McPeek looking to upset I’ll Have Another with his little known, Atigun
J. Paul Reddam’s I’ll Have Another ran two big races in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, and now he is bidding to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown in the history of American Thoroughbred horseracing, and with those two
big efforts, there is a possibility that he might falter at Belmont Park in the “Test of the Champion” and conditioners will be looking to capitalize over any mistake the Flower Alley colt makes in the Belmont Stakes on 9 June.
One trainer, who is looking for a serious upset in the Belmont Stakes, is Kenneth McPeek, who will be looking forward to the occasion with two of his solid 3-year-olds that he brought to run in New York.
Kenneth McPeek has done it once, when he saddled a 70 to 1 long shot, Sarava in the 2002 edition of the Belmont Stakes.
Against the likes of, War Emblem, Sarava coupled with jockey Edgar Prado ran a huge race, and thanks to a troubled trip by War Emblem, Sarava found his way in the stretch and downed, Medaglia d’Oro in second by half-length.
That little fact should be considered seriously, as the 49-year-old conditioner definitely has some street cred when it comes to toppling over big names in big races.
“Weird things happen in this race and you can’t count anybody out,” McPeek said June 5 from Belmont Park.
McPeek will be running the Shortleaf Stable owned, Atigun in the Belmont Stakes, who has won thrice in nine starts thus far, and is currently exiting a victory in an allowance/optional claimer over a distance of 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs on 5 May,
2012.
Bred by Brereton C. Jones in Kentucky, the son of Istan as a juvenile capped off his 2011 season with a fifth place finish in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, and this year he finished 11th in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes and fifth in the Grade 1
Arkansas Derby to winner, Bodemeister.
“I think he will run all day and he has trained exceptionally well,” McPeek said. “If I’ll Have Another runs his race, I don’t think anybody will beat him. But at the same time, he’s been running hard and a lot can happen.”
Unstoppable U is also trained by Kenneth McPeek, but he is a probable for the Belmont Stakes, and the reason for that is that the colt is a little unseasoned.
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