Belmont Stakes 2012 Favorites: Ranking I'll Have Another's Top Competitors
I'll Have Another is my clear favorite, but Dullahan leads the small group of horses that have a chance to derail I'll Have Another's Tripe Crown chances. Dullahan is in post position No. 5 and he's currently at 5-1 odds to win the Belmont Stakes.
The fact that he's smashed in the middle of the field would worry me. He may run into difficulties trying to find his stride early on, and we've all seen how well I'll Have Another closes. I can't see him getting into position to beat the Derby and Preakness winner.
He finished third at the Derby, so it's clear why he's the biggest threat. Take a look at Dullahan winning the Blue Grass:
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The other horses that could ruin the Triple Crown party are as follows:
Optimizer
This colt opposed I'll Have Another in both the Derby and the Preakness. He finished 11th at the Derby and sixth in the Preakness. He hasn't shown an ability to seriously challenge I'll Have Another up to this point.
If Optimizer bests I'll Have Another, it'll be due to a huge falloff from the latter. I think Optimizer will land in the middle of the pack.
Union Rags
This is perhaps the most overrated horse in the field. He has received too much attention dating back to the Kentucky Derby. He hasn't done well in any of his recent Grade 1 races.
The last time he won a race with top-level competition was October.
This is a second-tier horse that won't crack the top three at the Belmont Stakes.
Here are the post positions and odds for the 2012 Belmont Stakes:
2012 Belmont Stakes Post Positions, Field and Odds
Odds courtesy of Belmont Stakes Twitter feed.
Post Position | Horse | Trainer | Jockey |
|
No. 1 | Street Life | C. Brown | J. Lezcano | 12-1 |
No. 2 | Unstoppable U | K. McPeek | J. Alvarado | 30-1 |
No. 3 | Union Rags | M. Matz | J. Velazquez | 6-1 |
No. 4 | Atigun | K. McPeek | J. Leparoux | 30-1 |
No. 5 | Dullahan | D. Romans | J. Castellano | 5-1 |
No. 6 | Ravelo's Boy | M. Azpurua | A. Solis | 50-1 |
No. 7 | Five Sixteen | D. Schettino | R. Napravnik | 50-1 |
No. 8 | Guyana Star Dweej | D. Shivmangal | undecided | 50-1 |
No. 9 | Paynter | B. Baffert | M. Smith | 8-1 |
No. 10 | Optimizer | D. Lukas | C. Nakatani | 20-1 |
No. 11 | I'll Have Another | D. O'Neill | M. Gutierrez | 4-5 |
No. 12 | My Adonis | K. Breen | R. Dominguez | 20-1 |
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