ELMONT, N.Y. - For the fourth time in the past six springs, a horse has come to New York with a chance of winning the Belmont Stakes and becoming the 12th winner of racing's Triple Crown.
The candidate for immortality this spring is War Emblem, a lanky, nearly black colt with overpowering speed and seemingly limitless stamina. That combination proved unbeatable in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
Today, in the 134th Belmont at majestic Belmont Park on Long Island, War Emblem will likely face assault at every stage of the 1 1/2 -mile "Test of the Champion."
Ten horses will try to deny him entrance into racing's most elite club, including one horse from Maryland whose victory would be a fairy tale most endearing.
The label "greatness" is bestowed grudgingly in racing, and War Emblem has not yet earned it. He took the racing world by surprise in the Derby, but in the Preakness he earned respect. Now, in the Belmont, before a possible record crowd approaching 100,000, War Emblem can achieve glory.
"They're all beatable," said Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who will try to upset War Emblem with Medaglia d'Oro. "I've lost with a lot of 1-5 shots, and War Emblem's not going to be 1-5. ... If he can take the heat for a mile and a half and still win, then he's a great horse."
War Emblem was virtually unknown two months ago when he sizzled to a 6 1/4 -length victory in the Illinois Derby, crushing Repent, an early favorite for the Kentucky Derby.
A few days after the Illinois Derby, Saudi Arabian Prince Ahmed bin Salman bought 90 percent of War Emblem for $990,000. The colt's original owner, Chicago businessman Russell Reineman, retained 10 percent. Reineman had not planned on running War Emblem in the Kentucky Derby.
Prince Ahmed turned War Emblem over to trainer Bob Baffert, who had also been impressed with War Emblem's gate-to-wire victory. Baffert quickly became enamored of the horse's powerful and seemingly effortless stride. He began aiming the colt he would later call a "stealth bomber" to this country's spring classics.
Few anticipated War Emblem's dominant triumph in the Kentucky Derby; his odds of 20-1 attest to that. As in the Illinois Derby, he led every step and pulled away down the stretch.
In the Preakness, he withstood challenges early, at the final turn and in deep stretch. He won by three-quarters of a length, this time as the 5-2 favorite.
The next morning, Baffert said the Belmont would be War Emblem's easiest race - "a piece of cake," in his words.
For Baffert, the wise-cracking, white-haired trainer from California, War Emblem represents his third opportunity to win the Triple Crown. He lost with Silver Charm in 1997 by three-quarters of a length and with Real Quiet in 1998 by a heart-breaking nose.
Last year, the Baffert-trained Point Given electrified Belmont Park with a 12 1/4 -length victory in the Belmont. The massive chestnut had dominated the Preakness, but failed as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby. Baffert called him the best horse he has trained - until lately.
"One thing about this horse, he's got such an attitude," Baffert said of War Emblem. "I've never seen a horse pin his ears so far back that it doesn't look like he has ears.
"He's got that fight in him. He's kind of got that mean streak. And I think that's going to carry him through. He really thinks he owns the racetrack."
Baffert, 49, has achieved Triple Crown success faster than any trainer in history. He has won, incredibly, eight of the last 16 Triple Crown races, including the last four in a row with horses owned by Prince Ahmed.
The prince bred Point Given and bought War Emblem at the 11th hour. Now, on the verge of the first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978, Prince Ahmed faces scrutiny in light of the Sept. 11 attacks, carried out by 19 terrorists, 15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia.
In an editorial Thursday, The Wall Street Journal called on Prince Ahmed to denounce terrorism. It noted that an anti-Saudi undercurrent had arisen after War Emblem's victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and that the prince had "failed to rise to the occasion" by declining to discuss politics.
"Great races are the stuff of dreams and legend, but the greater drama rests with [the] prince," the editorial stated. "He has been a good friend to America and to the sport he loves. But he can do much more. ... He can begin Saturday, if he is fortunate enough to reach the winner's circle, by forcefully denouncing terrorism. That would be a true mark of greatness."
Prince Ahmed plans on attending the Belmont. Security will be intense, as it was last November during the Breeders' Cup here at Belmont, and as it has been throughout this Triple Crown series so far at Churchill Downs and Pimlico.
Baffert said he's afraid of one thing in the Belmont - pace. Wiseman's Ferry, the Lone Star Derby winner expected to tangle with War Emblem early, will be "a thorn in our side," Baffert said.
If Wiseman's Ferry or perhaps Proud Citizen, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness, succeeds in wearing down War Emblem, the race could favor a pair of late-running geldings: Perfect Drift, the Kentucky-based powerhouse who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, and Magic Weisner, the Maryland hero bred, owned and trained by Nancy Alberts who finished second in the Preakness.
"I don't know what's going to happen," Baffert said. "We might burn ourselves up. I can't worry about that. All I know is he's ready. All systems are go. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
At a glance
What:134th Belmont Stakes, third leg of thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown
When:Today, post time 6:04 p.m.
Where:Belmont Park, Elmont, N.Y.
Distance:1 1/2 miles
Purse:$1 million
TV:Chs. 11, 4