Jazil’s Jockey Comes of Age in Belmont

Part of the beauty of the Triple Crown races is that horses are in them only once, discovered, tested and then gone, replaced by another crop of 3-year-olds.

But racing might have found a youngster who has a chance to be back again and again, when 18-year-old jockey Fernando Jara rode Jazil to victory Saturday in the 138th Belmont Stakes, becoming the youngest rider to win the race since Steve Cauthen won the Triple Crown on Affirmed in 1978.

Cauthen won the Belmont a month after he turned 18. Jara, who was born in Panama and began riding there at 14, has been 18 since December.

“When I was a little kid, I see all the big jockeys here,” said Jara, who is the son and grandson of trainers and moved to New York at 16 to ride. “I said, ‘One day, I want to be there.’ ”

Jazil -- owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Shadwell Farm and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin -- hit the side of the gate at the start and Jara lost an iron. But he recovered quickly and rallied from last by weaving his way through the field to overtake early pacesetter Bob And John and run down Bluegrass Cat at the top of the stretch to win the 1 1/2 -mile Belmont in 2:27.86.

He returned $14.40, $6.70 and $4.70.

Bluegrass Cat, the early Belmont favorite after finishing second to Barbaro in the Kentucky Derby, was second, 1 1/4 lengths back. Sunriver, Bluegrass Cat’s stablemate in the barn of Todd Pletcher, was third.

It was a race more notable for who wasn’t in it than who was. Television broadcasts featured live updates on Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro from the Pennsylvania veterinary hospital where he is recovering from his career-ending injuries in the Preakness, and Preakness winner Bernardini wasn’t entered.

That Jara was aboard Jazil was a testament to the faith in the young jockey shared by McLaughlin, a former assistant to Wayne Lukas, and Rick Nichols, one of the executives for the U.S. operation of Sheikh Hamdan, the brother of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, who owns Bernardini.

Jara had ridden Jazil in five of his previous seven races, but hadn’t won on him this year, though he was second to Belmont pace-setter Bob And John in the Wood Memorial and dead-heated with Brother Derek for fourth in the Kentucky Derby.

Once it became apparent Jazil was headed for the Triple Crown races, other jockeys’ agents had started to circle.

McLaughlin estimated six to eight agents called to see if their clients could get the mount before the Derby, and another three or four before the Belmont.

“I’m sure that had we ever wavered at all and showed weakness or any thought we were going to make a change, we might have had 25 phone calls,” he said.

The sheikh’s commitment didn’t falter either.

“Sheikh Hamdan believes when somebody is doing a good job, you don’t try to change it,” Nichols said.

Not every owner stuck with Jara.

Before the Preakness -- which Jazil skipped in preparation for the Belmont -- the owner of Like Now, John J. Dillon, asked McLaughlin to take Jara off his horse, and Garrett Gomez got the mount.

“He said, ‘I would like a more experienced rider.’ He pays the bills,” McLaughlin said. “It worked out, and I think [Jara] will end up back on that horse.”

McLaughlin called Jara “a very talented little rider.”

“He rode a great race today, and I’m sure he’ll have a bright future,” McLaughlin said.

John Velazquez, the two-time Eclipse Award winner who was aboard Bluegrass Cat, praised Jara as well.

“This race just goes to show you that it doesn’t matter how old you are, if you have the horse and the patience, you can win,” Velazquez said.

It was a day some once thought would end with Barbaro’s being crowned as the first horse to sweep the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont since 1978.

Instead, Edgar Prado, Barbaro’s rider, was aboard Deputy Glitters, who finished 11th.

“He just shut down. I think he might have bled,” Prado said. “Hopefully, he’s OK.”

Last week, Prado went to visit Barbaro, describing himself as heartbroken.

“Continuing to ride keeps my spirits up,” Prado said. “As soon as I left the jockeys’ room, I wasn’t thinking about him anymore. I was riding.”

Jara kept searching for words to describe how he felt.

“The trainer and the owner believed in me,” he said. “You don’t know how I feel right now. This is amazing.”

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Prado had a good day on the Belmont undercard, winning the $400,000 Manhattan Handicap on the turf aboard Cacique and the $250,000 Woody Stephens Breeders’ Cup on Songster.

Bushfire, ridden by Alex Solis, won the $250,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies, but the start was delayed after Miraculous Miss flipped in the gate and then got caught underneath it. Miraculous Miss was able to walk away from the gate after being extricated but was scratched.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Belmont Stakes

Copyright 2006 Equibase Co. LLC, all rights reserved

11th Race at Belmont Park. 1 1/2 Miles. Purse $1 million-added. For 3-year-olds. To winner $600,000; second $200,000; third $100,000; fourth $60,000; fifth $30,000.

*--* Horse Jo PP 1/4 1/2 1M 1 1/4 Str Fin To $1 ck ey Jazil Ja 8 12 12 7- 1/2 1-hd 1- 1/2 1-1 1/4 6.20 ra Bluegr Ve 9 5- 1/2 5-1 1/2 3- 1/2 2-1 1/2 2-1 1/2 2-2 1/4 4.90 ass la Cat zq ue z Sunriv Be 2 6-1 1/2 6- 1/2 6-hd 3- 1/2 3- 1/2 3-1 1/4 6.00 er ja ra no Steppe Al 11 8- 1/2 7- 1/2 11- 1/2 4-hd 4-6 4-5 4.80 nwolfe ba r ra do Oh So Sm 6 11- 1/2 11- 1/2 12 7- 1/2 5-hd 5-2 12.00 Awesom it e h Heming Ro 3 10-4 1/2 10-1 10- 1/2 8-5 7-1 1/2 6-4 1/2 15.10 way’s se Key Platin J. 1 7-hd 9-4 1/2 5- 1/2 6-1 8-6 7-2 1/2 38.00 um Es Couple pi no za Bob Go 4 1- 1/2 1- 1/2 1-hd 5-1 6-hd 8-4 1/4 4.70 And me John z Sacred V. 12 9-2 1/2 8-hd 8- 1/2 9- 1/2 9-3 1/2 9-6 1/2 26.50 Light Es pi no za High Coa 5 2-hd 3- 1/2 2- 1/2 10-4 10-6 10-11 1/4 10.40 Financ e Deputy Pr 7 3-1 2- 1/2 4- 1/2 11-8 11 11 12.20 Glitte ad rs o Double Lu 10 4-hd 4- 1/2 9-hd 12 -- -- 45.75 Galore zz i

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Time: 23.020; 47.360; 1:12.140; 1:37.530; 2:02.690; 2:27.860

Off: 6:35. Start: Good. Track: Fast. Trainer: Kiaran McLaughlin. Winner: B C, 3, by Seeking The Gold-Better Than Honour

*--* 8 -- JAZIL $14.40 $6.70 $4.70 9 -- BLUEGRASS CAT $6.40 $4.70 2 -- SUNRIVER $6.10

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EXACTA (8-9) PAID $92.00; TRIFECTA (8-9-2) PAID $436.00; SUPERFECTA (8-9-2-11) PAID $1,085.00; DAILY DOUBLE (4-8) PAID $67.50; $2 PICK 3 3-4-8 (3 CORRECT) $390.50; $2 PICK 4 9-3-4-8 (4 CORRECT) $1,869.00; $2 PICK 6 7-2-9-3-4-8 (5 CORRECT) $200.00; $2 PICK 6 7-6-2-3-4-8 (6 CORRECT) $17,541.00