Jena Antonucci is the first woman to train a Belmont Stakes (G1) winner.

The Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Triple Crown waited 155 years for June 10.

At the end of a macabre week when the skies above Elmont, N.Y., turned yellow and orange with choking smoke from Canada, there was indeed a bright ray of sunshine at Belmont Park generated by Jena Antonucci.

When Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo  stormed through the stretch and powered to a 1 1/2-length victory over 2-year-old champion Forte  under Javier Castellano in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes it was a moment unlike any in Triple Crown history as the son of the late Arrogate turned Antonucci into the first female trainer to win one of the American classics for 3-year-olds.

"They say there's no crying in baseball but they never said it about horse racing," Antonucci said as her voice cracked and tears welled in her eyes.

The emotions were indeed as genuine as the talents of Arcangelo, who won the Belmont in just his fifth career start and first in a grade 1 stakes and earned a forever spot in horse racing history for his trainer who had just seven wins from 48 starts in 2023 before Saturday and had only a pair of grade 3 wins to her credit before Arcangelo's monumental win in one of America's most respected races.

"It's been overcoming adversities," said Antonucci, who grew up riding horses and was an equine veterinary assistant before becoming a trainer in 2010. "You go through growing and your career and you take it on the chin and you fight for that spot. You feel you have to prove your worth but horses don't care. They don't care who you are. They know who you are and to have a horse believe in you and your team..."

In giving the Triple Crown a fifth straight year with three separate winners and allowing Castellano to complete a personal Triple Crown, Arcangelo has exploded on the scene in a relatively short amount of time, just like his owner and trainer. The Kentucky-bred lost his first two starts at Gulfstream Park, then broke his maiden on his third try on March 18. He entered the spotlight with a victory in the May 13 Peter Pan Stakes (G3), the stepping stone prep at Belmont Park for the mile-and-a-half Test of the Champion, and then, in the final leg of the Triple Crown, proved how there is room at the sport's most opulent tables for the small operations vital to the sport's survival.

Jon Ebbert, operator of Blue Rose Farm and the latest entry to the long and impressive list of Triple Crown-winning owners, had just three wins from 39 starters before Saturday's heroics. Yet he had enough faith in his female trainer and her small stable to stick with her and turn down offers to buy the horse after a fast maiden win and the Peter Pan victory.

"I am immensely grateful and a lot of stars aligned. A crazy guy gave the girls (the horse) and there's a lot of credit to that man right there," Antonucci said while pointing to Ebbert. "Because his phone rang and rang to move the horse or buy the horse and give it to the guys. No offense to them. I love them all. They are good to me. I can go up and say hi to any one of them. But he (Ebbert) gave a girl a chance."

For Ebbert all of that faith in his trainer and ridgling was handsomely rewarded in the 155th Belmont Stakes by a new star on the muddled 3-year-old landscape that was bred by Don Alberto Corporation and he bought for a mere $35,000 from the Gainesway consignment at the 2021 Keeneland September Sale.

"Jena has the best team and is an amazing person," he said, echoing Antonucci's praise for Fiona Goodwin, her assistant for over a decade, and business partner Katie Miranda. "She will try her best for every owner. In bigger barns, I don't believe it's the same with bigger trainers. I think they favor certain owners because I've gone to those barns and with Jena every owner is her friend and she treats them all with the highest respect and gratitude. I can't say any more. She's been amazing and that's why we're here.

"People offered me a lot of money and we had faith in (Arcangelo). He's special, too, but the way Jena works with you, she gives you confidence to stay with her and take the gamble that you are going to win with the horse."

Aside from the impact on the connections, the breakthrough victory also promises to serve as a boost for women involved in the sport and those considering a career in it.

"It can open eyes, if that's what the women want," Antonucci said. "If that's what they are looking for. It's a hard sport. It's a hard sport for guys. You have to work your butt off to do this. Sure, it's a little harder for a woman but dig deeper, work harder. Winning the Belmont Stakes wasn't atop my list of things to do but if you do things right, good things will happen. You have to keep making opportunities for yourself. You just don't have luck. You make luck and you make opportunity. We've worked really hard at doing that and here we are."

Hard work also paid off for Castellano. The Hall of Famer and native of Venezuela entered this year with two Preakness Stakes (G1) wins to his credit but none in the other legs in a United States career that dates back to 1997. Now, in the last five weeks, after winning the Kentucky Derby (G1) with Mage , the four-time Eclipse Award winner has completed his Triple Crown puzzle.

"This is a dream come true," he said. "To win two Triple Crown races in the same year, it's amazing. Everything worked out so good. This is so special."

Castellano turned in a stellar ride on Arcangelo, biding his time aboard the son of the Tapit   mare Modeling while riding the rail in mid-pack. He then surged to the front from the inside leaving the quarter pole and pulled away to cover the 1 1/2 miles in 2:29.23 and pay $17.80 as the 7-1 fifth choice in the field of nine 3-year-olds.

"He was so impressive. He was always there for me," Castellano said.

The Belmont also added even more clouds to the debate over the top 3-year-old in 2023. Mage, who was third in the Preakness, did not run in the Belmont, and National Treasure , who won the Preakness for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, set the early pace but faded to sixth, a little more than seven lengths behind.

Certainly, the race did not dull the reputation of Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte, last year's 2-year-old champion who was scratched as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby on the morning of the race due to a foot bruise. Running for the first time since April 1, the 2-1 favorite was sixth with a furlong to go, about 5 1/2 lengths behind Arcangelo, but gamely sliced four lengths off that margin in the final eighth of a mile and nosed out fellow Todd Pletcher-trained starter Tapit Trice  for second.

"I am super proud of both horses," Pletcher said about his two starters. "We knew we were asking a lot (of Forte) coming off the 10-week layoff and (jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.) said during the middle part of the race he couldn't hold his position and he got shuffled back a bit. Once he got him outside and in the clear he was having an impact at the end. He just kind of ran out of time getting there."

Ortiz said Forte, who had crossed the wire first in his five previous starts, ran "great."

"I just had to go a little wider," Ortiz said. "I think the winner cut the corner. He was best today."

Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's Tapit Trice, a son of Tapit who was eighth early, was three-quarters of a length ahead of Hit Show  and Angel of Empire , two Brad Cox-trained starters who finished in a dead heat for fourth.

"Tapit Trice got the trip we wanted. He got out in the clear and made that move and kept steadily grinding away. We were super happy with both horses' efforts," Pletcher said.

Antonucci said she was uncertain of what's next for Arcangelo, the fifth of five foals from Modeling and her lone stakes winner.

Courtesy Bloodhorse.com