I’ll Have Another luckily avoided an imminent accident at Belmont Park
The 3-year-old Triple Crown hopeful, I’ll Have Another dodged a bullet, when he was turning in his usual gallop at Belmont Park for the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on 9 June, 2012, when a loose horse nearly slammed into him during his work on 31 May, 2012.
The Flower Alley colt was training and getting ready for his 1 mile gallop around the Big Sandy oval, when a 3-year-old maiden, Isleta, unseated her rider and went charging toward I’ll Have Another, but luckily she missed the Doug O’Neill trained colt by a whisker, but gave the rest of the team a crazy scare before the biggest race of their lives.
Prior to the miss, NYRA had announced that the Belmont Stakes contenders will be given a 15 minute window for workouts and training sessions on the Belmont track from 8:30 am to 8:45 am.
I’ll Have Another was getting warmed up coming out of his stall on the outside rail, when the runaway horse went charging, but the mishap was avoided miraculously, as the filly from the barn of Carl Domino swerved and missed I’ll Have Another.
Moments after the near miss, I’ll Have Another turned in his customary 1 mile gallop.
“Once we dodged that, everything went well,” said O’Neill, who trains I’ll Have Another for J. Paul Reddam. “He jogged great, galloped super. I noticed every day he’s cooling out even quicker. He seems like he loves it here, and he’s really getting used to the oval and getting used to the footing, and I couldn’t be happier with the way he’s going.”
The young jockey sensation, Mario Gutierrez, will arrive at Belmont Park on 4 June, 2012, where he will be briefed on I’ll Have Another’s progress thus far, but O’Neill has assured that he will give Mario some other mounts get back on his game before the big race.
"His agent, the legendary Ivan Puhich, will be here with him. Ivan has probably been on the phone, hustling some, and we’re hoping to give him 10 mounts before the big race.”
I’ll Have Another is vying for a massive Belmont Stakes win, after two incredible come from behind victories over Bodemeister in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
Tags: