The Belmont Stakes : Trainer: Risen Star Status Definitely Uncertain

The same old noncommittal Louie Roussel is preparing Risen Star to run in Saturday’s $506,200 Belmont Stakes.

Roussel, the 42-year-old co-owner and trainer of the Preakness winner and third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, hasn’t changed for the six-horse windup to the Triple Crown. He is fraternizing with turf reporters at his barn, welcoming visiting priests and nuns and still sitting on the fence regarding Risen Star’s status for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont.

Risen Star, whose sire, Secretariat, won the Belmont 15 years ago to become the first Triple Crown champion in 25 years, has been installed as an 8-5 favorite, but the theatrical Roussel won’t say for sure whether his horse will run until after a 3-furlong workout this morning.

Although Risen Star has had several 2-mile gallops this week, he hasn’t been asked even to breeze since his 1-length win in the Preakness three weeks ago. The swelling in his right front ankle, reportedly caused by a training accident a week after the Preakness, has disappeared, but there is still a black spot under the skin.

Thursday, during the post-position draw here at Belmont Park, Roussel’s partner, Ronnie Lamarque, a New Orleans automobile dealer, was asked, in Roussel’s absence, about Risen Star’s Belmont status and said: “Last Sunday, we were very concerned, but now there’s a 95% chance that everything’s on go. What he does in the workout on Friday will tell us a lot. We’ve had (veterinarians) taking care of him, but the decision will be up to Louie, and I’m behind him 150%.”

The only surprise at the draw was that trainer Wayne Lukas decided not to run Dynaformer, the Jersey Derby winner, as an entry with Winning Colors, the Kentucky Derby winner and third-place finisher in the Preakness who was listed as a 9-5 second choice behind Risen Star.

“Dynaformer has not shown that much enthusiasm since the Garden State race,” said Jeff Lukas, Wayne’s son and chief aide.

Cefis, who will try to give trainer Woody Stephens his sixth Belmont victory in the last seven years, drew the inside post and was listed at 12-1 odds with Laffit Pincay aboard. Outside him, in order, are Granacus, with Jacinto Vasquez riding, at 8-1; Winning Colors, Gary Stevens, 9-5; Kingpost, Robbie Davis, 15-1; Risen Star, Eddie Delahoussaye, 8-5, and Brian’s Time, Angel Cordero, 5-2.

Winning Colors, because she’s a filly, will carry 121 pounds, the five other starters 126. Of 18 filly starters in the Belmont, only 2 have won, neither at the existing distance. Ruthless won the first Belmont, in 1867, when the race was 1 5/8 miles, and Tanya won at 1 miles in 1905.

Besides running for the $303,720 winner’s share of the purse, Risen Star, Brian’s Time and Winning Colors--the 1-2-3 finishers in the Preakness--have a chance to win the $1-million Triple Crown bonus that was offered for the first time--and won by Bet Twice--last year.

Based on a 5-3-1 point system, Risen Star and Winning Colors have 6 points apiece, and Brian’s Time has 3. To win the bonus, the late-running Brian’s Time would have to finish first in the Belmont while both Risen Star and Winning Colors finish third or worse.

Roussel is already a millionaire--his millionaire father, a former New Orleans streetcar conductor who sold leases to major oil companies, has taken care of that--and a sometime attorney whose pragmatic ways belie his zany behavior around the backstretch.

Roussel has done more for black than Gary Player. The trainer has a black mustache that makes him look like a road-company Gaylord Ravenal, and he wears a black baseball cap and a black jacket. He goes out of his way with reporters, remembering everyone’s name, complimenting out-of-town newspapermen on stories that he probably hasn’t read.

He keeps everybody on guard. A smoker will be asked to put out a cigarette, because Roussel doesn’t believe that it’s healthy. The other morning, Roussel gave a reporter 20-1 odds that he couldn’t hit an empty oil drum with a small cone that had fallen from a fir tree.

The reporter’s shot was slightly long, and Roussel collected his $1. “That’ll pay for the morning’s coffee,” he said.

But for a trainer who has never before had a major horse and who has never saddled more than 18 winners in one year, Roussel is uncharacteristically conservative. He almost scratched Risen Star from the Preakness because of a muddy track, and he may not commit himself to running in the Belmont until just before the race, as he did at Pimlico.

THE FIELD

PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER 1 Cefis Laffit Pincay Woody Stephens 2 Granacus Jacinto Vasquez Patrick Collins 3 Winning Colors Gary Stevens Wayne Lukas 4 Kingpost Robbie Davis Dianne Carpenter 5 Risen Star Eddie Delahoussaye Louie Roussel III 6 Brian’s Time Angel Cordero John Veitch

PP OWNER ODDS 1 James Ryan, Robert Kirkham 12-1 2 Steven Stavro 8-1 3 Eugene V. Klein 9-5 4 Mark Warner 15-1 5 Louie Roussel III, Ron Lamarque 8-5 6 James W. Phillips 5-2

Weights: Each 126 pounds except Winning Colors at 121 pounds. Distance: 1 1/2 miles. Purse: $506,200 if 6 start. First place: $303,720. Second place: $111,364. Third place: $60,744. Fourth place: $30,372. Post time: 2:30 p.m. PDT, Saturday. TV: Channels 7, 3, 10, 42.