Tapwrit wins 149th Belmont Stakes by two lengths over Irish War Cry

ByESPN.COM NEWS SERVICES
June 10, 2017, 6:55 PM

— -- NEW YORK -- Tapwrit overtook favored Irish War Cry in the stretch to win the Belmont Stakes by two lengths, giving trainer Todd Pletcher his third victory in the final leg of the Triple Crown.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Tapwrit ran 1 1/2 miles in 2:30.02 on his home track on Saturday. Ortiz's brother Irad won the race last year with Creator.

"The distance, I was sure he could handle it,'' Ortiz said.

Tapwrit finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness. Five of the last nine Belmont winners followed that same path.

"We felt like with the five weeks in between, and with the way this horse had trained, that he had a legitimate chance,'' said Pletcher, who is based at Belmont Park. "I think that's always an advantage.''

Pletcher took two of the three Triple Crown races, having saddled Always Dreaming to victory in the Derby.

Tapwrit paid $12.60, $6.50 and $5 at 5-1 odds. The 3-year-old gray colt was purchased for $1.2 million, making him the most expensive horse in the field.

Irish War Cry returned $4.70 and $3.90 as the 5-2 favorite, while Patch, the one-eyed horse trained by Pletcher, paid $6.50 to show.

The $1.5 million race took several hits before the starting gate opened.

It lacked Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing. Classic Empire, the expected favorite, dropped out Wednesday with a foot abscess.

Epicharis, the early 4-1 second choice, was scratched Saturday morning after failing a prerace veterinary exam. The Japan-based colt had been treated for lameness in his right front hoof earlier in the week.

All that made for a wide-open race, and in the end Tapwrit proved he was up to the grueling 1 1/2-mile challenge.

"Tapwrit was getting a beautiful trip,'' Pletcher said. "It was everything we talked about in the paddock before the race. We were hoping he had enough when it came to crunch time. It looked like Irish War Cry still had a little something left, but the last sixteenth, he dug down deep.''

Irish War Cry, who finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby, went for the lead and was immediately pressured by 13-1 shot Meantime, ridden by Mike Smith, who won five stakes on the undercard.

"It actually wasn't our plan to be on the lead,'' said Graham Motion, who trains Irish War Cry. "We kind of hoped that somebody else would go for it, but he had to go to Plan B.''

Tapwrit, meanwhile, settled in third, right behind the dueling leaders. They maintained that positioning onto the final turn when Ortiz first asked Tapwrit for his run.

It took a while for Tapwrit to find his best gear. Up front, Irish War Cry put away Meantime and appeared a likely winner at the top of Belmont's long stretch.

"At the eighth pole, I thought was might be home free,'' Motion said, "but it's the Belmont. It's a tough race.''

That's when Tapwrit took up the chase in earnest. It was a two-horse race to the finish line, with Tapwrit gaining the lead in the final furlong.

Gormley finished fourth, followed by Senior Investment, Twisted Tom, Lookin At Lee, Meantime, J Boys Echo and Multiplier.

Hollywood Handsome was pulled up after jockey Florent Geroux lost his irons in the first turn and guided the horse to the outside until he could be stopped.

"I got squeezed pretty hard coming into the first turn,'' Geroux said. "I almost went down.''