TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

REMARKS: At the Kentucky Derby three weeks ago, trainer Woody Stephens was saying: “I don’t have a Belmont Stakes horse this year.”

This from the man who has won the last four Belmonts--with Conquistador Cielo in 1982 and with Caveat, Swale and Creme Fraiche in the three previous years.

Well, a Hall of Fame trainer like Stephens is entitled to change his mind, isn’t he? Danzig Connection has changed Stephens’ mind for him, running his way into the Belmont on June 7 with a three-quarter-length victory over Clear Choice Sunday in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont.

“I’m gonna run in the Belmont,” Stephens said Monday at Garden State Park, where he saddled I’m Sweets to win the $152,500 Jersey Belle Stakes. “For one thing, it’s a weak field this year. Any of my four Belmont winners would have been able to beat this bunch. Danzig Connection isn’t as good as any of those four--not even close--but because it’s a weak field, maybe he’s got a chance.”

Before the Peter Pan, Danzig Connection’s only stakes win had come via the disqualification of Storm Cat in last year’s World Appeal at the Meadowlands. Storm Cat later won the Young America Stakes at the Meadowlands, the victory standing up as Danzig Connection ran second.

This year, since recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery for the removal of a bone chip, Danzig Connection was third and second in two races before his win in the Peter Pan.

Stephens will take a hot hand, if not the best horse, into the Belmont. His stakes win at Garden State Monday was the fourth in nine days, the first two coming at Belmont Park with Glow in the Saranac and Lotka in the Acorn.

The Belmont is expected to have a small field, and now that Snow Chief will also apparently run in the race after his win in Monday’s $1-million Jersey Derby, there could be ever fewer participants.

“If we run,” said Carl Grinstead, the co-owner of Snow Chief, “a thing that might worry me would be a couple of speed horses in the field.”

Imperious Spirit, a horse who was second in the California Derby and seventh Saturday in the Will Rogers at Hollywood Park, has an airline reservation to New York for the Belmont. But with Snow Chief and Ferdinand both likely to run, it’s probable that Imperious Spirit will run instead in the Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 14.

Another horse headed for the Ohio Derby is Broad Brush. He was third in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but trainer Dick Small can think of better things than taking on Ferdinand and Snow Chief again.

Career Horse S 1 2 3 Earnings 1.Snow Chief 16 10 2 1 $2,730,940 2.Ferdinand 11 3 4 3 1,020,300 3.Ogygian 5 4 1 0 143,320 4.Rampage 9 4 2 0 365,086 5.Broad Brush 11 7 1 2 650,443 6.Tasso 12 6 3 2 1,012,309 7.Danzig Conction 11 4 4 2 240,060 8.Badger Land 14 5 2 0 519,625 9.Pillaster 7 3 1 1 260,144 10.Fobby Forbes 10 4 4 0 323,470