Rags-to-riches horse and jockey compete for Triple Crown glory

Jack Sisterson, the assistant trainer, said the affinity between horse and
rider wason display immediately. “He’s definitely got a great
connection the horse. Mario is a great rider – you can see it whenever he
rides, he looks so good. It’s the reason we asked him to work the horse.

“He came down to the yard one day and worked the horse – and he worked
fantastic with Mario on him. So then Mario rode him in a race and he won by
five lengths.

“Everyone thought we would change him because he’d never been in a
Kentucky Derby before, but it was down to the owner and trainer who had
faith in him. I don’t think they regret that decision now.”

Not everyone agrees that Gutierez is a shoe-in to take I’ll Have Another to
the Triple Crown.

Kent Desormeaux, the last rider to attempt the Triple Crown, in 2008, told the
Baltimore Sun that the rookie horse and rider didn’t have a hope at the
Belmont Stakes, widely seen as the most challenging of the three races.

“A first-time jockey will be lost. I don’t care how much you try to
explain it,” he said. “And a first-time horse will be lost,
equally.

“If you think you can bring a horse here and introduce him to Belmont
Park a few days before the Belmont Stakes, you have wronged yourself.”

Gutierrez is not allowing negative thoughts to undermine his enjoyment of his
time in the spotlight.

“To be honest, I can’t believe this is happening still. It’s like a
fairy tale,” he said. “It gets a little bit nervous at times but
I’ll try my best to put that aside, because at the end of the day it’s going
to be just my horse and I.

“I just want to be at my best because my horse will be at his best and
we’re in this thing together.

“From the first time I met him, I knew he was the one. He’s a fighter,
he’s got the biggest heart ever. He likes to win.”

Like many top race horses, I’ll Have Another is a descendant of the great
Northern Dancer. Mr Sisterson claims the horse has great confidence on the
track.

He said: “He’s a really laid back character, nothing fazes him. It’s only
when he gets to the track that he becomes all business.

“You never know if you’ll get a chance like this again, so you just take
as much from it as you can. We’re just excited, just really confident, being
in this position.”

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