Gallop

On a sparkling spring afternoon at Pimlico , when the scary combined with the sublime, Charismatic captured the 124th Preakness Stakes yesterday before a record crowd of 100,311 and immediately set his sights on history. The gritty workhorse will attempt to become the 12th Triple Crown winner June 5 when he races in the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. No horse has won the Kentucky Derby , Preakness and Belmont since Affirmed in 1978.After stunning the sports world with a long-shot victory in the Derby, Charismatic became the third horse in the past three years to depart the Preakness with a chance for glory.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- In his first start as a 4-year-old, Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop overwhelmed four opponents in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race yesterday at Gulfstream Park.Ridden by Jerry Bailey, the 3-10 Victory Gallop circled the field entering the stretch to win by 2 3/4 lengths in 1 minute, 43 4/5 seconds.His next start is to be March 28 in the $5 million Dubai World Cup.Pub Date: 3/04/99

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sharp Cat, the 4-year-old filly who would have been the biggest favorite in the Breeders' Cup, rested in her stall at Churchill Downs yesterday after nearly losing her life the day before.Undefeated in races this year -- and never headed at any point -- Sharp Cat would have been the favorite Saturday in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff. But the day before yesterday, as she was leaving the Churchill Downs' track after a morning gallop, she cramped up severely, went into shock and nearly died.

OCEANPORT, N.J. -- Before the Preakness Stakes, trainer Elliott Walden said he didn't want to run Victory Gallop, who had finished second in the Kentucky Derby, against Coronado's Quest.In fact, the day that trainer Shug McGaughey declared that Coronado's Quest would run, Walden responded by saying that Victory Gallop would not. Only after top contenders Indian Charlie and Halory Hunter dropped out -- and Victory Gallop flashed a readiness to race -- did Walden enter the bay colt.But then, the day before the Preakness, Coronado's Quest bruised a foot and was scratched.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- In one of the most crushing defeats in Triple Crown history, Real Quiet lost his bid for immortality yesterday in an excruciating photo finish in the 130th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.Victory Gallop, flying down the stretch before a delirious crowd of 80,162 -- the second-largest at Belmont Park -- nipped Real Quiet by the narrowest of margins after a rough and dramatic stretch duel. The nose defeat derailed Real Quiet's quest to become the Triple Crown's 12th winner.None of the 13 previous winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness who contested the Belmont lost the coveted crown by so little.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- After the Preakness, Elliott Walden said his horse, the beaten favorite Victory Gallop, lost fair and square.Then Victory Gallop, stabled last year in Maryland, broke out in a rash. And Walden, the articulate Kentucky trainer, broke his ankle playing basketball.You'd think that might be enough to discourage anybody.But Walden, holed up in a tack room at Belmont Park, bubbled with enthusiasm yesterday as he discussed Victory Gallop's chances of turning the tables on Real Quiet -- to whom he also lost the Kentucky Derby -- and spoiling his chances for a Triple Crown.

This time, there was no second-guessing for Victory Gallop. No second thoughts, either. In the 123rd Preakness, after giving his best shot, there was just second place.Losing to Real Quiet for the second time in two weeks had its consolation, though, for trainer Elliott Walden."We got beat fair and square today," Walden said in the serene quiet of Barn 3 on Pimlico Race Course's backside. "I don't think there was any doubt about who the winner was today. By that, I mean we didn't lose because of ground rules.

The post-position draw turned out to be no detriment in the 123rd Preakness yesterday.Bettors began looking for alternatives when the 1-2 finishers in the Kentucky Derby landed the two outside slots for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, meaning that they would have to run farther than their eight rivals.But, as the race developed, quality prevailed over position.There were no strategic surprises whatsoever, as Real Quiet and Victory Gallop moved into contending spots on the backstretch, took over the race in tandem on the final turn and slugged it out down the stretch.

On a day when Pimlico turned surreal, Real Quiet, the crooked-legged horse nicknamed "The Fish," unleashed a run toward history.After a power outage crippled Pimlico, creating bizarre scenes that will long live in memory, Real Quiet ran down Victory Gallop in the stretch to win the 123rd Preakness Stakes. Real Quiet became the second horse in as many years to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.And Real Quiet's trainer, the wisecracking Bob Baffert, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in consecutive years.

On a day when Pimlico turned surreal, Real Quiet, the crooked-legged horse nicknamed "The Fish," unleashed a run toward history.After a power outage crippled Pimlico, creating bizarre scenes that will long live in memory, Real Quiet ran down Victory Gallop in the stretch to win the 123rd Preakness Stakes . Real Quiet became the second horse in as many years to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. And Real Quiet's trainer, the wisecracking Bob Baffert, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in consecutive years.