Horse Racing: Afleet Alex, American Classic Race champion
The American Thoroughbred racehorse, Afleet Alex was foaled on the 9th of May 2002 in Florida. The champion stallion was a sired by Northern Afleet. The bay coloured Thoroughbred is the winner of two of the most significant races of the American
Horse Racing industry, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes of the 2005 racing season. The legendary horse is owned by the Cash Is King Stable and was trained under Tim Ritchey. Ridden by Jeremy Rose, the racehorse has a total earnings of $ 2,765,800.
The champion Thoroughbred racehorse was bred in Florida by John Martin Silvertand. Afleet Alex is sired by Northern Afleet out of the dominating mare Maggy Hawk, and thus has many Grade II placed events. The racehorse is also a full brother of the champion
Thoroughbred Unforgettable Max. Apart from these two, Maggy Hawk gave birth to another racing horse and also the winner of stakes meets.
On the other hand, Northern Afleet is also a stakes champion (from seven furlongs to nine furlongs) and was the son of Afleet. Afleet, son of the dominating sire Mr. Prospector, was also the winner of the 1987 Canadian Horse of the Year Award.
The great racehorse started his career as a two year old colt. The Thoroughbred stallion went on to take over the field in the Grade I Hopeful Stakes and the Grade II Sanford Stakes. He not only won these two races, but also set track records in these two
starts. Afleet Alex went on to contend the Grade I Champagne Stakes, finishing in the second spot and then the Grade I Breeders Cup Juvenile.
His career as the three year old racehorse began at the Derby Trail. Alex then went on to win the Mountain Valley Stakes held at the Oaklawn Park with a very fast pace. He then contracted a lung infection due to which he could maintain a good speed in the
Rebel Stakes and finished the race in the second place. He was ridden by the jockey John R. Velazquez in this race. Alex then made an effective comeback in the Grade II Arkansas Derby. The champion was ridden by his regular jockey Jeremy Rose in this race,
which he won by eight lengths. This was yet again a record victory. After the aforementioned victories and despite the second place finish in the Rebel Stakes, he was considered to be a strong contender of the Kentucky Derby that took place on the 7th
of May, 2005.
The racehorse was not very lucky in the Kentucky Derby, in which he finished in the third spot by just less than a length. Alex then went on to contend the other event of the Triple Crown, the Grade I Preakness Stakes that was held at Pimlico. He was then
passed on to the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Grade I Belmont Stakes that were held at the Belmont Park on the 11th of June 2005. Alex won the race by seven lengths, finishing the race in a time of 24 2/5 seconds. The champion thus set a record
of being the only racehorse to have contended all the Triple Crown events and won the Belmont Stakes.
On the basis of his brilliant performances and victories, Afleet Alex was ranked as the World’s Top Ranked Three Year Old Intermediate Distance Horse 2005, by the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings. He was also placed ninth, with a rating of 124 for his
great performance in the Preakness Stakes.
The racehorse also won the Eclipse Award for Champion Three Year Old Colt or Gelding (2005) in January 2006. He is the only racehorse to have achieved the honour of his performance in the 2005 Preakness Stakes being voted as the “Moment of the Year” by the
National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
Afleet Alex has contended a total of 12 races in his athletic career, winning six stakes and three Grade I stakes.
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