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Triple Crown Archive

The Questions Begin

Now that the thrill of Saturday has passed and Afleet Alex has established himself as a most superior horse, the question of how he failed to become the first Triple Crown winner in 27 years is coming to the fore. “How did the colt who is clearly the best runner in his generation fail to win the 2005 Triple Crown?,” asks Rick Bozich (Courier-Journal). Bill Finley answers: “The only possible answer? It’s just a very, very hard thing to do” (ESPN). Expect this conversation to continue for years as people debate whether it was the jockey or the pace that cost Alex the Kentucky Derby.
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Trainer Tim Ritchey said “at least 15 breeding farms have inquired about Afleet Alex,” but that if an interest in the colt is sold it would be only for breeding and wouldn’t interfere with Ritchey’s racing plans (LA Times). The owners are “adamant” about seeing Alex run as a four-year-old. Cash Is King managing partner Chuck Zacney told Boston Globe reporter Ron Indrisano, “We never got into this for the money. I think he’s going to get better with age. We’re so attracted to Alex, and there are so many people attracted to this horse, that I’d hate to see an end to the trip. At the end of October, after the Breeders’ Cup [Oct. 29 at Belmont], if all goes well, I think we’ll probably start entertaining offers. But I don’t see anything before that.” I want to believe. Keeping the amazing Alex in training would be great for the sport, and there’s no reason to doubt the sincerity of Zacney or Ritchey, but:

There’s been a parade of breeders lining up to swipe Afleet Alex faster than he stormed through that opening Saturday. Take WinStar Farm’s Doug Cauthen, who was headed to Belmont Park late Thursday see to Afleet Alex. When Cauthen’s flight was canceled, he jumped in a rental car and drove all night.

Around the barn, figures in the millions to syndicate Afleet Alex are being tossed about. In a matter of minutes, it’s clear those are ridiculous numbers, because the next set of numbers you hear are much, much larger.

“It really is out of our hands,” [Afleet Alex co-owner Bob] Brittingham said. “I don’t know. I’d like to see him run till he’s 5, 6, 7. At least through 4 years, just because he’s that good and I know he likes to run, and I’d like to see him run against some of my heroes that are still out there — Ghostzapper, Lost in the Fog. I’d love to see that.”

Pause.

“I don’t know if we actually get to make that decision.” (Palm Beach Post)

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Speaking of Ritchey, it’s time to heap praise upon him for the unconventional training regimen he devised for Afleet Alex. Sending the colt out to the track twice a day to jog and/or gallop up to five miles worked wonders. “If [Ritchey] doesn’t win the Eclipse Award for his skill, creativity, patience and graciousness, I’ll be surprised,” writes Ray Kerrison in the New York Post. “Ritchey made absolutely sure to maximize the colt’s potential by having him so physically fit that he was able to run the final 440 yards of the Belmont Stakes as if he was going downhill,” says Dick Jerardi, reporting that Ritchey looked to the 1970s for inspiration:

“I had a conversation with Ron Turcotte that was pretty interesting,” Ritchey said. “He said Secretariat galloped 3 miles many days. I know how those older trainers trained. I’ve been a student of the game.

“I’ve always thought if I got this opportunity, I’m not going to have a horse that’s going to run a mile-and-a-half that’s only going to train a mile-and-a-half. It logically doesn’t make sense.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Can there be any question that it was the hard training — combined with a rigorous racing schedule — that made Afleet Alex so athletic in the Preakness and so dominant in the Belmont?
The Sunday New York Times ran an oddly-placed lament on the decline of stamina horses in American racing. The article’s premise — that there was no Triple Crown this year because horses are bred for speed, not staying — didn’t make much sense in light of Alex’s Belmont win. Here was a horse with a pedigree that didn’t suggest he’d get the mile and a half distance with the ease that he did. Yet Alex won by seven lengths after running the fastest final quarter since 1969. It makes me wonder — is the problem that horses are no longer bred for stamina, or that they’re no longer trained for stamina? I’d lean toward the latter.

Posted in Triple Crown on June 13, 2005

More Belmont

A mere 62,274 were at Belmont on Saturday to watch the awesome Afleet Alex win the Belmont Stakes (Blood-Horse). With no Triple Crown on the line, the crowd was half of what it was in 2004, and Saturday’s attendance was the lowest for the Belmont since 1996.
Attendance wasn’t the only thing down this year. TV ratings for the Belmont dropped 63% (Boston Globe). Wagering was up, however. A record was set for the non-Triple Crown running of the Belmont, with more than $47.9 million wagered on the race (Thoroughbred Times). Handle for all 13 races on the card was in excess of $87.5 million, another record for a non-Triple Crown card.
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With his triumph yesterday, Afleet Alex became the eleventh horse to lose the Kentucky Derby but win the Preakness and Belmont. Rider Jeremy Rose expressed some regret over that: “He should be a Triple Crown winner, but I messed up or whatever,” he said after the race. “You can’t blame Tim, and you can’t blame Afleet Alex. So if you have to blame someone, blame me. I don’t want to hear any more criticism about my horse. Knock me, but don’t knock him. He’s one of the best we’ll see in a long time” (New York Times). I think Rose, who has demonstrated much talent and patience this spring, is being hard on himself. The Derby was a tough race with a brutal pace, and Alex only lost by a length. So he didn’t win the Triple Crown — he’s still unquestionably the best three-year-old in training right now.
Alex zipped the last quarter of the Belmont in 24.4 seconds, the fastest time since Arts and Letters in 1969, and his speedy surge caught some off guard. “I thought my horse could win the race,” said Rafael Bejarano, who was on Nolan’s Cat and only three lengths behind Alex coming out of the final turn. “I was very happy going into the turn,” said jockey Edgar Prado, who was riding Indy Storm, “but when I saw Afleet Alex going by me like I was tied to a pole, I said, ‘Oh, (shoot), I’m in trouble.’ He went by me so fast” (Courier Journal).
Trainer Tim Ritchey said Afleet Alex came out of yesterday’s race well and will be pointed to the Haskell on August 7 or the Travers on August 27 (Daily Racing Form), and affirmed that the colt would run as a four-year-old. But Ritchey played down an Afleet Alex-Ghostzapper meeting in the Breeders’ Cup Classic this October: “Ghostzapper is a tremendous horse. Our horse is a 3-year-old. We’re going to run him with 3-year-olds where he belongs right now. He will be running as a 4-year-old, so if Ghostzapper is still out there, I suppose we’ll meet up somewhere, but we’ll see what happens then. That’s a long way ahead” (Blood-Horse). Post Belmont, a four-year-old campaign might be a little problematic. Blood-Horse estimates that Afleet Alex’s stud value is $30 million right now.
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Jockey Mike Smith explained Giacomo’s seventh place finish by saying that the Derby winner was agitated from the NYRA pre-race detention barn and flipped his palate before the Belmont (New York Daily News). The gray colt is already on his way back to California and will rest for a while before returning to the track, according to trainer John Shirreffs.
A bad break eliminated Reverberate from contention. ”We lost all chance when he stumbled at the start,” said trainer Sal Russo (Boston Globe). The race comment notes that Reverberate “broke in air,” and rider Jose Santos thought the colt was “anxious.” It was a shame to see Reverberate finish tenth yesterday. I was sure Afleet Alex was unbeatable, and almost as sure Reverberate would run second — although that didn’t stop me from tossing Andromeda’s Hero onto my ticket. All the talk early this spring about how strong he galloped out after races made me think Andromeda’s Hero might like the Belmont distance, which he did, finishing second. With that, Andromeda’s Hero became the only one of trainer Nick Zito’s record eleven starters in this year’s Triple Crown races to hit the board in those races.

Posted in Triple Crown on June 12, 2005

Quick Post-Belmont Notes

Afleet Alex: There are no questions left about this colt. He can get the distance. He has more than one move. He’s agile and powerful. “Where did he come from?,” a woman standing next to me shouted as Alex crossed the finish line and the crowd cheered. He came from ninth just before the mile mark to first at the stretch and blew by the competition with incredible ease, winning by seven lengths. It was a thrilling performance.
Giacomo: Finished seventh, a showing that makes his Kentucky Derby victory look all the flukier now, given that the likes of maiden starter Nolan’s Cat finished third and Indy Storm, an N1X allowance winner, finished fourth. Giacomo made an uncharacteristically early move in the race as well, briefly taking the lead at the half mile. That’s no way to win the Belmont.
Andromeda’s Hero: Finished second. Obviously, he liked the distance, but when will he get the chance to run a mile and a half again?
Reverberate: Finished tenth. I guess he was tired. This is a nice colt, though, and after a rest, he should be back in form for the Travers.

Posted in Triple Crown on June 11, 2005

Afleet Alex, Giacomo Exercise

Afleet Alex went out for a two mile jog on Wednesday, in his first trip to the track since winning the Preakness last Saturday. “He was a touch stiff the first mile, which was to be expected,” said trainer Tim Ritchey. “But by the time he was jogging the second mile, his ears were up and he was jogging forward and striding right out.” (Thoroughbred Times)
Derby winner Giacomo jogged Wednesday at Hollywood Park. Trainer John Shirreffs still isn’t saying whether or not Giacomo will race in the Belmont. “It’s hard to say whether he will run. We just got him home. He’s got to ship all the way across the country to get there.” (Blood-Horse)

Posted in Triple Crown on May 26, 2005

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