Belmont Is Particularly Noteworthy

Exactly 257 days after he won his last race, Editor’s Note finally won another Saturday, and with this handsome chestnut, timing was everything. The race to break the losing streak was the Belmont Stakes, the last dance in the Triple Crown.

Editor’s Note had been every party’s wallflower before Saturday, a horse who had run the gamut of ways to lose. He was sixth in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness as the consecutive losses reached 10, and a couple of weeks ago, when asked what made this horse not tick, trainer Wayne Lukas succinctly said: “He doesn’t give a. . . .”

Even in the long stretch Saturday at Belmont Park, Editor’s Note seemed undecided whether he wanted to outrun Skip Away. Finally he did, winning by a length and giving Lukas his third consecutive Belmont win and his seventh Triple Crown victory out of the last eight races run. Lukas’ Triple Crown record had reached six wins in a row before he failed in the Preakness three weeks ago.

For Editor’s Note’s fourth win in 17 starts, a victory that was worth $437,880 to his owner, William T. Young, he was introduced to jockey Rene Douglas, who was subbing for Gary Stevens.

Stevens had ridden the colt in his previous victory--at Turfway Park on Sept. 23--and had persevered with Lukas’ frustrating horse through the last four pre-Belmont starts. But he has a shoulder injury and is going to be out for several months after he undergoes surgery Wednesday.

Douglas, a 29-year-old Panamanian who has been riding in the United States since 1993 and who has been on the Southern California circuit since mid-1994, got the assignment after trainer Randy Bradshaw, a former Lukas assistant, released him from a commitment to ride in Saturday’s Cinema Handicap at Hollywood Park. When Douglas found out he was coming, on Thursday morning, he did his homework. He sent for tapes of most of Editor’s Note’s races; he talked to Stevens about the horse, both in California and when Stevens arrived here; and he spent more time in the pre-race paddock with Lukas than a jockey more familiar with a horse might.

Despite Editor’s Note’s can’t-win resume, there were other jockey applicants. One was the veteran Eddie Maple, who won two Belmonts in the 1980s. “One of the things I like about Rene is that he’s got ice water in his veins,” Lukas said. “I knew he wouldn’t get rattled when they started singing, ‘New York, New York.’ ”

Unfortunately, there was also a dark side to this Belmont. Cavonnier, winner of the Santa Anita Derby and second to Grindstone in the Kentucky Derby, was favored at 3-1 Saturday and running like he might win at the top of the stretch, when he broke down.

Chris McCarron pulled him up, then jumped off and the gelding was vanned off the track. He has a serious tendon injury, just below the right knee, and although he could race again, his breeders and owners, Bob and Barbara Walter, probably will retire him.

Skip Away, who was second to Louis Quatorze in the Preakness, finished four lengths ahead of My Flag, a filly, in the Belmont. Louis Quatorze was fourth, six more lengths behind.

Running 1 1/2 miles in 2:28 4/5, Editor’s Note paid $13.60. He was 8-1 on the morning line, but the bettors, many of whom were in the crowd of 40,797, liked him better than that.

“He’s a horse who just keeps coming at you,” said Nick Zito, who trains Louis Quatorze and Saratoga Dandy. “He might not have been winning, but he never ran a bad race. Give the New York bettors credit. They had the winner at 5-1, and here they had the Preakness winner [Louis Quatorze] at 6-1.”

Young, a Lexington, Ky., horseman who bought Editor’s Note at auction as a yearling for $125,000, also raced Grindstone, who was retired the week after the Derby with a chipped knee. Young also co-owned Tabasco Cat, who won the Preakness and Belmont in 1994. Lukas’ other Belmont winner, last year, was Thunder Gulch, and the indefatigable trainer is now more than halfway there in chasing Woody Stephens’ record of five consecutive Belmont victories.

After the first half-mile, Editor’s Note was in 12th place, ahead of only two horses and 13 lengths behind Appealing Skier. The pace was especially fast for a Belmont--46 4/5 seconds, 1:10 4/5 and 1:35 4/5 for the mile.

Editor’s Note had moved into fifth place, on the outside, with half a mile to go.

“We were moving up little by little, without me asking him,” Douglas said. “I didn’t want to make the lead too early. And I didn’t want him to see the other horses. That’s the reason we were so wide. But then he saw Skip Away and hung a bit.”

At the half-mile pole, the horses ahead of Editor’s Note were Natural Selection, Skip Away, Louis Quatorze and Cavonnier.

Bob Baffert, Cavonnier’s trainer, couldn’t believe that his horse had been injured.

“I was shocked,” he said. “That was the last thing that entered my mind when I saw Chris pull him up. I thought it might have been an equipment problem, or that he had bled.”

In the last 100 yards, Editor’s Note made the lead, lost it briefly to Skip Away and then came back on.

“When it comes to a street fight,” Lukas said, “this horse is at an advantage. Had he come any closer to Skip Away, he might have had a piece of him.”

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Horse racing

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Editor’s Note, unhurried while outrun early, moved up outside approaching the end of the backstretch, continued his rally while four wide approaching the stretch, drifted out after catching Skip Away nearing the final furlong, then outfinished that rival. Skip Away, reserved after coming away in good order, eased inside South Salem just after entering the backstretch, came out five wide to split horses approaching the far turn, opened a clear lead nearing the stretch and fought it out gamely. My Flag, slow early, rallied approaching the stretch, but wasn’t able to gain on the leaders through the final furlong. Louis Quatorze, racing with mud calks, raced forwardly into the first turn while well out in the track, remained prominent for more than nine furlongs and tired badly. Prince Of Thieves, away slowly, moved up between horses to reach a striking position midway on the far turn but lacked a further response. Rocket Flash dropped back along the inside around the first turn and failed to be a serious factor. Natural Selection saved ground while showing good early foot, held on well until near the stretch and had nothing left. Jamies First Punch, never far back while saving ground, was finished when he angled out wide entering the stretch. In Contention had no apparent excuse. Traffic Circle broke slowest of all and failed to reach contention. Saratoga Dandy, racing with mud calks, was never close. Appealing Skier showed early foot but was finished before reaching the far turn. South Salem, hustled along after the start, stopped badly after entering the backstretch and was eased when unable to keep up. Cavonnier, well placed while five wide around the first turn and into the backstretch, rallied while continuing wide racing into the far turn, then pulled up lame after entering the stretch.