NEW YORK – Even without a Triple Crown on the line, the 143rd Belmont Stakes may indeed be the “Test of the Champion.”
The final leg of the Triple Crown features not only the rubber match between Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford on Saturday, but the top seven finishers from the Derby for the first time as well.
“Why did everyone pick this year to come back?” wondered a smiling Graham Motion, who trains Animal Kingdom.
After watching his Derby winner gallop around the 1 1/2-mile main track at Belmont Park on Friday morning, Motion declared his colt in “great form” and up to the challenge of taking on a slew of rivals for the third time in five weeks.
“To have seven horses come back from the Derby, and to have the winner of the Preakness and Derby, what more can you want?” Motion said. “Everyone wants to see a Triple Crown winner, but ultimately this is the test of champions and I think this really is going to be that test.”
Animal Kingdom is the 2-1 favorite in a field of 12 3-year-olds as he attempts to become the 12th horse to complete a Derby-Belmont double. The last to
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