Real Quiet’s jockey, Kent Desormeaux, never dreamt of winning the Triple Crown.
“In all the dreams I had I woke up when I won the Kentucky Derby,” Desormeaux said. “That was the end of my dream. I never got to the Preakness.”
Now, Desormeaux has gotten to the Belmont and that’s all that stands between Real Quiet becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
“I’ll have the weight of history on my shoulders,” Desormeaux said. “I’m so anxious for the race–to find my destiny.
“Now that I know post positions, I’ll create situations in my mind so if I find myself in that situation I’ll know how to react. I’ll spend Friday focusing on what has to be done.”
Desormeaux has demonstrated the ability to win a classic race at the Belmont distance of 1 1/2 miles. In 1993 he won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita with Kotashaan.
“Kotashaan was the best that day and we made a four-wide move,” the jockey said. “When you go a mile and a half, pace makes the race and it’s more in the hands of the jockey than in a normal race.
“If there’s any horse who can get a mile and a half it will be Real Quiet. He has proven to me the more distance he gets the better he likes it.”
In the opinion of Desormeaux, this apparent appetite for more ground was Real Quiet’s problem when he lost the first six races of his career last year. The last of those races was run over a one-mile route; the others were sprints of five to seven furlongs.
“Very, very quick horses made it hard for him,” Desormeaux said. “He has that nice, long stride, but in sprints those horses were too quick for him. Now, the quick horses can’t keep up with him.”
Real Quiet’s record suggests that Desormeaux also may be a factor in his success. Desormeaux didn’t ride him in those six straight losses. He was introduced to the colt last fall and in their seven joint ventures they have four victories and a pair of places.
Changing times: The first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton in 1919, scored his first victory after six straight losses when he won the Kentucky Derby on May 10. He then took the train to Baltimore where he won the Preakness four days later. The Belmont wasn’t until June 11. . . . When Gallant Fox won the Triple Crown in 1930 the Preakness came first. It was run on May 9 followed by the May 17 Derby and the June 7 Belmont. . . . En route to the 1937 Triple Crown, War Admiral won the Henry of Navarone Purse between the Preakness and Belmont. In 1943 Count Fleet did something similar, using a victory in the Withers as a springboard for the Belmont triumph that brought him the Triple Crown.
