It all comes down to the third jewel to complete the crown as I’ll Have Another wins the Preakness
Doug O’Neill if off to New York after his spectacular 3-year-old sensation, I’ll Have Another, bagged him the Kentucky Derby and recently the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness Stakes, a feat last accomplished by Big Brown in 2008, but threw away the chance of becoming immortal in the third leg, the Belmont Stakes.
I’ll Have Another will go to New York with the hope of becoming Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner, and the way he ran in both races, it is a common thought that I’ll Have Another is more lethal in the stretch than many three-year-olds seen in a long time.
The Flower Alley colt ran down Bodemeister, in the Kentucky Derby, and the rematch was on when the two were grinding it out in a gruelling rally for ultimate glory once again at Pimlico’s homestretch on 19 May, 2012, but this time over a shorter distance and no Trinniberg to make Bodemeister leggy, I’ll Have Another strong and rampant reeled Bob Baffert’s trainee after leading the entire race.
Mario Gutierrez was as confident as he was in the Kentucky Derby, got I’ll Have Another on the outside, and in a perfect position to shoot down the 17 to 10 favourite inches before the wire.
J. Paul Reddam’s I’ll Have Another tracked the pace in fourth early on, and as they drew closer to the finishing line, I’ll Have Another was pumped and ready to go, as he covered the 1 3/16 mile distance in 1 minute and 55.94 seconds, as Creative Cause well off the leaders finished third.
The Triple Crown was last swept by, Affirmed in 1978, and ever since that lucky day, there has been 16 horses who have gone on to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but missed the third and the final jewel.
There is no telling in horseracing, and we might witness a Triple Crown after all this time, and once again the 1 ½ mile long Belmont Stakes will be the decider since 2008.
There is something special about I’ll Have Another, so special that he might just end the 34 year Triple Crown drought.
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