Tom Pedulla offers takeaways from the 157^th Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets and other major races that were part of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival that concluded Sunday at Saratoga Race Course. The final leg of the Triple Crown was contested at a mile and a quarter to fit the configuration of Saratoga for the second consecutive year while a new Belmont Park is built. The Festival featured 27 stakes races worth $11.275 million in purses.

STRIKING DISTANCE: Sovereignty needed to rally from 16^th of 19 when he brought home the roses in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. In the Belmont, though, he was mid-pack in a field of eight and always in good position to tackle front-running Rodriguez. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott was pleasantly surprised by that. So was jockey Junior Alvarado. “I was a little shocked at how close, but at the same time how easily he was doing everything,” said the rider. “As a jockey, I was very happy where I was. I was forwardly placed and able to see where everybody (was)….I put him in the clear and gave him the cue and he was just sensational.”

FRESHNESS FACTOR: Can freshness account for the three lengths that separated the top two finishers in the Belmont Stakes? Umberto Rispoli, who rides Journalism, seemed to hint at that after his second-place finisher competed in all three legs of the Triple Crown while victorious Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty skipped the Preakness Stakes (which Journalism won). “I had a good trip. I was running down the lane. Junior was just coming by, easing past, so the only thing I can probably say is the freshness,” Rispoli said. “He (Journalism) is a warrior. He ran all three legs. He (Sovereignty) ran in one and had five weeks to recover, but that’s no excuse.” Well, in the eyes of many horseplayers and analysts, it just might be.

Baeza trains at Saratoga. (Eclipse Sportswire)

WORK IN PROGRESS: All 3-year-olds are a work in progress, some more than others. They are still maturing physically while figuring out the game mentally. Baeza, third in the Derby and Belmont, appears to be an obvious talent but one that is still figuring out everything for well-regarded West Coast trainer John Shirreffs. Jockey Flavien Prat said after the Belmont, “When I was trying to get going, I just wasn’t going anywhere. It took him a long time to get going and then he made a run, but it wasn’t enough. I hope he gets over this. He was a bit on and off. But I don’t feel like I had much of an excuse, to be honest.”

Raging Torrent rolls in Met Mile. (Eclipse Sportswire)

ONCE IN LIFETIME: Trainer Doug O’Neill, who has been knocking on the door to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in recent years, has produced many outstanding horses. So when he described Raging Torrent as “a once-in-a-lifetime kind of horse” after the 4-year-old’s 2 ½-length victory for jockey Frankie Dettori against Fierceness Saturday in the Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap, that made for a powerful statement. O’Neill explained, “He’s got speed. He’s got stamina. He’s got class. He has no problem shipping and it’s just a wonderful feeling.” In outdueling Fierceness, the Maximus Mischief colt secured an automatic, fees-paid berth in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar in November.

WAY TO REBOUND: Hopes were high for Tracy Farmer homebred La Cara after she prepped for the Longines Kentucky Oaks by winning the Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. She failed to live up to expectations, however, when she finished a lackluster ninth in the Oaks. But she rebounded in a big way with a front-running victory under Dylan Davis in Friday’s DK Horse Acorn Stakes at Saratoga. “The Kentucky Oaks was disappointing,” Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse acknowledged, “but we never lost faith in her.”