Affirmed v Alydar - Greatest Rivalry in Horse Racing (Part 2), Triple Crown winner of 1978
“A horse like Affirmed comes along more by magic than by plan”, said Patrice Wolfson on January 12, 2001 when Affirmed, the Triple Crown winner, and, thriving sire, was euthanized.
The Stallion was euthanized because his ligamentous injury persisted over a long period of time and it affected his left foreleg. Affirmed experienced discomfort and went through surgery to realign his ankle joint.
He was under continuous observation but his advancing age was becoming a problem for him and aggravated his laminitis, soon after he was relieved of his suffering.
The dark chestnut was not bullishly built as opposed to Alydar. He was 16.1 hands and 74.4 inches in girth but an easy going horse, who achieved what no horse has been able to achieve, to date.
Affirmed won the 1978 Triple Crown right after 1977 winner Seattle Slew thus making him the only horse, who won the Triple Crown within a span of a year, and engraved his name in the back-to-back Triple Crown winners, which no horse has been able to do since.
Affirmed also holds the record of defeating the same horse/rival in all the three Triple Crown races, nobody has surpassed that as well. And so began the highly publicized rivalry with Affirmed beating Alydar in all three Triple Crown races by excruciatingly
small margins.
The Triple Crown was not the first time these two great rivals met. Alydar faced his arch-rival in his debut race at the Youth Stakes 15 June 1977. It was the first time in ten races that both of them failed to capture the first two places, though Affirmed
finished first in his career’s second race, and, Alydar finished fourth.
The thrilling rivalry took a huge turn during the 1978 Triple Crown races. Affirmed aced the Triple Crown with all three races and Alydar finished second in all three. This intense competition gave birth to one of the greatest rivalries in horse racing history
and gave horse racing fans something to savour in their hearts.
Before meeting in the Triple Crown, Affirmed and Alydar went to compete in different races. Alydar ran in the Florida prep races and won the Bluegrass, Florida Derby and the Flamingo stakes, all by 13 lengths.
Affirmed won the Hollywood Derby, San Felipe Handicap, and, the Santa Anita Derby when he ran in California.
Both horses had bagged wins and were looking confident going into the first of the three races in Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby. Affirmed had a clear edge in terms of wins with 11 from 13 starts and had the leg over Alydar with 4 wins from 6 starts, but
surprisingly Alydar was favoured to win the Kentucky Derby.
Affirmed bolted out of the gates, setting the pace, but took the lead not before the stretch. Alydar made his move and steamrolled opponents to get close to Affirmed, had he made his move earlier than he did, Alydar could have claimed the race but he fell
1 ½ lengths short of Affirmed. Affirmed’s Derby time was 2 minutes and 1 second.
The Preakness Stakes was the closest of the three. Affirmed won by only a head and Alydar gave him a run for his money.
Affirmed passed the first four horses easily and set the pace of the race. But Alydar kept the trend alive and caught up with Affirmed from behind. The two engaged in a close battle and it appeared as if Alydar took a slight lead but finished second yet
again.
Affirmed’s Preakness Stakes time was 1 minute 54 seconds.
Alydar wasn’t lucky the third time, as Affirmed confirmed his Triple Crown by winning the Belmont Stakes in 2 minutes and 26 seconds.
Affirmed won the Jim Dandy but got disqualified and the second placed Alydar got promoted to the first place hence recovering a precious win against Affirmed.
Affirmed was born on February 12, 1975 at Harbor View Farm in Florida, and was owned by Louis Wolfson. Little did Wolfson know, that Affirmed was going to bring him more success than any other horse that he had owned.
Affirmed was the descendent of Man ‘O War and War Admiral. Winning big was in his blood line or maybe the legacy of the great, War Admiral, and, Man O’ War, continued through their great-great-grandson Affirmed. Whatever the reason, Affirmed was destined
to accomplish greatness to say the least.
560 of 808 foals from Affirmed made it to the races, averaging $65,177 in earnings for a total $36,238,158. Until his death, Affirmed was standing at a stud fee of $30,000 at Jonebell Farm.
Affirmed was named The American Champion Older Male Horse of 1979 and Horse of the Year.
Affirmed has to be the greatest of them all, because he had the toughest competitor in the shape of Alydar and it takes a big heart to compete with such a competitor and still manage to own the tally.
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