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Triple Crown- Affirmed Still Reigns
Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was an American thoroughbred race horse who was the eleventh winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. As of 2007, he was the last horse to do so.
As a 2 year old, Affirmed won 7 of 9 starts with 2 seconds for earnings of $343,477 under regular rider Steve Cauthen, then a teenager. Notably, 6 of those starts were against his rival, Calumet Farm's Alydar, with Affirmed winning 4 and Alydar winning 2. Affirmed had a front-running style and Alydar closed from far back, so their races together often consisted of Affirmed getting the lead and Alydar attempting to catch him late in the race. After Affirmed won a maiden race, he faced Alydar (who was ambitiously placed by trainer John M. Veitch in a stakes race in his first start) for the first time in the Youthful Stakes, a 5 1/2 furlong stakes in June at Belmont Park. Affirmed won the race by a nose, and Alydar finished a distant 5th. It was the only time that the horses would meet where they would not run 1-2.
Their second meeting came in July 1978 in the Great American Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs. This time, Alydar would turn the tables, blowing by Affirmed at the top of the stretch and drawing away to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Affirmed also picked up a win in California's major summer stakes for 2 year olds, the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, before shipping back east to face Alydar again.
The colts then moved on to Saratoga Racecourse, where they ran in the Hopeful Stakes, a major 2 year old stakes race held each August. Affirmed held off Alydar's charge to win by 3/4 of a length. By this time, the colts were starting to arouse interest and press coverage, as they seemed to be relatively evenly matched and were the 2 best 2 year old colts in the country. Affirmed also picked up a victory in the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, a race that Alydar sat out.
The colts met again in the Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park in September. This time Alydar moved earlier. The colts hooked up with 3/8 of a mile to go, and battled in an exciting duel to the wire. Affirmed won by a nose, giving the colt a 3-1 edge in the series.
Still, Alydar's partisans believed his come-from-behind style would favor the horse at longer distances. The Champagne Stakes in October, which often decided the 2 year old championship in that era, seemed to prove Alydar's fans right. The Champagne was run at a mile, and this time, Alydar moved late, making up ground in the final 1/8 of a mile to pass Affirmed near the wire and win by more than a length. Alydar's win the Champagne might have wrapped the 2 year old championship up for the colt, but Affirmed would have one more chance, in the Laurel Futurity in November. Affirmed and Alydar both made their moves on the turn, hooked up in another duel like the one in the Futurity Stakes, with the same result, Affirmed winning, this time by a neck.
With his 4-2 margin in the series, Affirmed was named the Champion 2 year old of 1977.
In the Kentucky Derby, Affirmed let Sensitive Prince take the early lead, sitting third through the early stages, while Alydar stayed far back. Affirmed made a strong move for the lead on the far turn, and Alydar's move came too late in the stretch. Affirmed won by 1 1/2 lengths. Affirmed now had a 5-2 edge in the series.
In the Preakness, Affirmed went to the lead and set the pace, and Alydar made his big move on the far turn, at the same point in the race when Affirmed made his winning move in the Derby. Affirmed held a short lead entering the stretch and was able to hold it against Alydar's relentless drive. Affirmed held on and won by a neck.
As exciting as the Preakness was, the Belmont Stakes would turn out to be even more exciting. Again, Alydar's partisans assumed that the 1 1/2 mile distance of the Belmont, 1/4 of a mile longer than the Derby and 5/16 of a mile longer than the Preakness, would favor the colt with his closing style, and he would finally be vindicated and would deny Affirmed the Triple Crown.
However, Affirmed was able to get to the lead and set a very slow pace, going the first quarter mile in 25 seconds and the half in 50 seconds. Alydar's jockey, Jorge Velasquez, smartly put Alydar close to the pace, and moved alongside Affirmed with more than 6 furlongs to go. For more than 3/4 of a mile, the two colts raced neck and neck, pulling away from the rest of the field. At the finish line, once again, Alydar could not vanquish Affirmed, and Affirmed won by a neck and became racing's 11th Triple Crown winner.
Affirmed returned to the races in early August in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. Affirmed nearly became an upset loser himself to the front running Sensitive Prince but was able to close in the last 100 yards in a race that Laz Barrera considered one of Affirmed's finest efforts.
Affirmed and Alydar would meet once more, in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Affirmed, piloted by Hall of Fame Jockey Laffit Pincay who was substituting for the injured Cauthen, cut off Alydar entering the far turn causing his rival to check suddenly. Affirmed crossed under the wire first but was disqualified and placed second. They would never meet again, and the final standing stood at Affirmed 7, Alydar 3.
Affirmed then prepared to meet another major rival, the 1977 Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. The 1978 Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap marked the first time in racing history that two Triple Crown winners ever met in a race. Seattle Slew, the 1977 champion, who was also a speed horse, never allowed Affirmed to get close to him and defeated Affirmed by three lengths. They would meet once more, in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Once again, Seattle Slew denied Affirmed the lead, and Affirmed's saddle slipped midway through the race. He finished far back as Exceller and Willie Shoemaker beat Seattle Slew by a nose.
As a 3 year old, Affirmed won 8 of 11 starts with 2 seconds and 1 out of the money finish, for earnings of $901,541. He was named Horse of the Year despite the two losses to Seattle Slew, and was also named the Champion 3 year old.
Triple Crown By Country: United States | Uninted Kingdom | Canada
Kentucky Derby - Sat, May 3, 2008, Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. More....
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