Things will be getting a bit more crowded in the stables for Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have another but trainer Doug O'Neill is just fine with that.
O'Neill received word on Friday that his horse will be allowed to have Lava Man join him in the stables, getting the approval of Belmont Park's stewards to allow the horse to stay with I'll Have Another as a companion leading up to Saturday's big race. The 11-year old Lava Man boasts over $5 million in earnings and with a Goodwood Breeders Cup Handicap win in 2006 to go along with twice taking the Santa Anita Handicap, the veteran horse should be a steadying presence for I'll Have Another.
O'Neill was also the trainer of Lava Man.
"Monday will be the soonest and we are going to have Lava Man there which is great," O'Neill said on Friday.�"They're used to be being with their buds and being in a barn all by himself, even though he can handle that, they are going to let us have Lava Man there, at least he'll have a buddy."
But as good as the news about Lava Man becoming his horse's roommate this week, it was steady as it goes for I'll Have Another as the Triple Crown hopeful went through another light day at Belmont Park, just days away from this weekend's Belmont Stakes.
The plan for I'll Have Another, who is hoping to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, is to gallop and jog and not go through any formal workouts. O'Neill was pleased to see his horse's "beautiful stride" on display on Friday.
"He goes about a mile-and-a-half with the last part of it, he puts his feet where he wants and stretches himself. It's been his routine, his daily routine," O'Neill said.
"Unless we have any hiccups where he can't gallop for a day or two, there's no need to work him."
The Friday morning workout was less congested than usual as the New York Racing Association closed the track for a portion of the morning for everyone but O'Neill's horse and a handful of the other entrants in the Belmont Stakes. The opportunity to get a stress-free workout in pleased O'Neill.
"It was awesome, it was so cool and we got the chance to see a couple of other Belmont hopefuls out there as well. And they looked great out there, it was a great experience," O'Neill said.�"I think it's a safer environment for everybody because a lot of the other horses aren't used to the press and the media and it's not fair to those horses and the exercise riders."
The competition has thinned out for I'll Have Another as Alpha, who finished twelfth in the Kentucky Derby, withdrew on Thursday after developing a fever.
"He spiked a temperature on Tuesday evening," trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. "[It was] 103. He was fine by 11 P.M.. that evening after treatment, fine yesterday, and he's fine today, but it's too high a temperature too close to the race. It's unfortunate."
Follow Yahoo! Sports Kristian R. Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer for updates on the Belmont Stakes all week long.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/ill-have-another-gets-a-roommate?urn=top,wp453
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