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Tapwrit rallies in stretch to win Belmont Stakes

9 years ago in Sports

Photo: Associated Press/An exercise rider guides a race horse around the track during a workout, Friday, June 9, 2017, in Elmont, N.Y. The 149th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race is on Saturday. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

BETH HARRIS, AP Racing Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Tapwrit overtook favored Irish War Cry in the stretch to win the Belmont Stakes by two lengths, giving trainer Todd Pletcher his third victory in the final leg of the Triple Crown.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Tapwrit ran 1 1/2 miles in 2:30.02 on his home track on Saturday. Ortiz’s brother Irad won the race last year with Creator.

Tapwrit finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness. Five of the last nine Belmont winners followed that same path.

Pletcher took two of the three Triple Crown races, having saddled Always Dreaming to victory in the Derby.

Tapwrit paid $12.60, $6.50 and $5 at 5-1 odds.

Irish War Cry returned $4.70 and $3.90, while Patch, the one-eyed horse trained by Pletcher, paid $6.50 to show.

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