Except for a scrape on the back of his left front ankle, Afleet Alex emerged from his near-disastrous Preakness in good shape - at least so far.
Tim Ritchey, who trains Afleet Alex, said yesterday outside the stakes barn at Pimlico that the colt exhibited no signs of serious injury from the mishap in the Preakness.
Afleet Alex clipped heels with Scrappy T around the far turn and nearly fell. He quickly regained his balance and charged to a 4 3/4 -length victory.
However, Ritchey said he plans on keeping Afleet Alex at Pimlico until Friday to monitor the colt's condition. He had planned on staying only until Wednesday. Ritchey is concerned about muscle injuries, he said.
"He was contorted the way horses aren't supposed to be," Ritchey said.
Ritchey and Jeremy Rose, Afleet Alex's jockey, were still marveling yesterday over the incident.
"It's something you may never see again in horse racing," Ritchey said. "To gather himself together and win the race was absolutely phenomenal."
Scrappy T, who was leading the race, veered into the path of Afleet Alex, who was rapidly gaining, as they emerged from the final turn. Scrappy T suddenly swerved to the right when Ramon Dominguez, his jockey, cracked him severely with the whip left-handed.
"I don't know why Ramon hit him left-handed," Ritchey said. "You never do that at that point in the race."
Horses sometimes shy away from the whip, so whipping a horse on his left side might cause him to veer to the right. That's what Scrappy T did - directly into Afleet Alex's path.
"It could have been an absolute, total disaster," Ritchey said.
Dominguez said after the race that Scrappy T was starting to "quit on me," so he whacked him with his whip. After the mishap, Scrappy T, who also lost his balance, regained his momentum and finished second.
Rose clung to Afleet Alex's mane, gripped the reins and squeezed his legs tightly against the colt's body. He stayed on, and Afleet Alex, whose front legs crumpled and nose nearly hit the ground, sprang back up and charged down the stretch to capture the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Rose said he had received numerous calls from friends and horsemen saying "how lucky I was to stay on, and how lucky he was to stay up."
Rose said Dominguez apologized in the jockeys' room after the race. Rose said he had no hard feelings. As for Afleet Alex's staying on his feet, Rose gave all the credit to the horse.
