The Triple Crown Denied

Coastal upsets Spectacular Bid in the Belmont

Since Sir Barton first won the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred racing in 1919, eight horses have captured the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, only to have their hopes founder over the grueling 1 1/2-mile distance of the Belmont Stakes. So it happened in 1969, when Majestic Prince, a handsome and bighearted chestnut, was unable to stave off the wearying effects of his hard campaign for the Crown and was beaten by Arts and Letters. Majestic Prince never raced again. But last Saturday his son Coastal came to the Belmont and avenged his father's defeat, dashing Spectacular Bid's Triple Crown dreams with a galvanic, come-from-behind run that took him to the wire a winner by 3 1/4 lengths.

It was a marvelous race by the inexperienced colt and his veteran jockey, Ruben Hernandez. Coastal had raced but three times this year after an eye injury late in his two-year-old season forced a long layoff. He was fresh and ready to run the Belmont distance, and run he did. Hernandez held him off the lead through the first mile of the race, rating him gently behind the leaders, well outside of traffic. Meanwhile, Spectacular Bid's jockey, Ron Franklin, pushed his colt to the front as the horses moved out of the clubhouse turn and into the long backstretch. Franklin had made an early move in the Preakness, and Spectacular Bid had saved enough to finish in front, but the short Preakness distance of 1 1/16 miles is made for front runners.

Not so the Belmont. Spectacular Bid tired and, as the horses moved to the top of the homestretch, veered wearily outside. Hernandez drove Coastal through the narrow opening on the rail, and the Belmont was theirs. Spectacular Bid faded, finishing behind second-place Golden Act. Coastal's victory earned $161,400 for California Owner-Breeder William H. Perry, and the payoff was especially sweet. Since Coastal had been unable to race until April, Perry had failed to nominate him for the Belmont and had been forced to ante up a last-minute supplemental entry fee of $20,000 to make his colt eligible for the race. Coastal thus became the first supplemental entry ever to win the Belmont Stakes. As for Spectacular Bid, Jockey Franklin offered no excuses. "My horse choked," he said. "He just got tired in the last eighth of a mile."

Lightly raced throughout his career, Coastal had not been entered in the other Triple Crown events. He came to Belmont as the perfect dark horse for a race that treats long shots kindly. Casual racing fans may favor the julep-soaked hoopla of the Kentucky Derby or the high-speed sprint of the Preakness, but the Belmont and its demanding distance hold a special place of honor among horsemen: "The Test of the Champion." Only a horse in top form and full of racing heart can make the final closing rush for this third and most difficult leg of the Triple Crown. Coastal's triumph over Spectacular Bid, who had an air of invincibility as the day began, will be remembered as one of the great upsets in the sport's history.

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