2006 BELMONT STAKES

HORSEPHOTOS/NTRA

Jazil wins the 138th running of The Belmont Stakes.

JAZIL VICTORIOUS IN 138TH BELMONT STAKES

THE BELMONT STAKES OFFICIAL RESULTS

JUNE 10, 2006

BELMONT STAKES

GRADE I

BELMONT RACETRACK, ELMONT, NEW YORK

FOR THREE YEAR OLDS

ONE AND ONE-HALF MILES

MAIN TRACK: FAST

JAZIL

Winner

138th Belmont Stakes

Jockey: Fernando Jara

Trainer: Kiaran P. McLaughlin

Owners: Shadwell Stable

Three Year Old Bay Colt - February 11, 2003

Bred by Skara Glen Stables (KY)

Seeking The Gold - Better Than Honour , by Deputy Minister

OFFICIAL ORDER OF FINISH

 23.02, 47.36, 1:12.14, 1:37.53, 2:02.69, 2:27.86

ALL IN THE NUMBERS FOR JAZIL

Belmont Stakes 138

June 10, 2006

Belmont Park - Elmont, NY

Eight...eight again. Oh heck, let’s just go with the number eight horse.

If you chose that horse to win the third leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday, you made out pretty well. Jazil won from post position eight, as did Barbaro in the Kentucky Derby (GI) and Bernardini in the Preakness Stakes (GI).

Jockey Fernando Jara shortly lost a stirrup at the break, but was able to get his mount into a stalking position. Favorite Bob and John was sent to the lead by jockey Garrett Gomez through fractions of 23, 47 1/5, and 1:12 1/5, but started falling back on the far turn. High Finance and Deputy Glitters also dropped out as Bluegrass Cat, Sunriver, and Steppenwolfer began picking up the pieces. Jazil had more momentum after threading through the pack, and went past those three six or seven wide into the homestretch. He forged past a determined Bluegrass Cat to win by 1 1/4 lengths in a final time of 2:27 4/5 seconds for the 1 ½ miles. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to Sunriver, in third.

“You don't know how I feel right now. This is amazing,” said Jara immediately following the race.

The payouts were $14.40, $6.70, $4.70 for the winner, $6.40 and $4.70 for Bluegrass Cat, and $6.10 on Sunriver for the show. Following the top three finishers were Steppenwolfer, Oh So Awesome, Hemingway’s Key, Platinum Couple, Bob And John, Sacred Light, High Finance, Deputy Glitters, and Double Galore.

Jazil advanced his race record to 2 wins from 8 starts, and earnings of $872,217.

The winning colt is a bay son of Seeking The Gold out of Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister. He was bred in Kentucky by Skara Glen Stables, and was purchased at auction before moving to race in New York. His most recent result before the Belmont Stakes was a dead-heat for fourth in the Kentucky Derby (GI).

Jazil is owned by Shadwell Stable, headed by Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum. The win kept the latter two stages of the Triple Crown in the family since Preakness Stakes (GI) winner Bernardini is owned by Darley Stable’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Hamdan’s brother. This marks the first year that Dubai’s royal family was able to win an American classic, let alone two in a row. In previous attempts, their horses were prepared by races in Dubai or Europe, but this year both Bernardini and Jazil were trained and raced in the United States.

Another distinct number is the age of winning jockey Fernando Jara. At only age 18, he won in his first Belmont Stakes attempt and in only his second Triple Crown ride. He left his native Panama two years ago to ride in New York, and has been tutored by hall of fame rider Angel Cordero.

The winning trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin is a native of Lexington, Kentucky but has gained much of his success as leading trainer in Dubai from 1994 to 1996. He returned to New York three years ago, with his previous best result in a Triple Crown race being last year’s second place with Closing Argument in the Kentucky Derby (GI).

“It is very hard to describe my feeling,” said McLaughlin. “The people at Shadwell have been my biggest supporters for the last 12 years. It's great to win this race for your favorite people.”

A crowd of 61,160 was on hand to witness the race missing the winners of the first two legs of the Triple Crown. Approximately 20,000 of those race goers signed, “the world’s largest get well card” for Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby (GI) winner who was recovering from surgery on multiple fractures at Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. The overall handle of $81,465,277 on Belmont Stakes day was the fifth best in history.

Marcie Heacox is freelance contributor to JSRJ and is a college freshman in California majoring in Communications. She was also a featured 2006 Triple Crown writer The Oceanport Racing Report.  Feel free to visit her website, http://www.freewebs.com/azerirules/.

To be posted shortly.