‘Quality Road’ wins Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park
The Metropolitan Handicap is an American Grade I thoroughbred horse race which is held annually during the last week of May on an annual basis. It is also known as the "Met Mile”.The venue for this race is the famous Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is open to three years or older thoroughbred horses and is run on dirt over a distance of one mile. This race was first run in 1891.
The Memorial Day was celebrated on 31 May 2010 in the United States of America. It is a day which is remembered for those who have died in the nation's service. At this time of the year, dozens of sporting events take place from coast to coast in the vast countryland. The major stakes races are held all across the country. The people of America like to celebrate their national holidays with sporting events of every dimension and category. But as the horseracing courses fill up with people, the one venue that gathers the highest number of people is the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. The race was run for 117th time on this track only yesterday and the prize money for the event was fixed at $500,000. This makes it the most influential thoroughbred race in America. The Met Mile is a historically important race worth seeing, which brings plenty of competition.
The Grade-1 mile requires a lot of speed and stamina to gain glory at the track, which is the foundation of the American breed. And, hardly there could be any names found in the history who have won a G-1 thoroughbred horse race at one mile in the world other than the ‘Met Mile’ list of champions.
The contenders for the Met Mile 2010 were ‘Quality’ who was trained by Todd A Pletcher, ‘The Musket Man’ was trained by Derek S. Ryan, ‘Tizway’ was trained by Harold James Bond, ‘Convocation’ was trained by James A. Jerkens, ‘Le Grand Cru’ was trained by H. Allen Jerkens, ‘Warrior’s reward’ was trained by Ian R Wilkes, ‘Kensei’ was trained by Steven M. Asmussen and ‘You and I forever’ got his training from Martin D. Wolfson.
Out of these eight horses, the favorite contender to run on this race was ‘Quality Road’. And there was heavy betting involved over it. He is the Donn Handicap winner, and was once considered among the favorites for the 2009 Kentucky Derby.
‘Quality Road’ stamped himself as the best older male in America on dirt in the $500,000 Metropolitan Handicap. ‘Quality Road’s’ opponents made him battle at every step of the way, but the four-year-old shrugged off every challenge to power through a clear win at the Belmont Park. ‘Quality Road’ completed the stipulated one mile on a track which has been rated as fast in a matter of 1 minute and 33 seconds, close to the stakes record of 1 minute 32 seconds set by Honor and Glory in 1996. By winning again in the Met Mile 2010, ‘Quality Road’ stayed as the leader in the older male division. He has brought great fame and name to his trainer Todd A.Pletcher. He showed class at Met Mile with a thumping triumph. His trainerTodd Pletcher claimed after the race, “He’s such a versatile horse.” He set a track record at Saratoga Race Course at 6½ furlongs and two track records at the Gulfstream at 1 1/8 miles, and he showed today that he’s a brilliant miler.
Standing in Quality Road’s way were at least three horses of high quality in their own right with names such as ‘Musket Man’, ‘Warrior’s Reward’ and ‘Le Grand Cru’. ‘Quality Road’ was pressed on by ‘Le Grand Cru’ through an opening quarter of 22 seconds in the race and then again on a distance of 45 seconds. ‘Warrior’s Reward’ swept into his way near the quarter pole, but ‘Quality Road’ turned him away. He then fought against runners up horse ‘Musket Man’ to clinch victory.
Musket Man, who stood at third place in last year's Kentucky Derby and BlackBerry Preakness Stakes, ran a strong race to finish second on the track. ‘Musket Man’ was 1 1/2 lengths clear of third-place finisher ‘Tizway’. ‘Musket Man’, no worse than third in all 12 of his lifetime starts, finished in front of ‘Tizway’, who in turn was followed by ‘Convocation’, ‘Le Grand Cru’, ‘Warrior’s Reward’, ‘Kensei’, and ‘You and I Forever’.
In a brilliant display of speed and talent, ‘Quality Road’ has emerged as America’s leading contender horse. And it has proven that winning on multiple tracks is not very difficult. All eyes are set towards the battle of ‘Quality Road’, possibly against ‘Zenyatta’ and ‘Rachel Alexandra’ in the Breeders' Cup Classic. It will be held at the Churchill Downs on November 6, 2010, with a purse of $5 million.
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