Preakness Winner Hansel to Run in Belmont

Hansel, the seven-length winner of the Preakness, will run in the Belmont Stakes June 8, trainer Frank Brothers said Wednesday.

Brothers’ decision to ship Hansel to New York will set up a showdown with Strike The Gold, who won the Kentucky Derby before running sixth in the Preakness. Hansel had been as big a dud in the Derby as Strike The Gold was in the Preakness, finishing 10th as the favorite at Churchill Downs.

Hansel and Strike The Gold, with 10 points apiece for their victories, are the leaders in the competition for the $1-million Triple Crown bonus, which goes to the owner of the horse that runs in all three races and has the most points based on high finishes. Mane Minister, with six points for his third-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness, and Corporate Report, with five points for a second in the Preakness, are the only other horses eligible for the bonus.

Hansel, a horse who bleeds from the lungs and usually runs with Lasix to curb the condition, will not be able to use that medication because of New York’s no-drug policy.

Hansel worked half a mile Tuesday at Arlington International, where Brothers’ horses are stabled, and was timed in :48 2/5. Brothers said that Hansel would be flown from Chicago to New York Friday and is scheduled to have his final workout before the Belmont Tuesday.

A field of 10 or more horses is expected for the Belmont. The owners of Lite Light are reportedly leaning toward running in the Mother Goose, a race for 3-year-old fillies the day after the Belmont. A filly hasn’t won the Belmont since Tanya in 1905. In the Mother Goose, Lite Light would be running against Meadow Star, last year’s champion 2-year-old filly who was undefeated until she ran fourth against colts in the Wood Memorial last month.