ELMONT, N.Y. - Medaglia d'Oro, one of the Triple Crown's biggest disappointments, just missed the gold medal in the Belmont Stakes.
On home soil and not forced to face an overnight van trip as he had before the Preakness, Medaglia d'Oro ran fiercely, dueling with Sarava until the wire before bowing by a half-length.
The performance was more typical of the horse who almost entered the Preakness as the betting favorite over War Emblem.
"We got beat, plain and simple," said trainer Bobby Frankel. "But second in the Belmont is a great race. I told Kent [Desormeaux] to just be comfortable out there on him. He just galloped along, put in a great stretch run and was second-best."
Jockey Desormeaux said Medaglia d'Oro "ran his eyeballs out. By the quarter-pole he really kicked in and it was all him after that."
Change of plans
Prince Ahmed bin Salman, owner of War Emblem, missed yesterday's bid for the Triple Crown because of "family obligations" back home in Saudi Arabia, according to Richard Mulhall, president of the prince's Thoroughbred Corporation. In his place, Prince Ahmed sent his younger brother, Prince Faisal.
Mulhall said security concerns did not play a role in Salman's absence.
Proud Citizen injured
Proud Citizen, which had run five races in the span of 63 days, came up lame after the race and was taken by ambulance back to the barn.
"He's got a little swelling inside of his left front ankle, above the ankle," Dr. Larry Bramlage said. "There's not even any fluid in the ankle. It could be he hit himself or there's something else going on."
The horse, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, later was diagnosed with a cracked shin.
Unfortunate replay
In an eerie replay of a Friday incident, jockey John Velazquez was injured in a two-horse spill in yesterday's fourth race.
Velazquez took off his first three horses on the Belmont Stakes card to visit his chiropractor after complaining about a sore back. But Imadeed, his first mount, went down as they entered the stretch and Pleasant County, with Eibar Coa aboard, fell over the fallen horse.
Imadeed suffered fractures of two bones in the lower right front leg and was taken by van off the track. Pleasant County sustained a fatal skull injury.
X-rays on Velazquez's right knee were negative after Friday's fall, but were to be taken again. Coa was unharmed but took off his remaining mounts.
Beat Hollow in control
Beat Hollow took immediate control and dominated the Grade I, $400,000 Manhattan, topping both With Anticipation and Hap as he had in the Woodford Reserve on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Carefully rated by jockey Alex Solis, Beat Hollow led virtually every step in the 1 1/4 -mile turf test for older horses.
In other races on the Belmont undercard:
Explicit captured the Grade II, $250,000 True North Breeders' Cup by a length over the rallying Enteprenuer, covering six furlongs in 1:09 4/5 under Lonnie Meche, a Kentucky-based rider who was making his first New York start.
Meche was so excited that he made a wrong turn and wound up in the press box instead of the jockey's room after the race.
Babae held off a charging favorite, Tates Creek, and won the $213,200 Just a Game Breeders' Cup Handicap by a neck after the probable choice, Voodoo Dancer, was scratched.
Gygistar drew off - putting away favored Yankee Gentleman - to a convincing 4 1/2 -length triumph over long shot Draw Play in the $190,000 Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup.
"He ran right by Billy Mott's colt [Yankee Gentleman] and from there it was pretty much a cakewalk," said jockey Pat Day.
Record-setting betting
Belmont Park had a record crowd of 103,222 and a record handle for the Belmont Stakes. The on-track handle of $12,045,114 broke the previous mark of $10,581,093, set last year. A new Belmont Stakes day commingled handle record of $90,703,830 shattered the previous record of $68,323,600, also established last year.
The total handle from all sources was $95,423,752, toppling the previous Belmont Stakes day record total of $74,133,188 in 1999.