Affirmed

The Last of the triple crown winners. Champion number 11.

From ESPN's Jewels of the Triple Crown
http://www.freehorseracegame.com

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• affirmed
• last
• horse
• racing
• triple
• crown
• champion

[jonny7480]

i was fortunate enough to own a horse who had come out of affirmed. his name is starlit night. i started him 8 times with only 3 thirds. i had sold him shortly after. he is now running in saskatoon sask. canada. but to own a horse from a champion was something for me. thank you affirmed.

[carlykaiser]

By Affirmed ;-D

Out o is used for the mare, since the foal literally came out of her

[horsecrazy11]

Affirmed always won when they raced. It was known as the biggest match races of all time. Between Alydar and Affirmed.

[carlykaiser]

No, Alydar beat him a few times

[horsecrazy11]

Yeah but Affirmed won 96% of the time.

[carlykaiser]

Haha, I guess I am just an Alydar junky and I love to see him get past Affirmed ;-D

[rcschumann]

@JayAr709 To continue: secondly, the older competition Sec faced was strong, consisting of major stakes winners - he didn't just beat these fields, he crushed them, clocking incredible fractions throughout. At the Marlboro he galloped out a record 1:57 4/5 1 1/4 after setting a world record for 1 1/8!! (unheard of!). ANY competition would have crumbled against a performance like that. The only US horse who rivals his raw power and talent is Dr. Fager - Nijinsky in Europe. Affirmed? No way.

[rcschumann]

@JayAr709 First of all, competition becomes irrelevant when you consider how Sec won his races, and the times and fractions he clocked. I don't believe any other horse has shown his versatility on the track, even as a 2 yr old. He was able to win giving up ground on the outside, on the lead, from far back, in between horses. Affirmed won mainly on the lead, and even with a great horse like Alydar pushing him, he still clocked way slower times than Sec (i.e. 3 seconds slower at the Derby). cont..

[JayAr709]

@rcschumann Hmm. Riva Ridge? decentt, I suppose. (rabbit for Secrt.?). Alright--but out of the money 9 x?; Cougar II lifetime was 50 starts, 20-7-1; Proveout, alright (but a Spear Carrier for Kelso and Secrt.) at 39 starts?: 9-6-4 (YOU be the judge); Kennedy Road--a hard-trying 45:17-12-3 (13 times x out of the $). Oh--and Key to The Mint, who became 3-yr old Champ. .. with but a Preakness 3rd & a Belmont 4th. By contrast, Affirmed faced either by Alydar, Slew, or The 'Bid in 12 of his 29 starts

[rcschumann]

@JayAr709 But what about Sec's "recorded times and celebrated margins of victory" in races like the Marlboro Cup when he faced SIX champion older horses and a Travers Stakes winner, and the MOW Stakes against older turf champs? He won MC by almost 3 lengths, setting the WR for 1 1/8 and then galloped out a 1 1/4 time of 1:57 4/5 PULLING UP. At the MOW he set a TR in his 1st race on grass. Also, the field Sec faced at the Derby was certainly not "small", and included some major stakes winners.

[JayAr709]

@ewd76 At the risk of offending Sham's fans, he wasn't remotely the equal of Alydar. (And would have been hard pressed to get the better of Believe It, or even Sensitive Prince). The comparison is without merit, in my opinion.

Then too, Secretariat's recorded times & celebrated margins of victory can be viewed with jaundiced eye--in context not only of Small Fields, Well Beaten (and arguably No Longer Trying), but inasmuch as Secretariat towered over a relatively soft crop of three-year olds.

[denabluechicken]

@jonny7480 I saw him run in Saskatoon!!!! haha that is where I live!

[ewd76]

@medomoreno

That's pretty much the argument I was trying to make.

[medomoreno]

@ewd76 Additionally (and more on point), having lived through the '78 Triple Crown as a racing junkie, Affirmed-Alydar was just really cool

[medomoreno]

@ewd76 Seems to me that rivalries are always noteworthy because championships are involved: there are currently 2 horses running for the barn of Mike Harrington in Southern California: Hi Ho Yodeler & Swiss Wild Cat. Both are Stakes winning 2 year olds & seem to take turns beating each other: by definition their relationship comprises a "rivalry", but nobody is going to notice them as, although they're nice horses, no TC races are in their futures. One man's opinion.