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 4¾ 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.

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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.”

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