Arcangelo, and His Female Trainer, Make History at Belmont — as the Sun Predicted

When history is made, as it was Saturday at Belmont Park, New York, crowds must be delighted. Those of us who cheer for women to rise to the top must double cherish the unexpected win of Arcangelo, and his trainer, Jena Antonucci, who is now etched in the annals of horse racing as the first female trainer to win a triple crown race. Another victory: the Sun gets results. Not only did we urge our readers to put their trust in Arcangelo, who paid $17.80 for a $2 win bet. We also recommended an exacta wager, predicting the winner and the favorite, Forte would be the first two horses to get to the finish line. That bet paid $68 for a $2 investment. To paraphrase the Beatles, if you want to be a horse player, Follow the Sun. By the time the nine Belmont Stakes contestants came around the bend for the race’s final stretch, the dapple gray Arcangelo was already gaining, putting some distance between him and the pack. He ended up two lengths ahead of Forte and the rest of them. It wasn’t the speediest Belmont race: the winning steed rounded the mile and a half course in two minutes and 29.3 seconds — more than five seconds slower than Big Red in 1973. Yet it was a magnificent run. Serious handicappers we know predicted wins for Tapit Trice, Angel of Empire, and National Treasure, whose odds were much more favorable than Arcangelo’s eight to one. And the loudest predictions were made to the great five to two favorite, Forte. AP/Mary Altaffer“Just a feeling, but I don’t think Forte is going to make it today,” a track veteran who we have long trusted said. The favorite at the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, Forte was the most discussed horse in the business. He was, alas, scratched hours before that Derby due to what was described as a foot inflammation.Forte has worked out often and well since his Derby mishap. Yet, as our Belmont friend noted, in the five weeks since Kentucky the horse has not run against serious race-grade competitors. Lack of challenge may explain why the odds-on favorite placed, quite short of the victory the smart money expected him to capture. Unlike the big trainers in the game, who have consistently fielded winning contestants in the three Triple Crown legs, Ms. Antonucci works from a small stable at Belmont. Todd Pletcher, Bob Baffert, Brad Cox, and the rest of the top trainers graving the Stakes, won plenty in the country’s premier races. Yet , with Javier Castellano in the saddle, Arcangelo catapulted Ms. Antonucci to the top of the game. It is not the first time that the Belmont track has conferred unexpected victories on women. In 1993, a jockey, Julie Krone, became the first female rider in history to win a triple crown race here. Ms. Krone became one of the sport’s top draws, and by the time she retired in 2004, she amassed 3,704 wins in the saddle, and was later introduced to the riding Hall of Fame. Ms. Krone is often quoted as saying that “if the stable gate is closed, climb the fence.” That could also be an apt description of Ms. Antonucci, who took on the big boys and won the longest track in the three big races with a horse that many track fence sitters insisted didn’t have any business winning. Mr. Castellano, who rode Mage to an equally unexpected victory in the Derby, graciously gave all the credit for Saturday’s win to Arcangelo — and to Ms. Antonucci. “This is a wonderful horse,” he said, and, speaking of the trainer, added, “I’m really happy for her, you know, she’s a really good woman. She’s a good horseman.” Well, horsewoman is likely to roll off the tongue more easily from now on. Meanwhile, the Sun is here to serve. It shines for all horseplayers. Arcangelo rides to victory at Belmont on June 10, 2023. Benny Avni/The New York Sun.

Arcangelo, and His Female Trainer, Make History at Belmont — as the Sun Predicted

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