In the Bible it is written, “The last will be first.”

That scripture was never more true than in the third leg of the Steeplechase Triple Crown at Belmont Park, June 12, when Paradise’s Boss, who finished last in the second leg of the Steeplechase Triple Crown, redeemed himself by winning the third leg of the series, the Meadow Brook Steeplechase, by 7 lengths under jockey Xavier Aizpuru, in Elmont, N.Y.

Making the redemption even sweeter was the fact that Paradise’s Boss established a new course record as he won the $75,000 grade II race, covering the 21³2-mile course of 10 hurdles in 4:33.95, shattering the previous course record of 4:36.53 established by Kinross Farm’s Sur La Tete last year. But, the National Steeplechase Association may have to put an asterisk in the record books, as there were only two fences on the backstretch at Belmont Park this year instead of three.

Owned by Mrs. Henry F. Stern, Paradise’s Boss has now won five of his 10 career starts over hurdles while bankrolling $172,110. The 5-year-old son of That’s Our Buck (by Buckaroo) won four races last year en route to earning the 2004 novice championship.

Based on those credentials, Paradise’s Boss was the heavy Triple Crown favorite at the start of the season, but the gelding faltered in the first two legs of the series, finishing a credible third in the Temple Gwathmey (Va.), but reporting home last in the National Hunt Cup (Pa.). As a result, Paradise’s Boss was dismissed at 34-1 in the Meadow Brook. When 7-year-old mare Class Yankee (Richard Boucher) finished second at 24-1, those two lit up the tote board with a $1,209 exacta.

Facing a field of 14, Aizpuru and trainer Jack Fisher strategized. In his previous wins, Paradise’s Boss has looked to be a blazing front runner, but going 21³2 miles works against that, so Fisher instructed Aizpuru to hold his mount.

“I told Aizpuru I didn’t want him on the lead today; I wanted to tuck him in behind,” Fisher said. “The jock followed those orders to a T, and he was very well-ridden today.”

Covered Up

The bay gelding was rank at the start and almost didn’t let Aizpuru follow his instructions, charging to a brief lead. But Aizpuru kept him to the outside over the first fence and then came across from the right to drop in behind Hay Getoutofmyway (Tom Foley), Why Not Baby (Remy Winants), Mixed Up (Danielle Hodsdon) and Irish Actor (Jody Petty) around the first turn.

After that, the English jockey just kept saving ground on the inside and kept a wall of six or so horses in front of him, cruising at a comfortable speed on the coattails of the pace, now set by Mixed Up and Erin Go Bragh (Christopher Read).

Erin Go Bragh opened up a two-length lead around the clubhouse turn, and the field fanned out across the course as they approached the first fence down the backstretch for the last time, creating quite a spectacle. Less than 5 lengths separated 14 horses when they cleared the sixth fence seemingly in unison.

Aizpuru asked Paradise’s Boss to open up, and the bay gelding with the big white blaze moved from sixth place into second upon landing over the last fence down the backstretch, taking dead aim at Erin Go Bragh around the far turn.

Meanwhile, Boucher was launching his bid, moving Class Yankee into fourth place as they landed over the last fence on the backstretch and then drew to within 2 lengths of Paradise’s Boss at the top of the stretch. Class Yankee looked like she might challenge Paradise’s Boss for the lead as they landed over the second-to-last fence and approached the last, but she chipped in at the final hurdle, losing several lengths to Paradise’s Boss, who was never challenged to the wire.

Mixed Up, who dropped back to fifth around the final turn, came on again through the stretch to best Motel Affair (Cyril Murphy) by a neck for third.

Aizpuru had ridden Paradise’s Boss twice before, piloting him to his maiden win.

“He won nicely in his first start at Strawberry Hill [Va.] last spring, and I thought he’d be a really good horse. But I had no idea he’d become the horse that he is today,” he said. “He’s an absolute gentleman. He’ll let you ride him any way you want. He’s run some of his previous races on the front end, but I don’t think he’s comfortable doing it, and I don’t think it highlights his best points doing it that way. Today we settled him a little bit, and everything I asked him to do he answered.”

Paradise’s Boss’ biggest strength is his marvelous jumping ability. “I don’t think I’ve ever met two last fences in a race quite like that. He’s such a wonderful horse. He sees his stride, and you can see it from a long way out, which is quite unusual. He’s a really fast jumper; he doesn’t waste any time in the air,” said Aizpuru. “In England he’s what we would describe as a ‘proper hurdler.’ He skims over his fences, and sometimes it feels like you haven’t even left the ground.”

Better Strategy

Fisher didn’t do anything spectacularly different to prepare his horse for the Meadow Brook–all it took to go from last to first was a change in strategy.

“I don’t think the extra distance helped him today; in fact I think he wants to run shorter. I think he ran better today because he was perfectly placed in a tracking position for the first two miles of the race,” he said.

This is the second time Fisher has won the Meadow Brooks with a longshot. In 2002 he won with Sharp Face, who went off at 50-1. With three entries in this year’s running, Fisher was stacking his odds.

“It’s looking now like I should be known as a trainer who wins with longshots. I went to bet on Hay Getoutofmyway at 26-1, and as I walked away from the widow I looked up and saw Paradise’s Boss at 28-1 so I turned around and went back to bet on him too,” he said with a grin.

Coming into the race, Fisher liked Paradise’s Boss the least of his three horses simply because he’d run so poorly this year. “I thought 21³2 miles was farther than he wanted to go. I was thinking about not running him today, but it’s the last of his novice stakes, so I figured we’d give it a shot. I figured he couldn’t run any worse than his last race,” he said.

And as they say in horseracing and all other ventures: It’s better to be lucky than good.

Afleet Alex Over Hurdles?

The day before the Meadow Brook former three-day eventer turned Thoroughbred trainer, Tim Ritchey sent Afleet Alex out to capture the 137th running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes by 7 lengths, claiming two legs of the legendary Triple Crown.

The 54-year-old conditioner cut his teeth on the eventing circuit and trained with the U.S. Eventing Team under Jack Le Goff in the early ’70s. “I was on the short list to represent the United States in the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich,” Ritchey said, “but the horse I was riding was sold out from under me by the owner right before they picked the team. Regardless, it was an honor to train alongside some of the greats, like Mike Plumb and Bruce Davidson.”

Until Afleet Alex dominated the last two races of this year’s Triple Crown, Ritchey received much criticism for sending Afleet Alex to the track twice a day to train. His daily training regimen typically included a three-mile jog at daybreak, followed by a two-mile gallop later that morning.

“I learned a lot about conditioning horses from my eventing days, and I applied that knowledge in the way that I prepared Afleet Alex for the Triple Crown, ” Ritchey said. “The long jogs each morning are similar to the roads and tracks portion of the endurance phase, and they are very helpful in building stamina, which is essential for a 11³2-mile race like the Belmont.”

Ritchey has never had the opportunity to train a steeplechase horse, but he has considered that option on more than one occasion for horses under his care. “I’d really like to train a jumper or two,” said Ritchey, “but each time I had a horse that I thought would be well-suited for it he was either claimed or went sore.

“I’m based at Delaware Park, so it wouldn’t be hard to find a place to school,” he continued. “Hopefully, one day soon I’ll be able to run one over fences.”

Always quick to seize on an opportunity, Xavier Aizpuru, the winning jockey of the Meadow Brook hurdles stakes, the third leg of the Steeplechase Triple Crown, offered his services to Ritchey. “If they ever think about running Afleet Alex over hurdles, I’m available,” he said with a grin. “I wouldn’t mind riding him in a hurdle race.”