Making Himself at Home

When Kent Desormeaux chased--and eventually broke--Chris McCarron’s record by winning 598 races in 1989, he rode frequently at Belmont Park. Based in Maryland, Desormeaux, only 19, went everywhere in the interest of piling up wins, and almost every Monday and Tuesday he found himself in action at Belmont.

So the sprawlingly unique Belmont oval will not be a strange element for the 28-year-old Desormeaux today as he, trainer Bob Baffert and the overachieving Real Quiet dance their final dance with racing history. The Kentucky Derby and the Preakness are already in the bag, and a victory in the 130th Belmont will give Real Quiet the Triple Crown. Only 11 3-year-olds before him, none since Affirmed in 1978, have swept this arduous series.

By the time Desormeaux boards Real Quiet late today for the Belmont, he will know the track as well as he does the layouts in Southern California, where he rides most of the year. For a refreshercourse, Desormeaux arrived in New York on Wednesday, and he will have ridden in eight races over the track before the Belmont. He has already won twice here for a pair of California trainers, Bobby Frankel and Walter Greenman.

Another part of Desormeaux’s Belmont orientation course was consulting with colleague Gary Stevens about riding for the Triple Crown. Last year, Stevens was in Desormeaux’s shoes, gunning for the Belmont with Silver Charm after winning the Derby and the Preakness. Silver Charm finished second to Touch Gold, and this year Stevens could be cast in the spoiler’s role, riding Victory Gallop against Real Quiet.

Real Quiet, breaking from the No. 8 post, is the 6-5 choice on the morning line, followed by Victory Gallop, second in both the Derby and the Preakness, at 7-2. Next comes the 6-1 Grand Slam, considered dangerous because he’s undefeated in four Belmont Park starts and comes from the barn of Wayne Lukas, who won three consecutive Belmonts in 1994-96.

Thirteen horses are running, one of the largest fields in Belmont history. On paper, Real Quiet’s rivals appear overmatched, but a case could be made for several of them if Baffert’s colt finds a way to get beat. The weather, iffy according to forecasts early in the week, will not now qualify as an excuse: The day is expected to be dry, the track fast and temperatures not too warm.

The Belmont is 1 1/2 miles around a 1 1/2-mile track, the biggest racing oval in the U.S. Desormeaux talked about the different surfaces that horses experience in the Triple Crown:

“One of the hard parts is that none of the three tracks resembles the other two. In Kentucky, horses get a spray of dirt in the face. At Pimlico, the turns are sharp, and that’s where we were hung out to dry in the Preakness. The makeup at Belmont seems more like a fine soot than clay. The turns are sweeping. They’re so kind that horses can [change lead feet], and you can’t even tell they’ve done it.”

While recently talking about Easy Goer’s victory over Sunday Silence in the 1989 Belmont, spoiling another Triple Crown possibility, trainer Shug McGaughey commented about the odd configuration of Belmont Park. At one time, McGaughey had a Triple Crown contender in Coronado’s Quest, but he was scratched from the Preakness because of a bruised foot and will run today in the Riva Ridge, a $125,000 stake on the Belmont undercard.

“The wide turns helped a horse like Easy Goer,” McGaughey said. “This track is sandier than most, but I think the big difference here is the backside. It’s so long. Horses come out of that first turn, look up the long backside and a lot of them get lost. Even the horses in front can have a tendency to wander a little bit. From the front side, the backside looks like a subdivision of Floral Park [a town near Belmont].”

Baffert’s main concern is that Real Quiet gets a clean run through the first turn.

“I’ll be telling Kent to concentrate on that,” the silver-haired trainer said. “Chilito entering the race at the last minute doesn’t bother me. If I had another speed horse, it might be a concern, but the good thing about Real Quiet is that he’s a second-wave horse. He’ll be behind a few horses, but ready to make his move.”

Stevens’ advice to Desormeaux was to devote Wednesday and Thursday to the media, then settle down to the task at hand.

“Gary said that not staying focused on the race itself would be devastating,” Desormeaux said.

Baffert has been Mr. Belmont three years running. In 1996, his Cavonnier, who had been second in the Derby and fourth in the Preakness, was a 3-1 second choice, but pulled up lame at the top of the stretch. Last year was Silver Charm.

“The hardest part about the Triple Crown is the onslaught of media,” said Baffert, never known to chase away a turf writer. “It would be easy if it wasn’t for that. It drains you on a daily basis. And you’ve got to be careful that you don’t put your foot in your mouth.”

Desormeaux has ridden in two Belmonts, finishing next to last with Arinthod in 1993 and third with Free House last year. He can remember riding in few other 1 1/2-mile races. One was a grass race, the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Turf, at Santa Anita in 1993.

“I was never so nervous,” Desormeaux said, “because Kotashaan was supposed to win.”

Win he did, at 3-2 odds, and then Desormeaux, during his funky period, misjudged the finish line in the Japan Cup as Kotashaan finished second. Trainer Richard Mandella’s horse still won horse-of-the-year honors in North America, but Mandella and other California trainers eventually began turning to other riders. Baffert has been instrumental in restoring the jockey to prominence.

“I needed a wake-up call,” Desormeaux said. “Business hadn’t fallen off to the point where I wasn’t making house payments, but I wasn’t up there among the leaders where I belonged. I self-destructed. I showed an immaturity, an irresponsibility, a lack of professionalism. I needed a slap in the face. I finally said to myself, ‘Do you want to be a laggard or a champion?’ ”

If Real Quiet wins the Belmont, he earns $5.6 million--the $600,000 purse and a $5-million bonus--and Desormeaux will earn 10%.

“I won’t be treating this as the third race on the card,” Desormeaux said. “I’m anxious to find my destiny.”

Horse Racing Notes

Bob Baffert has never saddled a winner in New York. He’s 0 for six at Belmont Park and 0 for one at Aqueduct. . . . Orville N Wilbur’s was scheduled to run in the Riva Ridge, but he refused to train Thursday and wasn’t entered.

* RANDY HARVEY: Once king of the barn, Silver Charm has relinquished that title to Real Quiet. C11

* BELMONT CAPSULES: C11