Afleet Alex - 2005 Belmont Stakes

The 2005 Belmont Stakes won in a romp by the sensational Afleet Alex. He "ran right by Giacomo like he was standing still!" And pulled away to boot!
To be fair, with a better trip in the Derby, he certainly would have been a Triple Crown winner.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Thoroughbred
• Sports
• Horse
• Racing
• Afleet
• Alex
• Andromeda's
• Hero
• Nolan's
• Cat
• 2005
• Belmont
• Stakes
• New
• York

[BE109]

Afleet Alex showed in the Belmont what he was. A damn good racehorse

[cf1970]

Couldn't agree more!

[aharari1]

do u have the 2004 belmont?

[cf1970]

Hi. User carlykaiser has that race in her "Smarty Jones - Triple Crown Bid - 2004" video.

It's a great piece, check it out.

Take care.

[FireGirlG]

This is my favorite race I've ever watched, even over the Preakness. Y'know why? Because following the Preakness, few doubted he would take the Belmont, but could he top such performance like that in the Preakness? And then, "And Afleet Alex just ran right by Giacomo like he was standing still!" Only this horse in this race could have matched his display of talent, heart, and raw speed that he did in the Preakness. That's why this is my favorite, he took my breath away, AGAIN!

[davemock]

I always knew Afleet Alex was the best quality horse of that Triple Crown field. And a "people's horse" - I was on my way to the post-race press conference and heard so much of the crowd cheer as Alex headed toward the winner's circle. He, Rags to Riches and Point Given are my favorite Belmont winners of the past 15 years.

And Tom Durkin's call of Alex's move at the quarter pole was one of the best human reactions I've heard from a race caller.

[masterfox61]

I was devastated when he didn't win the Derby because I knew he was better than Giacomo, I was glad again when he won the last 2 legs, but the bad Derby run kept us from a Triple Crown winner....

[wtywat15]

Too bad Afleet Alex was too close to the pace setup in the Derby and weirdo 50-1 and 75-1 shots beat him out on the pace collapse. Otherwise, he'd have been the one to end the drought.

[Kostly]

@davemock Dave Rodman's Preak call was excellent...

[Kostly]

@FireGirlG There aren't many in history that could have kept up with that burst at the end. I wonder if he had to catch another horse how he'd of done in that case....Alex is my favorite horse of the last 10 years. He showed his greatness all throughout his career....His DNA is superb.

[schardy80]

@Kostly I completely agree re getting Alex with Zenyatta. He is the perfect match for a huge champion mare, the foal will lose nothing having his class through the sire line and might help refine Zenyattas foal into a more manageable 16.2 rather than a 17.2.

[Kostly]

History will show what a special horse this Afleet Alex was. Not even Smarty Jones or Barbaro, dare I say it, had what Afleet Alex had. He was the horsest with the mostest in the past decade. This race shows how excellent he was. The preakness, everyone thought was a freak show. This race, here, showed everyone how great he was. He needs to get with Zenyatta asap.

[schardy80]

Big fan of this horse. I believe he could have matched it with the very best in history. What a sprint this horse had. He also overcame adversity like a champion.

[megjonaslove333]

Those two years were special -- Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex were really good. Smarty got snookered in the Belmont -- was "out-smarted" (for lack of a better term) on the backstretch and that allowed Birdstone to lie in wait and rally to stop Smarty's TC bid. If only Afleet Alex had a better Derby trip...he was awesome in both the Preakness and Belmont.

[cynsee]

Sad that Afleet Alex didn't win the Triple Crown. Best in the best decade!

[H4S707]

that last 1/8th is just crazy. Who can pull away like that in a mile 1/2 race? oh yeah, afleet alex!!!!