by Warren Alber
 
The T-shirts could be seen around Belmont Park on Saturday—carnations are for girls.

Rags to Riches must have seen those shirts, carrying the banner for girl power all the way to the winner's circle and into Belmont Stakes (G1) lore on Saturday, wearing the blanket of carnations as the first filly in 102 years to win the final leg of the Triple Crown.

Owned by Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, Rags to Riches edged 1.10-to-1 favorite Curlin by a head, covering 1 1/2 miles over the fast track in 2:28.74. She is the first filly to win the Belmont since Tanya captured the 1905 running, electrifying the 46,870 on hand at Belmont Park on Saturday.

"It's a special feeling no matter when you do it," winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. "But when you do it with a filly for the first time in 102 years, it's really special, a real credit to how good she is."

Stumbling badly at the break, Rags to Riches had only Imawildandcrazyguy beaten after a quarter mile in :24.74, seven lengths behind pace-setting C P West.

"My first time on her, and she stumbles coming out of there," jockey John Velazquez said. "The first thing I thought was, 'Why did it happen right now?' "

Velazquez, who had been zero-for-ten in his career in the Belmont, did not panic. He and Pletcher had wanted to try to keep the dirt from getting kicked in her face, and he raced six wide down the backstretch as C P West and Slew's Tizzy led the field through a half-mile in :50.14 and six furlongs in 1:15.32.

Velazquez guided Rags to Riches around the outside of the leaders, following Hard Spun, while Robby Albarado guided Curlin inside through the turn. As Curlin was splitting C P West and Slew's Tizzy to put his head in front nearing the quarter pole, Rags to Riches dispatched Hard Spun and surged to the lead, opening a three-quarter-length cushion inside the eighth pole, but as he did in winning the Preakness Stakes (G1), Curlin battled back to close to within a head of Rags to Riches as they ran side-by-side, head-bobbing over the final 70 yards to the finish.

"They came into the stretch pretty much heads-up," Curlin trainer Steve Asmussen said. "He fought back very well. My hat is off to Rags to Riches. At the eighth-pole, the filly put a good neck on him and he never gave up; he's got a lot of fight in him."

Curlin finished 5 1/2 lengths clear of Tiago, with Hard Spun, C P West, Imawildandcrazyguy, and Slew's Tizzy completing the order of finish.

"I thought I put him in all the right places," Albarado said. "He handled it well inside. I thought at one point he could come back and get her, but she is tough. She is an amazing filly."

A half-sister to 2006 Belmont Stakes winner Jazil, Rags to Riches is the 22nd filly in history to run the Belmont and only the third to win it. She became the tenth filly to run the race since Tanya's 1905 victory.

Pletcher, who is still zero-for-28 with colts in Triple Crown races, won two Grade 1 races on Saturday, capturing the Acorn Stakes (G1) with Cotton Blossom. While he said he did not have a plan in mind for Rags to Riches, he did not rule out taking on the boys again. He said she could return in the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) on July 21 at Belmont Park and the Alabama Stakes (G1) on August 18 at Saratoga Race Course, or in the Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) August 5 at Monmouth Park and Travers Stakes (G1) August 25 at Saratoga.

Velazquez came into the Belmont having gone zero-for-20 in Triple Crown races—zero-for-nine in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), zero-for-one in the Preakness to go along with his zero-for-ten in the Belmont.

Rags to Riches is now the third filly to win the Belmont—joining Tanya and Ruthless, who won the inaugural Belmont Stakes, which was run at Jerome Park. Silverbulletday, who finished seventh in the 1999 Belmont, was the last filly to give the race a try. She is the fourth horse in the last five years to win the Belmont off of a five-week layoff, joining Empire Maker (2003), Birdstone ('04) and Jazil ('06).

"We knew she would get the trip," Smith said. "And we just cheered her home down the stretch. It's girl power."

For an Equibase chart, click here.

Warren Alber is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent