The largest crowd in New York racing history, 103,222, turned out at Belmont Park on a sun-kissed Saturday afternoon to see if War Emblem could make history by becoming thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner.
Instead they saw 70-1 long shot Sarava score the biggest upset in the Belmont’s 134-year history, producing a payoff of $142.50 for those who wagered $2 on him to win.
War Emblem, who flaunted his front-running ability in winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, finished eighth, never recovering after losing his footing leaving the starting gate.
“From the start I knew we were doomed,” trainer Bob Baffert said glumly. “When he stumbled like that I knew it would be way too much for this poor guy to overcome. His one chink in the armor is if he breaks slow and is behind horses. When he got behind horses, he couldn’t go anywhere.”
Baffert, denied a Triple Crown for the third time in five years, felt worse for jockey Victor Espinoza. “If I’d have had a walkie-talkie I’d have told him to pull up,” he said.
“With his style, he’d have to be some kind of mechanical horse to [recover],” Baffert said. “He’s a very courageous horse. He tried to make a race of it.
“The fans didn’t get to see the real War Emblem. I feel I let the fans down.”
The closest War Emblem came to the lead was at the half-mile pole when he surged within a head of Medaglia d’ Oro. By the time they reached the quarter-pole, he was a fast-fading fifth.
Sarava, meanwhile, was gaining momentum, moving from fourth at the half-mile pole to an oncoming third at the quarter-pole. Midway down the stretch he seized the lead and he went on to defeat Medaglia d’ Oro by half a length.
There were 11 starters in the 1 1/2-mile classic, but it evolved into a two-horse race. Third-place Sunday Break finished 9 1/2 lengths back of Medaglia d’ Oro.
“We were in good position all the way around,” said Edgar Prado, Sarava’s jockey. “When I called on him he responded.”
The son of Wild Again, whose claim to fame was an upset victory in the inaugural 1984 Breeders’ Cup Classic, went into the Belmont with a career record of two victories in eight outings.
Owners Gary Drake and Paul and Susan Roy brought Sarava to the U.S. in November and sent him to trainer Burk Kessinger Jr. in Kentucky.
The owners wanted the colt to spend the winter at Gulfstream Park, but the move conflicted with Kessinger’s vacation plans. So the owners opted to send him to another trainer, Ken McPeek.
Sarava was damaged goods when he came to McPeek. He had a quarter crack on his right front hoof, and McPeek refrained from racing him to allow the injury to heal.
As the Gulfstream meeting progressed, McPeek found himself with two candidates for the Kentucky Derby, Repent and Harlan’s Holiday. Repent won the March 10 Louisiana Derby and Harlan’s Holiday won the March 18 Florida Derby.
Repent was a heavy favorite when he went to Sportsman’s Park for the April 6 Illinois Derby, but he finished a distant second behind the then-unheralded War Emblem. Worse, he emerged from the race with a chip in his ankle that took him out of the Triple Crown picture.
Less than a week after Repent was sidelined, Harlan’s Holiday was an impressive winner of the prestigious Blue Grass Stakes and Sarava made his first start for McPeek, finishing a non-threatening second in a Keeneland allowance race.
Both colts went from Keeneland to Churchill Downs. Sarava was second in an April 27 allowance race and Harlan’s Holiday was seventh as the Kentucky Derby favorite.
From there they went to Pimlico. Harlan’s Holiday improved to fourth in the Preakness and Sarava won a minor stakes race, the Sir Barton, on the supporting card.
Drake suggested that McPeek run Sarava in the Belmont. “I took an analytical approach,” McPeek recalled. “After looking at the horses he was up against and the way he was doing I said, `Let’s go.’ We didn’t know how good he was. You never know until you throw him in with these guys.”
McPeek’s elation with the way Sarava was training was tempered by the unexpected loss of Harlan’s Holiday. Tuesday afternoon, owners Jack and Laurie Wolf called McPeek to inform him that his services were no longer needed. The colt moved to trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn.
“Naturally, I was disappointed,” McPeek said. “I was very proud of the job we did and a little confused about why he left. But I’m not going to look back on that. I believe if something bad happens to you, something good is getting ready to happen to you.”
What was awaiting the 39-year-old McPeek was the biggest victory of his training career.
“Kenny and I were watching Sarava train every day this week and looking at each other in disbelief at how much this horse was improving,” Drake said. “The horse was touting himself to us.”
But the winner’s co-owner conceded he was “shocked” when he saw Sarava charging down the stretch. “When he made the lead, I turned and looked at Kenny,” Drake said. “I thought, `Maybe I have the wrong horse.’ I wanted to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.”
Drake was seeing Sarava scoring the biggest upset in Belmont history . . . and War Emblem failing to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
