New York ? This ride was as smooth and impressive as his Preakness victory was harrowing.

Scattering rivals with a stunning move on the far turn, Afleet Alex rolled to a seven-length victory in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, the last and longest leg of the Triple Crown.

Jockey Jeremy Rose turned him loose on the turn for home, and Afleet Alex responded with locomotive-like power to blow away Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and nine helpless rivals.

“He’s a beast, he’s a freak of nature, he’s made out of steel,” Rose said. “He’s the best 3-year-old in the country.”

With no Triple Crown at stake, 62,274 racing fans at Belmont Park had to settle for watching an amazing colt who averted disaster by a whisker last month at Pimlico when he tangled with another horse and nearly was knocked to his knees.

Rose somehow managed to hang onto his mount in that ride; this time, he just was along for the ride.

“The only thing that was going to get him beat was me, so I just tried to just stay out of his way and let him do his thing and help in the last part,” Rose said.

Rose blamed himself for his colt’s lost shot at racing immortality.

“He should be a Triple Crown winner, but I messed up,” Rose said, referring to Afleet Alex’s third-place finish at Churchill Downs, where he was beaten by two long shots.

But, hey, two out of three ain’t bad, with Afleet Alex becoming just the 11th thoroughbred to win the Preakness and Belmont after running – but not winning – the Derby. Among the elite group are Native Dancer, Nashua and Damascus, each of whom just missed in the Derby, too.

Afleet Alex easily won his rubber match with Giacomo, who finished seventh in the field of 11 3-year-olds. Andromeda’s Hero was second and Nolan’s Cat was third.

Preakness winner Afleet Alex (9), with jockey Jeremy Rose up, passes Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, left, with jockey Mike Smith up, as they enter the mainstretch of the Belmont Stakes. Afleet Alex went on to win the Belmont by seven lengths Saturday in New York, and Giacomo finished seventh.

“I thought I had a good chance to win, but Afleet Alex went by me too fast,” said jockey Edgar Prado, who was aboard fourth-place finisher Indy Storm.

Afleet Alex dropped back early as long shot Pinpoint towed the field through a moderate pace. Giacomo, with Mike Smith aboard, was right off the leaders and made his move on the final sweeping turn. But just when it looked as though the Derby winner was going to roll to victory, Afleet Alex burst through and stormed into the lead.

Giacomo never mounted another threat and faded in the stretch, while trainer Nick Zito finally hit the board in this year’s Triple Crown series with Andromeda’s Hero. It was Zito’s sixth runner-up finish in the Belmont, and a year after he won with Birdstone.

Winning time for the race was 2:28.75, well off Secretariat’s record of 2:24 in 1973. Afleet Alex finished so strongly, he ran the final quarter mile in 24.50 seconds, a half-second faster than Secretariat. To keep things in perspective, however, Secretariat won the Belmont by 31 lengths.

Nolan’s Cat, winless in five previous starts, was 6 3/4 lengths behind Andromeda’s Hero. Indy Storm was fourth, followed by A.P. Arrow, Chekhov, Giacomo, Southern Africa, Watchmon, Reverberate and Pinpoint.

Jockey Jeremy Rose signals to the crowd after winning the Belmont Stakes.

Smith said Giacomo had a breathing problem during the race. “He flipped his palate real bad, you can hear it. He made a loud, roaring noise.”

Sent off as the even-money favorite, Afleet Alex returned $4.30, $3.60 and $3. Andromeda’s Hero, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, paid $8.20 and $5.80. Nolan’s Cat, with Norberto Arroyo Jr., paid $7.20 to show.

Afleet Alex became just the second favorite in the last 10 years to win the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, where four of the previous six races produced huge payoffs. Last year, Birdstone spoiled Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown try and returned $74 for a $2 win ticket. In 2002, Sarava won and paid $142.50.

Winning trainer Tim Ritchey laid out his ideal race Friday, noting that Rose needed patience in such a long race. He had it.

“All I kept saying was, ‘Be patient, be patient, be patient. Wait, wait, wait,’ ” Ritchey said. “He just exploded. That was the plan. With these big, wide turns, you have to save all the ground you can. Jeremy Rose has now ridden three Triple Crown races like a Hall of Famer.”

Afleet Alex, with his eighth win in 12 starts, earned $600,000 from the $1 million purse and boosted his bankroll to $2,765,800.

The handsome bay colt has become more than a racehorse for Cash Is King Stable, which was formed by five friends from the Philadelphia area who bought Afleet Alex for $75,000 last year. Part of the colt’s earnings are being donated to pediatric cancer research through Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

The stand was started by 4-year-old Alex Scott, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer two days before her first birthday, in 1997. Alex died last August, but the owners, and Ritchey, have become part of the fund-raising drive and more than $2 million has been raised.

“There’s more to life than just horse racing,” Ritchey said the day before the Belmont, “… and this is part of it.”

Afleet Alex certainly looked like a winner in the Derby until he was caught in the final strides by 50-1 Giacomo and 71-1 Closing Argument.

In the Preakness, the colt nearly went down after Scrappy T veered into his path at the top of the stretch, but Rose somehow managed to hang onto his mount and Alex still won by 4 3/4 lengths.

Ritchey said Afleet Alex would get a few days off, and resume training for a summer campaign that might include the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Aug. 7 and the Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

Zito finished off a Triple Crown series to forget: 0-for-11. Elected to racing’s Hall of Fame two weeks ago, he at least hit the board in the Belmont. His other two starters were Indy Storm and Pinpoint.

The trainer failed in the Derby with a record-tying five horses, including favorite Bellamy Road, and failed in the Preakness with a record-tying three horses.

Ritchey and Rose, meantime, had quite an amazing journey in preparing for their first Triple Crown attempt.

Afleet Alex was a brilliant 2-year-old, winning his first four starts, including the prestigious Sanford and Hopeful stakes at Saratoga. The colt finished second in the Champagne and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and came into the year among the leading Derby contenders.

In fact, he liked running so much that Ritchey started training him twice a day. After a minor stakes win at Oaklawn Park, Afleet Alex was last in the Rebel Stakes, with Ritchey explaining his colt had developed a lung infection. It was the only time Afleet Alex failed to finish in the top three of any race.

He finished the Belmont, all right, and aced the “Test of the Champion.”