Tabasco Cat gave a dynamite encore to his victory in the Preakness three weeks ago when he won the Belmont Stakes by two lengths over Go for Gin Saturday and took giant strides toward the top of this year's talented class of Triple Crown colts.
The frisky, edgy chestnut from California spent most of the mile and a half stalking Go for Gin, who won the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago, then caught him in the homestretch and roared past in a remarkable repeat performance of their duel in the Preakness. Go for Gin survived a closing rush from Strodes Creek to keep second place by half a length.Tabasco Cat became a kind of soap-opera hero when he won the Preakness and redeemed a streak of personal and professional misfortunes endured by his trainer, D. Wayne Lukas. He was the first horse to win a Grade I stakes for Lukas in two and a half years. He also was the horse who trampled Lukas' son and deputy trainer, Jeff, during a runaway break at Santa Anita last December.
The Lukas team won its second straight classic before a crowd of 42,695 at Belmont Park on a day ruled by speed. Three track records were broken in successive races, but not in the Belmont, where Secretariat's record of 2 minutes 24 seconds for the mile and a half has stood for 21 years. Tabasco Cat ran the distance in 2:2645, the fifth fastest Belmont on record, under another precision ride by Pat Day. He also went home with first prize of $392,280 for his owners, William T. Young and David P. Reynolds.
The race also gave Wayne Lukas his first Belmont victory in nine starts, and his first finish in the money in nine starts, and he exulted in the winner's circle: "We did it, we did it. We got him."
But it was another missed chance for Charlie Whittingham, the 81-year-old dean of American trainers, who has won 600 stakes races in his 60-year career but never the Belmont. He said afterward that Strodes Creek was bearing down in the stretch, and "as soon as he heard the crowd, he did it again," meaning he flinched and failed to catch the leaders.
The Belmont, the last and longest race in the Triple Crown series, was run for the 126th time on New York's day of days in thoroughbred racing.
But it was a day darkened by a new outbreak of Triple Crown misfortune even before dawn broke over the backstretch barns: Brocco, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the Santa Anita Derby, and one of the favorites for the Belmont, was scratched from the race with a bruised foot.
"It is heartbreaking," said the colt's trainer, Randy Winick, on Saturday. "He never missed a beat here. He trained fabulously, and had three sensational works. Everything was fine until yesterday."