Ill Have Another Retired, Scratched from 144thBelmont Stakes, Triple Crown Bid Halted
By Kenneth Strong, Horse Racing Handicapper, Predictem.com
Ill Have Another has been officially retired from racing after being scratched from the 2012 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 9 due to tendonitis in his left front foreleg. The heavy favorite to win the 144thrunning of the Belmont and become the first Triple Crown winner in 34 years, Ill Have Another apparently injured the leg in his stall, but that report was unconfirmed.
Trained byDoug ONeill for ownerPaul Reddam of Windsor, Ontario, Ill Have Another was attempting to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed, who defeated Alydar after epic battles in the 1978 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes by respectively diminishing margins of 1 -lengths, a neck and a head.
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Eleven horses have had a chance to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed. All were favored in the Belmont and all lost. Ill Have Anotherwas thought by many to have had an excellent chance of winning the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown, due to a rare combination of pedigree, class, courage and an exceptional will to win.
The game 3-year-old colt by Flower Alley-Archs Gal Edith by Arch will fly back to California on Monday or Tuesday and begin the unwinding process. Purchased for $35,000, Ill Have Another retires with a record of 5-1-0 from seven starts including victories in the R. B. Lewis-G2, Santa Anita Derby-G1, Kentucky Derby-G1 and Preakness Stakes-G1 for earnings of $2,693,600.
Swelling was discovered in the left foreleg on Thursday, but the leg looked better on Friday and Ill Have Another was out for light exercise at Belmont Park in New York on Friday morning. The swelling appeared again however, and the decision was made to retire the fan favorite. The Ill Have Another team made the right decision, and it was announced at a Press Conference Friday morning in which owner Paul Reddam said in an emotional statement.”
“Im afraid history is going to have to wait for another day,
2012 Belmont Stakes Entries with Revised Morning Line Odds, Jockey and Trainers
Horse, Odds, Jockey, Trainer
1. Street Life (6-1) Lezcano, Brown
2. Unstoppable U (20-1) Alvarado, McPeek
3. Union Rags (5/2) Velasquez, Matz
4. Atigun (15-1) Leparoux, McPeek
5. Dullahan (9/5) Castellano, Romans
6. Ravelo’s Boy (50-1) Solis, Azpurua
7. Five Sixteen (50-1) Napravnik, Schettino
8. Guyana Star Dweej (50-1) Desormeaux, Shivmangal
9. Paynter (4-1) Smith, Baffert
10. Optimizer (20-1) Nakatani, Lukas
11. I’ll Have Another (SCRATCHED) Gutierrez, O’Neill
12. My Adonis (15-1) Dominguez, Breen
Check back late tonight for our 2012 Belmont Stakes Picks and Analysis.