Skip Away, the majestic gray five-year-old who draws near-capacity crowds wherever he races, inspired nothing but delighted cheers Saturday afternoon as he bested some of the finest thoroughbreds in the world to win the 45th Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont.

With his victory, his ninth straight under jockey Jerry Bailey, Skip Away also drew closer to matching or besting the nearly $10 million in earnings captured by the sensational Cigar.

Purchased for just $22,000 three years ago by trainer Sonny Hine as a present for his wife, Carolyn, Skip Away thundered to a length-and-three-quarter victory over Gentleman, a six-year-old wunderkind out of Argentina.

Running Stag, who boasts European roots, came in third, and to the surprise of many, Free House and Coronado's Quest, finished fourth and fifth respectively.

With his loss, Coronado's Quest, the only three-year-old in the field and, after Skip Away himself, the most storied competitor of the day, saw his winning streak ended at five.

To say that there was a Belmont Stakes kind of excitement in the air prior to the race would be an understatement.

Near the paddock area, where the horses are showcased for the bettors before heading off for the track, flash cameras easily outnumbered racing forms, and loud applause went up as Skip Away and the other contenders wove their way into view.

"Please step back," a tall man leading a contingent of security guards said as the crowd inside the paddock -- trainers and horse owners, mostly -- surged forward to see Skip Away pass by.

Then, as first Running Stag, then Skip Away, Gentleman and Free House made the right hand turn on the paddock walk and headed to the tunnel that empties out onto the track, the security guards grew more earnest, gesturing for the paddock's population to step back, and asking the bettors and fans in the gallery to keep quiet... the Quest was about to come through.

Coming off his two year old season, Coronado's Quest was considered a major contender for this year's Kentucky Derby and a potential Triple Crown hopeful.

The rambunctious chestnut-colored colt had won five of his six starts last year, and heading into the winter it was believed that after taking on all comers in stakes races in Florida and at Aqueduct, Coronado's Quest would be Kentucky bound with a bullet.

Unfortunately for trainer McGaughey and the horse's owner, Stuart Janney III, at three-years-old, prime time in the race game, Coronado's Quest became better known for his pre-race episodes ¬ episodes that included bucking, throwing his rider, and freezing to the point of unmanageability ¬ than for what he accomplished on the track.

Despite his unruly behavior during a three-race campaign in Florida this winter, Coronado's Quest managed second place finishes in both the Hutcheson and the Fountain of Youth and appeared to be well on his way to competing in the May 2 Kentucky Derby.

A severe tantrum prior to the Florida Derby, however, resulted in a fifth place finish and McGaughey returned to New York hoping that the environs that had been so good to his charge in the past would prove a cure for whatever was ailing him.

In addition to the change in scenery, minor surgery to remove a membrane that was interfering with the colt's breathing appeared to have resulted in a better behaved competitor.

Since then he's won the Wood Memorial, the Riva Ridge, the Dwyer, the Haskell, and, most recently the Travers Stakes.

Still, one of the key elements to any race involving The Quest is keeping him calm.

In the paddock, for instance, Coronado's Quest is saddled with another horse standing in front of him, blocking his view. When he heads to the track, fans, just as they were on Saturday, are cautioned to be calm, and when he gets to the track, he eschews the post parade before the grandstand and heads right out to the starting gate.

On Saturday, the journey to the starting gate went off without a hitch.

Amidst all the hullabaloo, a man approached Shug McGaughey and said quietly, "I hear the horse isn't feeling well."

"It's true," McGaughey said. "And on a day like this, with competition like Skip Away... Well, it just breaks your heart."

For a quarter of a mile after starter Bob Duncan released the competitors from the starting gate, Skip Away ran a length behind Coronado's Quest, who covered that distance in a blistering twenty-two and two-thirds seconds.

After a half mile, which was run in forty-five and two-fifths seconds, Skip Away was in the lead, with Coronado's Quest second, Free House, third, and Gentleman, fourth -- very much the order that many in the crowd of 20,327 had anticipated.

(That crowd, incidentally, was one of the largest at a New York Racing Association operated track this year, surpassed only by the attendance of the Belmont Stakes itself, and the Travers, which was run last month in Saratoga.

It also far surpassed the attendance at all other sporting events held in Nassau County in the past 12 months, including Islander home games and this past summer's Goodwill Games.)

As they turned into the stretch, it was Skip Away by two lengths over Gentleman, who was opening up ground between himself and Running Stag, who entered the Woodward as the 46 to 1 long shot.

As they slipped under the wire at the finish line, Skip Away was a length and three-quarters from Gentleman and six lengths ahead of Running Stag.

Nine lengths behind him was Free House, the recent winner of the $1 million Pacific Classic, and alongside him, perhaps a little more than the length of a neck back, was Coronado's Quest.

Skip Away ran the mile-and-an-eighth race in one minute, forty-seven, and four-fifth seconds, raking in the $300,000 winner's share in the $500,000 Grade One stakes race.

Jockey Jerry Bailey, who won his fourth Woodward Saturday -- his third in the last four years, including two aboard Cigar -- was asked to compare Skip Away with Cigar.

"It's like having two kids," he said. "Which do you love more?"

Sonny Hine was less shy about his feelings. "He's the best there is," the trainer declared. "He's brilliant. He is one of the best I've ever seen."

"We just want to see him get the respect he deserves," Carolyn Hine added.

"At the top of the stretch, I thought we had a chance to win," said Richard Mandella, who brought Gentleman to the race. "But Skip Away just got away from us. He showed everyone just how tremendous a horse he is."

According to Shug McGaughey, "Everyone thought this would be a great race, but it didn't shape up like everyone thought. As it turned out, Coronado's Quest and Free House did not run their races. But then, maybe Skip Away prevented them from running their races."

With the victory, the five-year-old Skip Away's career earnings come to $9.5 million, a little less than $500,000 shy of the record $9,999,815 in earnings posted by Cigar.

That mark could fall in just over a week, should the Hines decide to run Skip Away in the October 10 Jockey Club Gold Cup, a $1 million race at Belmont Park, or in just over a month, when the racing sensation is expected to run in the Breeder's Cup Classic November 6 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. That race carries a purse of $4 million.

In his fabled career, Skip Away has won two titles, as the champion three-year-old of 1996, and the champion older horse of 1997, and his victory in the Woodward virtually locks up the Horse of the Year honors this year.

A back to back winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, in 1996 and '97, Skip Away will cost the Hines $80,000 to go in the Breeder's Cup.

Last year, because he was not Breeder's Cup eligible, Skip Away was supplemented for $480,000. He not only won the race, but did it in one minute, 59 seconds, just three-fifths off the mile-and-a-quarter track record at Hollywood Park, where the Breeder's Cup was being contested last fall. He also earned $2,288,000 to make the Hine's gamble worthwhile.

"I want everything for the horse; he's the star," said Carolyn Hine. "I'm just so happy I can share all this happiness with racing fans... because I could hear the applause and cheers... and I just think it's beautiful."

Just days before Saturday's race, it was announced that Skip Away will retire after the Breeder's Cup, and will stand at stud at Hopewell Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.

His purchase price was reportedly $18 million, or 45 shares that sold for $400,000 each.

"Carolyn cried all night [after the decision was made]," Sonny Hine said. "She's having a tough time, but it's the right thing to do for this horse.

"He's been good to a lot of people, and we have to do good by him. I wanted three things to happen: I wanted him to be happy, I wanted him to stay in the United States, and I wanted a certain price met after all the commissions, mortality insurance, and fertility insurance was paid out. I got what I wanted."

The trainer paused to reflect, "You know, in his career, Skip Away has done almost everything, and most of the races next year are handicaps. I'd hate to start out the year carrying 135 pounds. It really isn't fair to the horse. It's a lot of stress, although [I must say], he is a great weight carrier."

"I can't say he's just another horse; he's a bolt of lightning, this guy," Sonny Hine continued. "Who would ever think I'd have the best horse in the world, but it happened."

In addition to the Woodward, the afternoon at Belmont featured two other major stakes races.

The first was the Ruffian, for fillies and mares, which was won by Sharp Cat -- her fourth straight victory.

The four-year-old daughter of Storm Cat, trained by Wally Dolase and ridden by his son-in-law, Corey Nakatani, led the race from wire to wire and won by three lengths over Furlough and three-and-a-half lengths over Stop Traffic.

The mile-and-a-sixteenth effort was over in one minute and forty-two and two-fifths seconds, earning Sharp Cat and her connections $150,000 and bringing her career earnings up to $1.8 million.

The third stakes run on Saturday was the Jerome, the second oldest stakes race in the United States, having been run for 130 years at four different tracks.

If Sharp Cat's victory in the Ruffian was of little surprise to dedicated handicappers -- she won the Matron at Belmont as a two year old and the Acorn as a three-year-old -- the victory by Limit Out in the Jerome -- after his not having won a race since last April -- was a pleasant surprise.

Limit Out, trained by Allan Jerkins and ridden by Jean-Luc Samyn, outran a solid field of three-year-old colts that included Grand Slam, winner of the Peter Pan this year and Champagne and Futurity last year.

Grand Slam, the favorite going into the race, finished two-and-a-half lengths from the lead, while Scatmandu finished a half length behind him for third.