Picking Up Where They Left Off : Sunday Silence, Easy Goer Will Start Belmont Side by Side

Sunday Silence, who will be trying to win the Triple Crown, and Easy Goer, the colt who finished second in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, will start side by side in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, in the Nos. 6 and 7 spots, respectively.

That came as good news Thursday for Shug McGaughey, Easy Goer’s trainer, who had been concerned about drawing the No. 1 post for the 10-horse, 1 1/2-mile race.

McGaughey wants to avoid close quarters racing on the rail, as occurred in the Preakness, and if Easy Goer can still be outside Sunday Silence heading into the stretch Saturday, he figures to have a better chance.

Sunday Silence was installed as the even-money favorite. If the bettors support him that way Saturday, it will be the first time that the colt has been favored in the Triple Crown races.

However, New Yorkers still might favor Easy Goer. He is locally based and is also running as an entry with Awe Inspiring, another McGaughey trainee who was third in the Kentucky Derby and later won the Jersey Derby.

Here is the field, starting at the rail, with jockeys and morning-line odds: Irish Actor, Eddie Maple, 25-1; Imbibe, Angel Cordero, 12-1; Triple Buck, Jose Santos, 15-1; Hawkster, Marco Castaneda, 30-1; Rock Point, Chris Antley, 12-1; Sunday Silence, Pat Valenzuela, even money; Easy Goer, Pat Day, 6-5; Le Voyageur, Randy Romero, 50-1; Awe Inspiring, Craig Perret, 6-5, and Fire Maker, Jerry Bailey, 20-1.

All of the horses will carry 126 pounds. The purse is $689,200, with $413,520 going to the winner. It will be a $5-million payday for Sunday Silence--counting his purses from the Derby and Preakness--if he sweeps the Triple Crown.

Victory by another horse leaves a $1-million bonus up for grabs between Sunday Silence, who has 10 points, and Easy Goer, who has six, based on their finishes in the first two races. First, second and third Saturday are worth five, three and one points, respectively.

THE BELMONT FIELD

PP HORSE JOCKEY ODDS 1 IRISH ACTOR Eddie Maple 25-1 2 IMBIBE Angel Cordero 12-1 3 TRIPLE BUCK Jose Santos 15-1 4 HAWKSTER Marco Castaneda 30-1 5 ROCK POINT Chris Antley 12-1 6 SUNDAY SILENCE Pat Valenzuela Even 7 a-EASY GOER Pat Day 6-5 8 LE VOYAGEUR Randy Romero 50-1 9 a-AWE INSPIRING Craig Perret 6-5 10 FIRE MAKER Jerry Bailey 20-1

a--Shug McGaughey trained entry.

TRAINERS (BY POST POSITION): 1. LeRoy Jolley; 2. Tim Kelly; 3. John Lenzini, Jr.; 4. Ron McAnally; 5. Sid Watters; 6. Charlie Whittingham; 7. Shug McGaughey; 8. Patrick Cohen; 9. Shug McGaughey; 10. William Badgett, Jr.

OWNERS (BY POST POSITION): 1. Kalarikkal Jayaraman; 2. Roslyn Farm; 3. Gary Marano; 4. J.S. Meredith; 5. George Cheston; 6. Arthur B. Hancock III, Charlie Whittingham and Dr. Earnest Gaillard; 7. Ogden Phipps; 8. Calumet Farm; 9. Ogden Mills Phipps; 10. Arthur Appleton.

WEIGHTS: Each 126 pounds. DISTANCE: 1 1/2 miles. PURSE: $689,200 if 10 start. First place: $413,520. Second place: $151,624. Third place: $82,704. Fourth place: $41,352. POST TIME: 2:30 p.m. PDT. TV: Channels 7, 3, 10, 42 (Coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. PDT).