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BALTIMORE -- No Triple Crown for Giacomo. Nothing to be
embarrassed about, either. Giacomo's bid to back up his Kentucky Derby victory ended
Saturday with a third-place finish at the Preakness. As he did in
the Derby, the horse rallied gamely. This time, though, it wasn't enough. Afleet Alex survived a scary collision to win the race ahead of
Scrappy T and Giacomo, who stormed to the finish after standing in
10th place at the three-quarters pole. It was a gallant effort by the horse that shocked the racing
world by capturing the Derby as a 50-1 shot, but it means that
another year will go by without a Triple Crown winner. Giacomo jockey Mike Smith did a wonderful job of weaving through
traffic in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby, but couldn't do the same in
the 14-horse Preakness. "I didn't get loose until we got to the quarter pole. I was
just stuck right behind them," Smith said. "I could have went
around, but that was an awful long way to go around. I was going to
lose at least 10 lengths." His only option was to hope for an opening. By the time he found
one, it was too late. "I was waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting," Smith said. "I
was able to get out and make my run, but by then they were gone." Every time he looked for a hole, the gap was filled. That's the
difference between finishing first and third. "A lot of them shut on me today. That happens in racing,"
Smith said. "I was so proud of him to run third. I'm looking
forward to the Belmont." Giacomo was bidding to become the first Triple Crown winner
since Affirmed in 1978. He went off as the third choice in the
race, and justified that support by paying $4.80 to show. He is the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby and lose the
Preakness since Monarchos in 2001. "I don't think there was any embarrassment in running third in
the Preakness," trainer John Shirreffs said. "We were pleased
with the effort. I think it says a lot about Giacomo. Mike Smith
said he had a lot of horse at the wire. He was full of run." With no place to go. "My horse ran dynamite, but I had to idle a very long way and
that really hurts you in this type of race," Smith said. "He
galloped out great, so I know he'll come back strong in his next
race."
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