ELMONT, N.Y. - On a day when little worked well for Magic Weisner, the Maryland-bred colt showed his resolve with a gritty fourth-place finish yesterday in the 134th Belmont Stakes.
Unsettled by the biggest crowd in New York racing history and uncomfortable on the sandy, 1 1/2 -mile track, Magic Weisner persevered to finish four horses ahead of War Emblem, who added to the long line of failed Triple Crown bids at Belmont Park.
War Emblem had beaten the hard-charging Magic Weisner by three-quarters of a length in the Preakness three weeks ago. Yesterday, there was some solace in Magic Weisner's out-of-the-money run.
"If it wasn't for his 'try,' we'd have been eighth," jockey Richard Migliore said. "He's a hard-trying horse."
The Belmont is home to New York native Migliore, but it was, in some ways, another world to Magic Weisner and Nancy Alberts, his Laurel-based owner and trainer. Weisner had never run outside Maryland in his 11 previous races, and Alberts, 56, had never even visited the legendary track on Long Island.
The electricity surrounding War Emblem's Triple Crown attempt apparently took a toll on Magic Weisner.
"The crowd riled him up a little," Migliore said. "Then he settled a little, but the more he settled, I felt like he was struggling with the track."
Asked whether she felt her horse was bothered by the crowd of 103,222, Alberts defended Magic Weisner. "A little," she said, "but it would have happened to any of them."
Alberts' bigger lament, in fact, was that Magic Weisner was too wide on the first turn after bumping with War Emblem out of the gate and starting poorly.
"He outrode War Emblem," Alberts said. "Once he got his feet under him, he didn't get over in the hole like we wanted to."
Breaking 10th out of the gate, Magic Weisner moved into fifth at the half-mile mark, but faded to seventh at the mile. He recouped to fifth down the straightaway and finished just 1 1/4 lengths behind third-place Sunday Break.
"I thought we'd get a check," Alberts said. "He does try hard."
As in the Preakness, Migliore was gaining ground on the horse ahead at the end. "I don't know if he would have threatened the top two [Sarava and Medaglia d'Oro], but he could've been third," Migliore said.
"He came out of the bridle so much and I had to urge him [to stop]. We were having to work so hard to stay in there. I thought he was going to give up. But to his credit, he stayed in there.
"He ran his guts out."
It didn't surprise Alberts, who bought Magic Weisner's dam, Jazema, for $1. She lost Jazema in a claiming race as a 2-year-old, then bought the crooked-legged filly back for breeding purposes. Magic Weisner was Jazema's second foal.
Asked to account for Magic Weisner's surprising success, Alberts had a simple answer: "He gets his heart from his mother."
Magic Weisner's fantasy flight in the Triple Crown series produced a second- and fourth-place finish after missing the Kentucky Derby.
"That's pretty good," Alberts said. "I wouldn't have believed it [two months ago]."