Preakness 2012: I'll Have Another Ranks Among Most Clutch Competitors in Sports

I’ll Have Another is on Michael Jordan’s heels.

The thoroughbred with a knack for the comeback is one spectacular finish away from going down in sports history as one of the most clutch competitors of all-time. Jordan, Joe Montana and Jack Nicklaus will potentially have company soon enough.

The Triple Crown hasn't been won since 1978. The longer the drought goes, the more prestigious the accomplishment becomes. And if I’ll Have Another were to pull it off by completing the trifecta with a triumph at the 2012 Belmont Stakes, his name deserves mention amongst the legends.

According to the Washington Post, I’ll Have Another’s trainer Doug O’Neill is pumped about his project’s chance at history:

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We’re ready. Bring it on. I can’t put into words how incredible it is. We’re just on Cloud 9. It’s super exciting. It’s hasn’t completely sunk in yet. The party out here after the race was like wow! I’ve never seen anything like that—everyone so excited about horse racing and I’ll Have Another 2-for-2. I definitely feel the energy and buzz in the air.

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And that buzz is well deserved. There have been plenty of horses in the past decade with an opportunity at the Triple Crown—Big Brown, Smarty Jones, Funny Cide and War Emblem, but none had a flair for the dramatic like I’ll Have Another.

After extinguishing a massive lead that Bodemeister had at the Kentucky Derby to snatch the victory, I’ll Have Another did it again with an even more heart-wrenching finish. Here’s I’ll Have Another hustling Bodemeister only to take his money for the second straight race (fast forward to 1:46 for the photo finish).

Clutch.

I’ll Have Another simply lives for crunch time. But on top of the drought, on top of being the ultimate closer with hooves, the odds that he’s facing would make success at Belmont even more amazing. SportingNews has the numbers that I’ll Have Another is up against:

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A 15-1 in the Derby, he’d be, by far, the Derby winner with the longest odds to complete the Triple Crown sweep, according to data presented on ESPN. The current record belongs to Assault in 1946, who was 8-1 in that year’s Derby, and went on to win the Triple Crown. Omaha in ’35 was 4-1 in the Derby; Whirlaway in ’41 was 3-1; Sir Barton in ’19 was 5-2; and Affirmed, the last Triple Crown winner, was 2-1 in the ’78 Run for the Roses.

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And despite those statistics, I’ll Have Another is just one win, one phenomenal finish away from going down in history.

In horse racing, one victory is a fluke. Two takes talent. Three is the number that separates great competitors from legends.

John Elway, Magic Johnson and Tiger Woods will be watching.


David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer. https://twitter.com/TheRealDDaniels