Second rate
Gronk watches horse’s rally fall short
Gronkowski was late to the party. But party on he did.
With his namesake and part owner — Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski — excitedly looking on from the stands, the horse Gronkowkski fell way behind the pack early, but suddenly made his move around the final turn, surging all the way into a second place finish behind Justify on Saturday in the 150th Belmont Stakes.
The human Gronkowski, who flew into Elmont on a private jet shortly before post time, thought the horse Gronkowski, who is owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds, had a shot to win it down the home stretch, as TV cameras captured him screaming, “He’s about to beat him! He’s about to beat him! No way!”
And though he placed second, 1 ¾ lengths behind Justify, there was no shame in that for the colt that began the morning with 12-to-1 odds — especially after opening at 69-to-1.
“It’s just unbelievable that Gronkowski the horse is even here,” Gronkowski told NBC before the race. “Just seeing the owner name it after me a year ago, and then seeing it win a couple races and getting to here, it’s a [remarkable] story. It’s awesome to even be part of it.”
Gronkowski — trained by Chad Brown and jockeyed by Jose Ortiz — was making his first North American start. They hoped to run him in all three legs of the Triple Crown, but he sat out the Kentucky Derby and Preakness because of an illness.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was also in attendance, watching a Gronkowski get beaten by a Maraowned team again. Chris Mara, a partowner of the Giants that beat the Patriots in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI. Gronkowski only played in the latter.
“With the odds and everything, not really looking at that,” Gronkowski said. “It’s just awesome to be here.”