Filly Rags to Riches Suffers First Career Defeat

She became everybody's darling when she was the first filly in recent history to win the Belmont Stakes.

Plagued by iffy medical symptoms such as unexplained fevers since her blazing win, Rags to Riches missed a lot of training time this year. Yesterday, she was beaten by half a length in the Gazelle by Lear's Princess at the site of her earlier triumph, Belmont Park. She was ridden by jockey John Velazquez.

It was the first loss in the filly's career since her racing debut in June 2006.

Trainer Todd Pletcher blamed Rags to Riches' time off the track for the second-place finish and said he's concentrating on getting her ready for the Breeder's Cup Distaff at Monmouth Park on October 27. And he still considers her the best three-year-old filly in the world.