O’Neill and Triple Crown winning trainer Billy Turner conversed as I’ll Have Another galloped
Doug O’Neill’s decision to take his Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, I’ll Have Another, to Belmont Park the morning after winning at Pimlico was a huge decision, and it was backed by, Billy Turner, who saddled Seattle Slew to a Triple Crown sweep
back in 1977.
O’Neill found that out when he had a conversation with Billy Turner on 30 May, as I’ll Have Another galloped around the oval.
Turner said that bringing the colt earlier than later is a big edge over the rest of the contestants, because not only jockey’s need to get themselves familiar with the oval, horses too need to know how they have to adjust on a track which is a little heavier
from the Pimlico Race Course.
The tips Billy Turner gave Doug O’Neill would help a lot going into the Belmont Stakes, and the fact that O’Neill had been proactive rather than reactive so far, will obviously work in his favour.
The altered routine of workouts for I’ll Have Another shouldn’t really have an impact on how he runs in the Belmont Stakes said Billy Turner, but Turner did admit that he breezed Seattle Slew twice between the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes because he
was such a high energy horse.
On the other hand, I’ll Have Another is a mellow horse, and he is not needed to take the edge off him, so breezing is automatically not a good choice of work for someone who has been posting scintillating victories in come from behind fashion.
“I had asked him about breezing, because I’m not planning on breezing I’ll Have Another," O'Neill said. "He said he only breezed Seattle Slew twice between the Preakness and Belmont because he needed to take the edge off him, because he was such a high energy
horse. As you see I’ll Have Another is a pretty mellow horse, really.
“It was a great conversation and I let him know how much I appreciated him sharing his experience with us.”
The great thing with galloping I’ll Have Another the whole distance of 1 ½ miles over the Belmont Park is that the Flower Alley colt will get accustomed to the track way better than the rest of the lot.
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