Ill Have Another jockey thankful for opportunity

I'll Have Another jockey Mario Gutierrez said he was sad and thankful Friday after placing seventh riding Boxeur des Rues in the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park, USA Today reported.

The race was supposed to be a warmup for Saturday's Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, but the horse was forced to retire due to a leg injury.

Gutierrez would have ridden I'll Have Another at Belmont, but the 25-year-old jockey had to settle for the Brooklyn Handicap, which is the same 1 1/2-miles distance as the Belmont.

"What I'll Have Another did for me is amazing," he said. "He just brought opportunity to my life and the opportunity to share this unbelievable adventure with family and friends. ... I'm just glad that I was his jockey. ... I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be a part of I'll Have Another."

I'll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the first two legs of the Triple Crown. The last horse to win all three races was Affirmed in 1978.

"I'm going to keep working as hard as I can," Gutierrez said. "I don't want anybody to hand anything to me."

Doug O'Neill, I'll Have Another's trainer, had hoped riding Boxeur des Rues would help prepare Gutierrez, who had never raced at Belmont, for the shot at the Triple Crown.

Owner Paul Reddam broke the news to Gutierrez Friday morning.

"He (Gutierrez) was sad for the horse, really," Reddam said. "He has just had a tremendous bonding with I'll Have Another, as everybody saw him on the track, and his concern was 100 percent for the welfare of the horse, and he expressed in the end no disappointment for him not getting a chance to run in the Belmont. He's just glad the horse is OK."

In a ceremonial tribute, Gutierrez will ride I'll Have Another in the post parade for the Belmont Stakes.