Emblem stumbled out
of the gate and collided with Magic Weisner.  War Emblem
regained his poise on the backstretch but faded badly down the
stretch and finished a distant eighth.

With War Emblem out of the picture, it was a two-horse race and
Sarava, with Edgar Prado aboard, nipped Medaglia d'Oro at the
wire for the biggest upset in Belmont Stakes history.

Sarava covered the grueling 1 1/2-mile race in 2:29.71 and paid
a whopping $142.50, $50 and $22.40.

Before Saturday, the biggest payoff for a Belmont winner was in
1961, when Sherluck brought home $132.10.

Medaglia d'Oro placed for $15 and $10.60. Sunday Break showed
for $7.10.

War Emblem became the 16th horse to come up short in the Belmont
after winning the first two legs, including seven in the last
21 years. And it was likely to the delight of the horse racing
brethren who are not fond of Baffert's sometimes brazen style.

"Before the race I told (jockey) Victor (Espinoza) the only
thing that could beat us is a bad break," Baffert said. "He did
the best he could with what he had. The race was lost at the
start. We just had bad racing luck today. I am going to reload
and hopefully come back next year."

A record crowd of 103,222 jammed Belmont Park, but they did not
see the sport's first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. With
the death of Seattle Slew last month, there are no living Triple
Crown winners.

Saudi Prince Ahmed bin Salman, who purchased 90 percent of the
colt three weeks before the Derby, was not around to see his
horse fail.  The prince remained home to attend to "family
obligations," but no announcement was made until about two hours
before the race.

Maybe it was better that he stayed away.

Espinoza did a good job of getting his horse back in the race
after speed horse Wiseman's Ferry and Medaglia d'Oro took the
early pace.  But Espinoza soon found War Emblem cornered along
the rail with nowhere to turn.

Yet Espinoza found a hole along the inside and found himself
within half a length of Medaglia d'Oro with one-half mile left.
War Emblem then had nothing left and soon became a non-factor,
finishing more than 40 lengths off the pace.

Sarava, which started from the extreme outside, took the lead at
the top of the stretch, overtaking Medaglia d'Oro and hanging
on for a half-length victory.

It was the first Belmont Stakes victory for Prado, who has
competed in five seven stakes races for trainer Ken McPeek and
won five of them.

"I thought I was in a good spot. I was following War Emblem,"
Prado said. "War Emblem made a nice move at the half-mile, but
it was only a 1/8-mile move. When I passed him, I knew I only
had one horse to beat."

It was sweet redemption for McPeek, who earlier this week was
fired as trainer of Harlan's Holiday by owner Jack Wolf.
Harlan's Holiday came up short as the Kentucky Derby favorite.
"This is a good win for Kenny," Baffert said. "He had the
Kentucky Derby and I know what that is like with all the
pressure.

Sarava was named for a signature greeting in Brazil that means
"good luck."  The horse had just that on Saturday, taking
advantage of the slow start by War Emblem and joining the list
of Triple Crown spoilers such as Victory Gallop and Touch Gold,
who ended Baffert's first two Triple Crown quests.

"Next time I win the Derby, I'm heading home," Baffert joked.

The New Phoenix Stable ownership group decided to enter Sarava
after his four-lenghth victory in the Sir Barton Stakes on
Preakness day.

The horse began his career on the turf in England and had two
wins and three seconds in his five starts in the United States,
all on dirt.  But none was anywhere close to the prestige of the
Belmont.

"I'm not totally surprised, but who wouldn't be pinching himself
at 70-1?" McPeek said. "I thought he was very much overlooked."

Preakness runner-up Magic Weisner rallied from the early bump to
finish fourth and was followed by Proud Citizen, Essence of
Dubai, Like a Hero and War Emblem.

Proud Citizen was found to have swelling in the ankle, but the
injury is not believed to be serious.

Wiseman's Ferry was ninth and Perfect Drift and Artax Too
completed the field.

st 06-08-02 21:15 et