Jazil Writes Happy Ending to Sad Spring for Racing
By JOE DRAPE /
The New York Times
June 11, 2006
Jazil had won only once in his lifetime, and that was back in December during the depths of winter at a near-empty Aqueduct racetrack. His jockey, Fernando Jara, is 18 years old, "a kid," as the trainer Kiaran McLaughlin constantly reminds him.
It took the unaccomplished colt and unseasoned jockey only 2 minutes 27.86 seconds to introduce themselves as big-time horse and rider by galloping away with a length-and-a-quarter victory in the 138th running of the Belmont Stakes.
It was an eye-catching end to what has been a snake-bitten Triple Crown season. As convincing as his victory was, Jazil is hardly Barbaro, the colt that looked like a superhorse in winning the Kentucky Derby, then took a catastrophic misstep in the opening yards of the Preakness Stakes.
Jazil, who is a son of Seeking the Gold out of Better Than Honour, is not as flashy as the eventual Preakness winner, Bernardini, who has won three of his four lifetime starts.
Even yesterday, Jazil's victory, before 61,116 people, was not without its harrowing moments.
As soon as Jazil left the gate for this mile-and-a-half marathon, he brushed against Bluegrass Cat and knocked Jara's right foot from his irons. Often, that is a disastrous mishap, throwing a rider off balance and costing him precious ground to the leaders, but Jara merely reached down with his right hand and tucked his foot back where it belonged.
He then gave chase to the 11 horses that he had spotted the lead with nerve and confidence that belied his age. Bob and John, the 5-1 favorite, led through a solid half mile in 47.36 seconds and kept the lead through a mile in 1:37.53. By then, Jazil was making his way to seventh place, just a half length behind the leader and the 5-1 favorite, Bob and John.
It was anybody's race at this point; nine lengths separated the field of 12.
"I thought I had the race won," Jara, a native of Panama, said.
But John Velazquez and Bluegrass Cat had a far different idea. They slingshotted around the far turn and appeared to have the jump heading into Belmont's lengthy stretch.
"I dropped in and thought that when the other horses started coming to me, I would go," Velazquez said. "Jazil came to me much quicker than I thought he would. I was at the three-eighths pole, and he was head and head with me."
In the clubhouse, McLaughlin, who had worked with the usually late-running Jazil, saw his strategy paying off perfectly. "I heard all week deep closers can't win, that we had to be there with three eighths of a mile to go," said McLaughlin, who captured his first Triple Crown race as a trainer. "It looked like he was moving easily, and when we got alongside Bluegrass Cat I was very confident."
Jara crouched motionless atop Jazil and let him pass Bluegrass Cat on his own. He crossed the reins quickly to shake the colt up and waved the whip at Jazil with his left hand to steady him down the stretch.
"I moved at the right time," Jara said. "I got clear, he got away and we win." Jazil rewarded his backers with $14.40 for a $2 bet to win. McLaughlin, Jara and Jazil's owner, Shadwell Farms, are fresh faces on America's racing circuit.
Shadwell's owner, Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid al-Maktoum, is a member of the ruling family of Dubai. He has been a force in European racing, as has his brother, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, but this was his first Triple Crown victory.
Stables owned by members of the Dubai ruling family now own two legs of the 2006 Triple Crown — Sheik Mohammed, who also collected his first American classic, owns Bernardini.
While Jara has caught many horsemen's eye with his raw talent, it was a risky decision for Shadwell and McLaughlin to leave the young rider on Jazil after they finished second in the Wood Memorial in April.
McLaughlin anticipated other jockeys angling for him to dump Jara and addressed with Sheikh Hamdan.
"We're going to be attacked by other agents," McLauhlin told his boss. The Sheikh's reply: "If he wins or stays in second, we need to stick with him."
It looked like a wise decision about 6:45 p.m yesterday, when Jara, an ear-to-ear grin across his face, rode Jazil into the winner's circle. His only words: "It's amazing." |
