Assault, the horse racing Triple Crown champion
The American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the US Triple Crown 1946, Assault, was foaled on the26th of March 1943.
The Triple Crown champion was foaled at King Ranch in Texas where he was described as being “on the delicate side” by his jockey Eddie Arcaro. The stallion was sired by the winner of Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby Bold Venture out of the mare Igual.
As a young colt, the champion developed an unattractive limp to accommodate the absurd shape of his foot. Not just this, the racehorse also suffered from kidney, splint bone, ankle, knee and bleeding issues. Apart from physical troubles, Assault was also
confronted by another hurdle during his athletic career.
Assault made his racing debut when he was two years old. The racehorse ran under the training of Max Hirsch, but unfortunately finished in the 12th spot in his maiden race. That racing season, the Thoroughbred champion won two of the nine races
that he contended. One of them, the Flash Stakes (1945) is considered to be one of the major wins by Assault. The first race that he participated in as the three-year-old colt was the Wood Memorial (1946). He won this race and went on to give a spectacular
victory in the Kentucky Derby under the jockey Warren Mehrtens, by eight lengths. This was the first leg of the Triple Crown 1946. On the basis of this long lived victory, Assault was then sent out to contend the Preakness Stakes that took place a week later.
The racehorse had to be in close competition with Lord Boswell, and took over the field. He then went on to win the Belmont Stakes in the same year and thus became the Triple Crown champion of the year 1946. This was the only victory clinched by the great
Thoroughbred in that particular racing season. He then also won the Dwyer Stakes but had to face an embarrassing defeat in the Arlington Classic. The other races of the 1946 racing season which are also considered to be the major wins of Assault’s athletic
career include the Westchester Handicap (1946) and Pimlico Special. Because of these great performances, Assault was then voted as the United States Horse of the Year 1946. He was adorned with the United States Champion Three Year Old Colt Award of the year
1946.
Assault then contended seven races as a four-year-old Thoroughbred racehorse, out of which he in five meets. He won some of the most significant races in the history of American horse racing which included the Brooklyn and Suburban Handicaps. Another major
race won by Assault in the 1947 racing season was also the Grey Lag Handicap.
The Triple Crown champion retired after the 1947 racing season. The four-year-old horse then mated with a couple of mares, but none of them could produce any offspring and thus it was declared that the champion was sterile. It was then announced that he
will be retired at the age of seven. Soon after he won another race, the Brooklyn Handicap. The Thoroughbred champion died on the 1st of September 1971, at the age of 28 on the King Ranch, in Kingsville Texas.
According to the statistics, the racehorse contended a total of 42 races, out of which he won 18. 15 were the stakes races, 6 of them were second place finishes, while 7 meets were third place finishes. At the end of his career, Assault had a total purse
earning of $ 675,470.
Besides winning the Champion Three Year old Award in the year 1946, he was also voted as the Horse of the Year. The former award is considered to be the most prestigious honour in American Horse Racing.
Assault was then inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in the year 1946. Moreover, he was ranked as the #33th by The Blood Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 United States thoroughbred champions of the 20th century.
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