Giacomo's connections believe numbers add up

NEW YORK -- The good news started for Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo even before the 3-year-old finished his cross-country flight to New York earlier on Wednesday.

While Giacomo was somewhere above America, trainer John Shirreffs was pumping his fist and thanking his lucky baseball cap as his horse claimed the No. 5 post position for this Saturday's 137th running of the Belmont Stakes.

It was the spot the trainer and co-owner Ann Moss wanted for their horse, named after one of rock star Sting's children. Their hopes were based as much on numerology as horse sense.

"We won the 131st Kentucky Derby," Shirreffs explained after Wednesday's draw. "One-three-one equals five. It seems like five is a really good number."

Hours later, Giacomo arrived at Belmont -- three days before his bid to become the 12th horse to pull off a Derby-Belmont double. Thunder Gulch did it last in 1995.

Giacomo's main competition, Preakness winner Afleet Alex, was installed as the 6-5 favorite and wound up in the ninth position. Giacomo, who was working at Hollywood Park before his trip east, was second at 4-1.

The Triple Crown rubber match between the pair adds a bit of luster to the race, although nothing like the last two years when crowd favorites Funny Cide and Smarty Jones had their hopes for racing immortality dashed.

This will be just the third Belmont in the past nine years without a Triple Crown on the line. The feat was last achieved in 1978 by Affirmed.

Afleet Alex and Giacomo are the class of the 11-horse field, which could be the weakest since Commendable won in 2000 without the Derby or Preakness winner in the race.

The rest of the field has captured a single graded stakes win -- Southern Africa won the Grade 3 Lone Star Derby -- and boasts a combined record of 16 wins from 54 starts.

The race's length and pace could work in favor of Afleet Alex, the horse with the best career credentials. The colt has won seven of 11 races and earned $2,165,800 for the ownership group Cash Is King.