Charismatic draws No. 4 post in quest for crown

Steve Carp

Wednesday, June 2, 1999 | 10:36 a.m.

BELMONT, N.Y. -- Running for the Triple Crown is stressful enough, especially when you're asking a 3-year-old thoroughbred to run farther than it has ever run before.

So it was a great relief that the two main rivals in Saturday's 131st running of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes won't have another obstacle to contend with.

A dozen horses passed through the entry box for today's draw and the two that most fans have their eyes on will start alongside each other -- from excellent post positions.

Charismatic, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, drew the No. 4 post. Silverbulletday, the sensational filly who passed on the first two legs of the Triple Crown, will start from the No. 3 stall.

A crowd of 80,000 is expected to attend with hopes of seeing history made. There have been only 11 Triple Crown winners, none since Affirmed did it 21 years ago.

"We're delighted we got him this far," trainer D. Wayne Lukas said of Charismatic, who was running in a $62,500 claiming race at Santa Anita in mid-February and now stands on the brink of racing immortality.

"We've had three good runs. If we can get one more out of him, we'll be very happy. If not, we'll still be very happy."

Owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, who were in this same position two years ago with Silver Charm, get another chance to go for the brass ring. Only this time, they have to beat Bob Baffert, who was their trainer with Silver Charm but now has Silverbulletday.

"I don't know what the odds are, but when you consider running for the Triple Crown two times, it's astronomical," Lewis said. "When I knew we were going for the Triple Crown, I said, 'Here we go again. It's going to be wild the next three weeks.'

"And it has been wild."

Charismatic was installed as the 2-1 morning line favorite with Menifee, the runner-up in both the Derby and Preakness, the second choice at 7-2. Silverbulletday, who will be ridden by Jerry Bailey instead of Gary Stevens, is the third choice at 4-1.

Stevens has accepted a contract to ride in England and Baffert will use the veteran Bailey, who won the 1991 Belmont with Hansel.

Elliott Walden, who spoiled Baffert's Triple Crown hopes a year ago when Victory Gallop beat Real Quiet in the final jump, said he's not sure what to expect when Menifee breaks from the No. 10 post come Saturday.

"I hope the final chapter's the same," Walden said. "He's doing well. Menifee's showing less signs of stress than Victory Gallop did last year. He's doing better."

Menifee had a sharp workout over the Belmont strip Tuesday, going five-eighths of a mile in 59.1 seconds. It was a little quicker than Walden wanted, but he wasn't complaining.

"Good horses work good," he said. "I'd rather him go a little faster than look a little flat. We'll find out Saturday."

The entire field, from the rail out, is: Teletable, Vision and Verse, Silverbulletday, Charismatic, Pineaff, Lemon Drop Kid, Patience Game, Adonis, Prime Directive, Menifee, Stephen Got Even and Best of Luck. All horses will carry 126 pounds with the exception of Silverbulletday, who gets a five-pound break in the weights. The filly will carry 121 pounds.

Both Silverbulletday and Charismatic arrived at Belmont late this morning from Kentucky, where they had been training. Lukas said he wasn't worried about not giving his horse a workout over the big Belmont oval.

"I've had luck with not running horses over the track before a race," said the Hall of Fame trainer who won three Belmonts this decade (Tabasco Cat, Thunder Gulch and Editor's Note). "He worked very well at Churchill (Downs) and we're very pleased with where we're at."

Charismatic's final tuneup was a five-eighths work in 1:00.2 Tuesday.

Lukas and Baffert, who have quite a rivalry, said Saturday's showdown can only benefit the sport.

"The sport's just getting back in action," Baffert said. "We need stars in our sport and we've got two running on Saturday."

Lukas said: "I think the timing's right. Our sport is at a crossroads and it would be good for the sport (to have a Triple Crown winner)."