By Dylan Butler
Before Big Brown finished last in the Belmont Stakes, the biggest surprise Saturday came before the fifth race, when Shaquille O’Neal walked out to the paddock with the other jockeys.
Wearing the same jockey uniform he did in a Vitaminwater Super Bowl commercial, when he rode Chunk of Love to a victory, the 7-foot-1 Phoenix Suns center towered over the other jockeys and caused quite a stir among the stunned crowd.
“Shaq wanted to ride Benny the Waiter,” joked Mike Repole of Repole Stable and the Vitaminwater president. “But he was 200 pounds over the weight limit.”
Instead, Repole went with Eibar Coa, who received instructions from O’Neal. Benny the Waiter, who led briefly down the stretch, finished seventh out of the 11 horse field.
Another Benny, Benny the Bull, rallied late to edge out Man of Danger by a neck in a thrilling finish to the Grade 2 True North Handicap, the first of six straight stakes races.
Benny the Bull is owned by IEAH Stable and trained by Rick Dutrow, the same connection for Big Brown. The jockey, though, was Edgar Prado, not Kent Desormeaux. Prado, incidentally, was Dutrow’s first choice for Big Brown. But the ownership group went with Desormeaux.
In the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes, Ventura made it three wins in four starts since joining Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel’s barn earlier this year.
Shaq made his way to the Winner’s Circle, this time dressed in a suit, to help present the connections of Zaftig in the 78th running of the Grade 1 Acorn, sponsored by Vitaminwater.
Zaftig stumbled out of the gate, but regained her composure and pressured the favorite Indian Blessing in the one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies. Zaftig overtook Indian Blessing down the stretch and won by 4 1/2 lengths.
J Be K captured the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes, solidifying his standing as the top-ranked 3-year-old sprinter in the East.
Under Garrett Gomez, J Be K completed the seven furlongs in 1:21.85 and glided to a 5 1⁄2 length victory over the main track.
Dancing Forever captured the Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap by the slightest of margins, edging Out of Control by a nose in a photo finish in the thrilling 1-1/4-mile race for 3-year-olds and up.
There were no winners in the Pick 6, meaning the carryover for races scheduled for Wednesday at Belmont is a New York state record $1,186,625. It is the highest carryover total in the country.
Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at dbutler@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
