Jockey Steve Cauthen rode Affirmed to a 1978 Kentucky Derby victory.
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Affirmed is the last racehorse to win the Triple Crown.
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Photo by Jerry Cooke/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Two weeks later at Pimlico, and:
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You know the boys by now:
~~
Affirmed wins again over Alydar.
It’s:
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Those boys again.
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Part three.
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Belmont Park, June, 1978.
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You know this drill by now:
~~
Affirmed wins it all.
~~
There have been a total of 12 horses since Affirmed won in 1978, who were in a position to win the Triple Crown: Spectacular Bid (1979), Pleasant Colony (1981), Alysheba (1987), Sunday Silence (1989), Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), Charismatic (1999), War Emblem, ridden by Espinoza, (2002), Funny Cide, (2003), Smarty Jones , (2004), Big Brown , (2007) and I’ll Have Another (2012).
AFFIRMED
H, THOROUGHBRED, 1975
* – Photo Available
California Chrome wins the Derby, 2014
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@By BETH HARRIS
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AP Racing Writer
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****All prose and art copy rights as annotated.****
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A horse with a humble pedigree. A couple of working stiff owners. A 77-year-old trainer with his first Kentucky Derby horse.
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Even Hollywood couldn’t have made this up.
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California Chrome made it look easy on Saturday, pulling away down the stretch to win the Derby by 1 3/4 lengths.
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Art Sherman became the oldest trainer to win the Derby, 57 years after he traveled from California as an exercise rider for Derby winner Swaps. He watched that race from the barn area; this time he smelled red roses in the winner’s circle.
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“It’s been a long haul,” Sherman said, smiling. “I’m just the same old Art Sherman, except I won the Kentucky Derby.”
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California Chrome ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.66 and paid $7, $5.60 and $4.20. The chestnut colt was sent off as the 5-2 favorite by the crowd of 164,906, the second-largest in the Derby’s 140-year history.
~~
In a sport dominated by wealthy owners and regally bred horses from Kentucky’s bluegrass country, this was a victory for the little guys. Owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn bred an $8,000 mare to a $2,500 stallion to produce the winner of the world’s most famous race with their one-horse stable.
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“This is just a dream come true and a great birthday present,'” said Coburn, who turned 61 on Saturday.
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BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 17: California Chrome wins the 139th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 17, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland.
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(Photo art credit: by @Molly Riley/@Getty Images)
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****All prose and art copy rights credited as annotated here.****
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@By BETH HARRIS
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AP Racing Writer
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BALTIMORE (AP) — It gets even harder from here on out for California Chrome.
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He won easily in his home state of California, he dazzled in the Kentucky Derby and he dug deep to win the Preakness on Saturday.
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Now comes the toughest test of all, the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.
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The chestnut colt with four white feet will attempt to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, something that hasn’t been done since Affirmed in 1978. Since then, 12 horses have won the first two legs and failed to complete the sweep in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont; the last was I’ll Have Another, who was scratched on the eve of the Belmont two years ago.
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“You have to have a very good horse to win these three races,” said Art Sherman, the winning 77-year-old trainer. “I’m hoping I’ve got one right now.”
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Maybe the horse with the modest pedigree and average Joe owners is the one.
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California Chrome defeated Ride On Curlin by 1 1/2 lengths in the Preakness, covering 1 3/16 miles in 1:54.84 on a sunny and cool day at Pimlico.
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He’s now won six straight races. The streak started with four in a row in California by a combined 24 1/4 lengths. Then California Chrome coasted home in the Derby by 1 3/4 lengths after opening up a big lead in the stretch. The margin dwindled in the Preakness as he fought off multiple challengers.
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California Chrome’s co-owner Steve Coburn shed tears after his colt crossed the finish line, dabbing them away with a blue-and-white bandanna.
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“I don’t mean to be bold or cocky or arrogant,” Coburn said. “I saw this baby when he was a day old, I told my wife, `Carolyn, this horse is going to do something big. I don’t know what it is, but we’re going to stay in the game to make sure this colt gets to be the best that he can be.'”
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Quite a statement from a guy with a one-horse stable.
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Coburn and partner Perry Martin bred an $8,000 mare to a $2,500 stallion to produce California Chrome. Based on the colt’s humble breeding, he probably shouldn’t be on the verge of making history.
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His mother, named Love the Chase, won just one race.
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The owners were long shots to get this far, too.
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Coburn and Martin named their operation DAP Racing, which stands for Dumb Ass Partners. Their silks include an image of a donkey. Coburn and Perry who live on each side of the California-Nevada border get up early for their jobs – Coburn working as a press operator and Martin running a lab that tests high-reliability equipment.
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“We just hope that this horse is letting America know that the little guy can win,” Coburn said.
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Sent off as the overwhelming 1-2 favorite by a record crowd of 123,469, California Chrome bounced out of the gate running, with jockey Victor Espinoza moving the colt into the clear. Pablo Del Monte, a 34-1 shot, charged to the lead and was soon joined by filly Ria Antonia.
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Espinoza tucked California Chrome into third, an ideal spot behind the leaders. They stayed there until making their move approaching the final turn.
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“I had to move early today,” Espinoza said. “I had to start moving at the half-mile pole, which is tough for a horse to start moving early and keep going all the way to the end. California Chrome proved he can move.”
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California Chrome went for the lead, catching Pablo Del Monte while Social Inclusion joined the chase. Pablo Del Monte soon dropped back along the rail, and California Chrome sprinted away from Social Inclusion at the top of the stretch.
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But there was one more challenge to come.
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Ride On Curlin, next-to-last in the 10-horse field, ranged up and briefly appeared ready to overtake California Chrome. Once again showing his class, California Chrome denied the threat.
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“It’s an awesome feeling,” Espinoza said. “Today it was just a crazy race. I got more tired mentally than physically. I see another horse go to the front. I was going to sit second. … I sit back, as soon as the other horse got clear of me, it worked out perfect.”
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California Chrome paid $3, $3 and $2.40. Ride On Curlin returned $5.60 and $3.80, while Social Inclusion was another 6 1/2 lengths back in third and paid $3.40 as the 5-1 second choice.
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General a Rod was fourth, followed by Ring Weekend, Pablo Del Monte, Dynamic Impact, Kid Cruz, Bayern and Ria Antonia.
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Espinoza will get another crack at trying to complete the Triple Crown, after missing with War Emblem in 2002. He finished eighth in the Belmont that year.
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“You have to be a super horse to win,” the jockey said. “Hopefully, California Chrome comes back good, and he’s the one that hopefully can do it.”
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Bob Baffert trained War Emblem, one of his three Triple tries that ended in failure. He missed with Silver Charm in 1997 and again the following year with Real Quiet, who lost the Belmont by a nose.
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“California Chrome is something. He’s a cool customer,” Baffert said after the race. “He does everything right. He’s fast enough to stay out of trouble.”
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CALIFORNIA CHROME   (USA) ch. C, 2011 {A4} DP = 7-5-10-0-0 (22) DI = 3.40 CD = 0.86 – 10 Starts, 6 Wins, 1 Places, 0 Shows Career Earnings: $1,134,850 |
|
| |
Owner: Martin Perry & Steve Coburn
Breeder: Martin Perry & Steve Coburn
State Bred: CA
Winnings: 10 Starts: 6 – 1 – 0, $1,134,850At 2:
Won Graduation S. (DMR,5.5f), King Glorious S. (BHP,7f)At 3:
Won Santa Anita Derby (G1,SA,9f), San Felipe S. (G2,SA,8.5f), California Cup Derby (SA,8.5f)Foaled Feb 18, 2011.
Trainer: Art Sherman
The last horse to win a stakes race at Betfair Hollywood Park, winning the King Glorious S. on December 22, 2013.updated 5Apr2014 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Comes now, for California Chrome:
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THE TEST HERSELF….
The “Big Sandy.”
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The “Big Sandy,”
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Is the nickname of the racetrack at Belmont Park, perhaps a reflection of the old 1920’s .
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“Big Apple” name for the New York racetracks and the “Big A” (Aqueduct).
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Although several horses were named “Big Sandy” since the early 1900’s, the “Big Sandy” nickname probably arose simply because the track is big and sandy.
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Citations for “Big Sandy” have been found in print since only the early 1990’s.
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Consider, dears, these harrowing facts:
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While in the decade of the 1970’s, we were so lucky to see 3 Triple Crown winners:
At Big Sandy, in 1973, Secretariat wins the Belmont and the Triple Crown.
Words fail myself, as they fail all others, but to say that Secretariat was the physical embodiment of the:
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Platonic:
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Ideal HORSE.
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I recall his:
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Raw, often ungovernable, SAVAGE:
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POWER.
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Sheer, brute force, power, gobbling up all in his wake.
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A horse that can not exist and yet, somehow, did exist.
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He was for me, on seeing him at stables at Belmont, the very picture of an:
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ANGRY, VENGEFUL:
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GOD.
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He simply overpowered everyone else.
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He ran roughshod over everyone else
.~~
In that sense most of all he was:
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The quintessential:
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American Horse.
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He broke all the molds.
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All of them.
In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown while winning at Big Sandy, the only colt ever to win the Triple Crown while undefeated.
| SEATTLE SLEW (USA) br. H, 1974 {13-c} DP = 7-6-4-5-0 (22) DI = 2.14 CD = 0.68 – 17 Starts, 14 Wins, 2 Places, 0 Shows Career Earnings: $1,208,726 |
|
If Secretariat were raw power, Seattle Slew was:
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Raw Speed.
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He was, quite simply put:
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Too FAST.
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Seattle Slew was followed, in quick succession, the very next year, at Big Sandy, by Affirmed, who won the Triple Crown to become the third to do it in the decade of the 1970’s,
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The Decade in which the Racing Gods smiled so bountifully on us.
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I was at Belmont, in a box three tiers up from the track and for about a mile, everybody in that immense arena simply:
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Screamed.
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Screamed so that, in the straight, as Affirmed and Alydar remained glued to one another, we become mute, voiceless, we could not speak or shout.
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It was the most remarkable race that I have ever seen.
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EVER.
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If Secretariat were POWER and Seattle Slew were SPEED, Affirmed was:
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GRACE HERSELF.
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Affirmed had a feminine appearance, a feminine movement and rhythm , a feminine head.
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To look at him, on first blush, he looked a filly.
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He was light, slight built and graceful:
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So very much unlike Secretariat.
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A cute note of gossip about 1978 Triple Crown winner, Affirmed:
~~
Steve Cauthen, his rider in the Triple Crown used to say, when asked what it was like to win so many close races, so many photo finishes, against Alydar:
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“Affirmed is lazy as a yard dog.”
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He’ll only give you exactly as much as he needs to in order to win. He is very intelligent: He knows that when the jockey tells him to get to the lead, he is supposed to get the lead. So, he gets to the lead……But then, he just stops. He waits on other horses. He won’t work a lick more than he has to. That is why all his races end up being:
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HEART ATTACKS…………..for me and everybody around him:
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He wins by as little as possible because he is flat-out LAZY.”
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It is a curiosity of our little world that the horses that bear what I call:
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“The Persian Appearance,”
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Tend to be, in the main, fillies and mares.
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A curiosity because, it is the male line of the thoroughbred which is the slight, light-footed Arabian.
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As all thoroughbreds must trace their lineage to one of three foundation sires from The Levant and North Africa, imported into England in the 18th century by racing men hoping to breed them with, and counterbalance the massive, ponderous English, stamina laden, female line of the breed, by today, all thoroughbreds trace their lineage to all three Persian sires.
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Some say to me that the thoroughbred of today is over bred which causes many sad break downs, but in truth, how can it be otherwise than that as thoroughbreds are always over bred, if one understands that to be a thoroughbred is to trace your lineage back over now three centuries to one or more of these three foundation sires from Persia:
The Byerly Turk by John Wootton
The Godolphin Arabian, Also known as the Godolphin Barb:
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He was named for his best-known owner, Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin.
The Darley Arabian stallion painting by John Wootton.
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In 95% of modern Thoroughbred racehorses, the Y chromosome can be traced back to this single stallion.
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So, it is no sort of a small chance play that all thoroughbreds are, well:
~~
Thoroughly related to one another.
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In the 36 years since Affirmed won the Triple Crown, 12 horses, fully one in three, have come to the Big Sandy, and all 12 have died there, on that sand, on that field of battle that so dispassionately destroys man’s most elusive dreams.
Let us count now their names, the war dead of the Big Sandy, since 1978, since the triumph of Affirmed:
~~
There have been a total of 12 horses since Affirmed won in 1978, who were in a position to win the Triple Crown: Spectacular Bid (1979), Pleasant Colony (1981), Alysheba (1987), Sunday Silence (1989), Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), Charismatic (1999), War Emblem, ridden by Espinoza, (2002), Funny Cide (2003), Smarty Jones, (2004), Big Brown (2007) and I’ll Have Another (2012).
~~
So, now then, down to business:
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Will California Chrome become the Lucky 13 who dodges the odds and becomes the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years?
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While God alone knows the answer, we will hazard this:
~~
If California keeps his current form and health he will win the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown…and join these 11 triple Crown winners in racing’s pantheon of the:
~~~
Triple Crown Winners of Horse Racing
Sir Barton
Gallant Fox
Omaha
War Admiral
Whirlaway
Count Fleet
Assault
Citation
Secretariat
Seattle Slew
Affirmed
| Date |
Horse |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
 |
|
1919
|
Sir Barton |
John Loftus |
H. G. Bedwell |
J. K. L. Ross |
| 1930 |
Gallant Fox |
Earl Sande |
James Fitzsimmons |
Belair Stud |
| 1935 |
Omaha |
William Saunders |
James Fitzsimmons |
Belair Stud |
| 1937 |
War Admiral |
Charley Kurtsinger |
George Conway |
Samuel D. Riddle |
| 1941 |
Whirlaway |
Eddie Arcaro |
Ben A. Jones |
Calumet Farm |
| 1943 |
Count Fleet |
John Longden |
Don Cameron |
Mrs. J. D. Hertz |
| 1946 |
Assault |
Warren Mehrtens |
Max Hirsch |
King Ranch |
| 1948 |
Citation |
Eddie Arcaro |
Ben A. Jones |
Calumet Farm |
| 1973 |
Secretariat |
Ron Turcotte |
Lucien Laurin |
Meadow Stable |
| 1977 |
Seattle Slew |
Jean Cruguet |
William Turner, Jr. |
Karen L. Taylor |
| 1978 |
Affirmed |
Steve Cauthen |
Lazaro S. Barrera |
Harbor View Farm |
Our
…
Most
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GREATEST OF GREATS
~~
Becoming the :
~~
Undisputed CHAMPION of our day.
Can California Chrome, in the 2014 Belmont Stakes, be the lucky 13th who will break the 36 year drought of Triple Crown winners?
~~
God alone knows.
~~
Alone, God knows.
And so now, we say to California Chrome, as did the mothers of the warriors of Sparta to their sons at the dawn of war:
~~
“Come back to me, boy, either carrying high your shield, or laying dead atop it.”
~~
Which translates, very awkwardly, into the hideous nomenclature of modern American English:
~~
“Win or die trying”~
~
Until then my dears, until June 7, 2014, we wait and with us,
~~
Under God’s eyes:
~~
California Chrome waits likewise…..
For:
Fully so as much as General Gaius Julius Caesar had his Rubicon, California Chrome faces now his:
~~
Big Sandy.
California Chrome arrives at Belmont Park, his Big Sandy, his Rubicon, for his final test as a champion of champions, 20th May, 2014, Tuesday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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