BELMONT, N.Y. — Speaking for the first time since the Friday news that I'll Have Another was scratched from the Belmont Stakes with tendonitis, jockey Mario Gutierrez was unable to hide his disappointment at what could have been a historic day for horse and rider. A win at Belmont on Saturday would have delivered the sport its first Triple Crown in 34 years since Affirmed swept the trio of races in 1978.
Following his morning gallop on Friday, trainer Doug O'Neill noticed inflammation in his horse's left leg and x-rays confirmed tendonitis in I'll Have Another's left leg. The decision was made to pull the horse from the race and retire I'll Have Another.
"[It's] already sunk in. I found out yesterday early in the morning. It's a little sad," Gutierrez said on Saturday.
"The trainer and the owner made the decision for the horse. He's the one who brought us here, so we try to take care of him. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here."
After a win at the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago was followed two weeks later by his closing win at the Preakness, Gutierrez went from a little known rider in the California circuit to the hottest name in the sport. He's taken the ride humbly and graciously, endearing himself in a sport clouded by questionable characters and suspect judgment.
"Before I'll Have Another, no one knew who I was," Gutierrez said. "It has been an unbelievable journey."
Since taking over the riding duties for I'll Have Another in February, Gutierrez has won all four mounts on the horse including the two Triple Crown races. Four months ago at the Grade II Robert B. Lewis Stakes in Santa Anita, Gutierrez never had Triple Crown ambitions and even as the wins began to mount over the past five weeks, he never considered more than the dirt track immediately in front of him.
"I never thought about a Triple Crown. I take one race at a time. My head was focusing on the Belmont Stakes race. That's all I was thinking, the Belmont. If I won the Belmont , then I was going to take everything that comes with it," Gutierrez said.
"I was 100 percent confident in my horse. A lot of people didn't believe in him since the Santa Anita Derby, the Kentucky Derby, everything was going to be such a huge deal for him, and he proved them wrong. I know if he was 100 percent today, he would prove everybody wrong again."
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