Once More, With Feeling

With 'Emblem,' Baffert Eyes Triple Crown, Vindication

War Emblem is bidding to become the first thoroughbred to sweep the Triple Crown since 1978. (Don Emmert - AFP)

ELMONT, N.Y., June 7 -- No thoroughbred has swept the Triple Crown since 1978, and none has ever earned the $5 million bonus that now goes to a winner of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. But trainer Bob Baffert must surely feel he is due to make history when he saddles War Emblem at Belmont Park Saturday afternoon.

Seldom has a trainer endured such an agonizing run of near-misses. Baffert's Silver Charm won the first two legs of the Crown in 1997 before being narrowly beaten at Belmont. The next year Real Quiet opened a four-length lead and was caught in the final stride.

Last year Point Given was an inexplicable dud in the Derby before overpowering his rival in the final two classics.

Now Baffert is on the brink of glory again, and everybody in the sport recognizes the irony associated with his Triple Crown bid this time. He had trained all of his other classic contenders since they were youngsters, and their success was the result of planning that encompassed the horses' lifetimes.

Baffert and his client, Ahmed Salman, owner of The Thoroughbred Corporation, bought War Emblem 3 1/2 weeks before the Kentucky Derby because they were desperate for a starter in America's most famous race. It was a type of transaction in which the buyers usually wind up looking like suckers. But War Emblem's 20-to-1 victory in the Derby and his dominating performance in the Preakness have made the $990,000 purchase from industrialist Russell Reineman look like one of the shrewdest deals in racing history.

Baffert got plenty of criticism for buying his way into the Derby when his home-grown horses failed. But few people believed that War Emblem would be on the verge of greatness if Frank "Bobby" Springer had brought him through the Triple Crown. This is Baffert's specialty -- he has proved himself a master at managing a horse through this demanding series -- and it is not egomania when he talks about "Baffertizing" War Emblem since buying the colt.

Baffert recognized that his new acquisition was a headstrong type blessed with brilliant speed, but he knew the colt couldn't win the classics without learning to control his speed. Baffert trained him daily with the aim of getting him to relax, and he employed the word "relax" so frequently with jockey Victor Espinoza that the rider might have been in danger of falling into a hypnotic sleep. The definitive test for the trainer, horse and rider comes at 6:10 p.m. Saturday. War Emblem's ability to relax in the early stages of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont is the key to the race.

War Emblem won the Derby when none of his rivals elected to press him early, leading many skeptics to suspect that the victory was a fluke. In the Preakness, however, a super-fast rival named Menacing Dennis sped to the lead at a blistering pace, and Espinoza managed to wrangle War Emblem behind the pacesetter. The colt wasn't exactly relaxed, but at least he saved sufficient energy for the stretch.

Baffert is unfazed by the longer distance of the Belmont. As he has gained genuine admiration for his colt in the last few weeks, he believes that War Emblem's forte is staying power as much as speed. "He has maybe more stamina than any horse I've ever trained," Baffert said. "His air intake is really phenomenal. He's got a great deal of speed and stamina."

If the early pace in the Belmont is as moderate as it was at the Derby, the engravers may begin adding a 12th name to the Triple Crown trophy. But War Emblem probably won't enjoy an untaxing first half-mile. The lightly raced Wiseman's Ferry displayed blistering speed when he won the Lone Star Derby in his last start. And if he doesn't force the pace, Proud Citizen might.

Proud Citizen may be as quick as War Emblem, but he didn't unleash his speed in the Derby or Preakness, where he finished second and third, respectively. But Proud Citizen's trainer, Wayne Lukas, understands the importance of speed as well as any trainer. He would shed few tears if he denied Baffert a Triple Crown. When Lukas was going for the Crown with Charismatic in 1999, the colt was compromised after by a head-and-head duel with a Baffert-trainer rival. Moreover, War Emblem is owned by The Thoroughbred Corp., which used to be one of Lukas's main clients until Baffert became its No. 1 trainer.

"I fear the pace," Baffert admitted -- one of the few negative utterances to come from him all week. "I have no control over it, though. You can't take [War Emblem's] game from him. I don't want to see Victor Espinoza pulling hard because that weakens him." In other words, Baffert wants the colt to show his usual speed, tempered by a little of the relaxation that has been emphasized in his training.

If a hot pace takes its toll on War Emblem, many of his 10 rivals have a chance to win. Sunday Break is highly regarded after winning the recent Peter Pan Stakes, and his status is enhanced by the prestige of his trainer, Neil Drysdale. Magic Weisner, the rags-to-riches Maryland gelding, was finishing powerfully at the end of the Preakness. Essence of Dubai, Medaglia d'Oro and Perfect Drift were all highly regarded when the Triple Crown began, and they have the talent to pull an upset.

But War Emblem has been so impressive in his last two victories that he is an even-money favorite to win the Belmont and make history -- a prospect expected to lure more than 80,000 people to the Long Island racetrack. Even the many skeptics who once doubted the black colt cannot question the historic dimensions of such an achievement. Only 11 horses have been able to sweep the series, and the last four -- Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed -- are on a short list of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time. Since Affirmed's triumph, the Belmont has foiled seven Triple Crown aspirants, including the two trained by Baffert, who does not need to be reminded of the pitfalls facing a horse seeking his sport's greatest prize.