"It takes a special horse to make all three dances. It takes a real special one to win all three," said D. Wayne Lukas, who trained Charismatic. "It takes a toll."

Charismatic suffered a career-ending injury in the 1999 Belmont, in which he finished third. Lukas said he believes Charismatic lost the Triple Crown and was injured because jockey Chris Antley had him too close to the pace.

"It was totally a product of the trip, including the breakdown," Lukas said from Churchill Downs, where he is preparing Proud Citizen for the Belmont. "That wasn't the kind of race he ran to win the first two."

Prior to the 1999 Belmont Lukas gave Chris Antley instructions to stay with the speedy Silverbulletday. He of all trainers knows you don't let quality speed loose on the lead. Antley followed Luka's instructions to the letter and got beat when a couple good horses picked up the pieces late. Charismatic had ankle problems before that race. Although the vast majority of Lukas runners break down around Triple Crown time and are not heard from again. But the ugly soul of revisionist history has raised his head again. Antley has been blamed previously by Lukas for not having his head in the game and not caring as much for Charismatic as he did. But this is the first time I've read Antley receiving blame for the man's own decisions. It's easy to take petty shots at a dead man. Will some good horse aim a swift kick at this moron's head?

lol

Tabi