2012 Belmont Stakes Contenders: I’ll Have Another

Horse: I’ll Have Another
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Pedigree: By Flower Alley out of an Arch mare (Arch’s Gal)
Career Record: 7-5-1-0
Career Earnings: $2,693,600
Notable Races: G1-Preakness (1^st); G1-Kentucky Derby (1^st); G1-Santa Anita Derby (1^st); G2-Robert Lewis Stakes (1^st); G1-Hopeful (6^th); G2-Best Pal (2^nd)

Can He Win The Triple Crown?

After sweeping the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, I’ll Have Another is just a mile and a half away from becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner in the history of American horse racing and the first since Affirmed in 1978.

Beyond the historical context, I’ll Have Another is on quite a run of good form since the calendar turned over to 2012. He won the G2-Robert Lewis at odds of 43/1, the G1-Santa Anita Derby at 4/1, the Kentucky Derby at 15/1, and the Preakness at odds of 3/1. Astonishingly, I’ll Have Another hasn’t gone to post as a favorite in any race in 2012, or any in his entire career. Think about that. We could be on the verge of the first Triple Crown winner in over three decades and the Belmont Stakes will be the first race in which I’ll Have Another will load into the starting gate as the betting favorite.

I’ll Have Another has proved to be an extremely versatile colt over the course of his young career, winning races from five and a half furlongs up to the mile and a quarter Kentucky Derby. He’s won while racing on the lead, just off the lead, and from further back of the pack. That versatility is the key to his chances in the Belmont because, like most horses in America, he’s not really bred to love the mile and a half distance. If I’ll Have Another can relax in the early stages, much like he has in all his starts in 2012, that will go a long way to putting him in an excellent position to end the Triple Crown drought.