After winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in photo finishes, Silver Charm failed to complete his march into history yesterday when he was overtaken in the final 100 yards and lost the Belmont Stakes to Touch Gold by three-quarters of a length before a throng of 70,682 spectators at Belmont Park.
Silver Charm, the gray colt from California, seemed to have won the race in the homestretch when he caught and passed his old rival, Free House. But he simply did not see Touch Gold rushing past both of them on the outside. And, in a flash, the dream of a lifetime was gone: Silver Charm did not become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown, nor the first since Affirmed did it 19 years ago, and he missed the chance to win the $5 million bonus that went with sweeping America's three classic races for 3-year-olds.
''I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye,'' said the jockey Gary Stevens, describing the final seconds of the race aboard Silver Charm. ''It was Touch Gold, and Silver Charm never saw him.''
Touch Gold, who ran fourth in the Preakness after stumbling badly out of the starting gate, came back three weeks later to run a shrewd and strategic race in the Belmont. And he did it with a fiberglass patch wrapped around his left front foot, which he cut when he kicked himself during his disastrous start in the Preakness.
This time, he stalked the leaders during a slow pace and made the final turn for home still trailing Silver Charm and Free House. But after a rousing duel down the homestretch, he executed his coup, running down Silver Charm in the final strides. Free House finished another length behind in third place.
''It's sad not to have a Triple Crown,'' said Frank Stronach, the Canadian horseman who owns Touch Gold. ''But this is a competition. That's what racing is all about.''
The Silver Charm camp accepted the melodramatic defeat with grace. Bob Lewis, the beer distributor from Southern California who owns the colt with his wife, said: ''The horse is in a class that few reach. It was a wonderful ride from start to finish. We'll go on from here.
''How can you feel downhearted when you win the Derby and the Preakness and finish second in the Belmont?''
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29 сен 2024
