sainfoin ( 1887 – october 1911 ) was a british thoroughbred racehorse that was the winner of the 1890 epsom derby and was the sire of rock sand , the tenth winner of the triple crown in 1903 .

sainfoin ( horse )

sainfoin is a premium forage alternative to lucerne and grass . ‘sainfoin’ means ' healthy hay’ in french and this is exactly what it is ! sainfoin pellets are also non - bloating .
sainfoin is suitable for all horses , and can be very beneficial when fed with hay and grass as a nutritious alternative and to add a variety of flavour . sainfoin is particularly suitable for horses requiring a nutritious diet , including :
a handsome , good - sized chestnut horse , sainfoin was of sturdy make with a good shoulder . existing photographs suggest that he was sickle - hocked . his form tailed off badly at 4 and 5 for unknown reasons .
peter davy , who has supplied fresh sainfoin test samples to the legumeplus project has grown a small acreage of sainfoin for a number of years . last year he planted a few acres on a neighbours field - mr . & mrs . phillips from shelvin , in kent - to try sainfoin on british warmblood colts from their ukeuro stud ( seen pictured to the right ) .
forage legumes are attractive to farmers these days . free nitrogen and extra protein content certainly meet current farming needs . sainfoin offers this and a lot more besides . until now there has been little information on sainfoin , but that is changing . the eu sainfoin research project known as ‘ healthy hay ’ is now completed and we are in the process of publishing the results online .
no horse less of longevity or number of foals has affected the modern quarter racehorse to the degree of domino .
our sainfoin pellets are rich in natural minerals and trace elements . they are a good source of condensed tannins , which aid digestion of protein . sainfoin is also a source of naturally occurring copper , which can aid the health of bones , tendons and joints .
unfortunatly no official crest was given to these l . s . i . ( l ) ' s , so the crest to the right was made up from sainfoin ' s
history
. h . m . s . sainfoin was named after the winner of the 1890 derby
interestingly , there are some differences within sainfoin varieties which we may be able to take advantage of . these opportunities are to be explored further this year .
undefeated in ten races st . simon in all probability is the greatest horse of all time . unfortunately st . simon was not tested in the classic races of england because rules in effect at the time stipulated that if the person who had nominated a particular horse to a classic died before the race , the horse was inelgible to run in the race . as the breeder of st . simon had died the horse was denied the opportunity to become a classicist . nevertheless he did run against some very good horses and dealt with them summarily .
anthelmintic over the years we have heard from many of you about the remarkable effect that sainfoin has on wormy lambs . the ‘healthy hay’ project has demonstrated that the anti - parasitic benefits are very real indeed . early results confirm that parasitic worm control is effective when sainfoin is fed , are their lifecycles are disrupted .
bloat free & methane an animal blown up as a result of grazing clover is a distressing experience and is the main reason given by farmers for not growing legumes . sainfoin never causes bloat , one of its great attributes . recent work in australia lead to the conclusion that as little as 20 % of sainfoin in the diet can offset the risk of bloat to near zero . work with beef steers in canada showed the same when small quantities of sainfoin were mixed with lucerne . rumen activity is important in other ways . from an environmental perspective the eu project has been studying rumen gas production with a particular interest in how sainfoin reduces methane production .
by the time of his death , sainfoin was considered of so little account as a stallion that his death was not reported to the press for over a year .
man o ' war passed away on november 1 , 1947 after suffering a heart attack . more than two thousand people attended the funeral , which was broadcast by radio . the great stallion was the first horse to be embalmed , and is now buried at the kentucky horse park in lexington .
and the good sprinters elmstead and amphora , all by amphion . sainfoin is also a half brother to 1902 jockey club cup and cesarewitch handicap winner black sand ( by melanion ) .
every year , thousands of visitors flocked to faraway farm in kentucky to see the legendary horse and hear his famous stud groom , will harbut , tell stories about the champion . he always introduced his charge as
the mostest horse that ever was
and insisted that man o ' war had never been beaten . when a guest asked about
we never lifted a jockey to his back that we didn ' t tell to hold the horse down , so as not to win by too wide a margin .
by the early 1950’s two thoroughbred stallions had already begun their ascension within the quarter·three bars and top deck . the dam of three bars was by a horse decending from domino ,
in direct descent the tetrarch has influenced the quarter horse through gray dream . gray dream is , of course , the maternal grandsire of lena’s bar , the dam of easy jet . ,
roots , soil & drought a sainfoin crop is capable of growing on the thinnest of alkaline soils . it is extremely drought - resistant and never stops growing even in prolonged dry spells . its root structure leaves soil in excellent condition and sainfoin can be considered an invaluable part of the light land rotation . it penetrates soil and rock to a great depth where it seems able to extract nutrients better than any other species . it grows best on stony brash or chalks , but does not like wet soils where red clover should be chosen in preference . sainfoin will grow well on alkaline soil and should not be sown on land below 6 . 2ph .
this was a four year project involving 12 partners from europe . these include three from britain : reading university , niab and cotswold seeds . the network , which completed its work in 2010 , has produced some interesting results . it seems that the role for sainfoin is about to be reinvented . in short , sainfoin offers farmers an attractive fodder crop for naturally alkaline , free draining soils . some of the findings so far are detailed here .
sainfoin haylage cut late summer was tried on the young horses and some brood mares this spring . referring to mr . & mrs . phillips ' comments mr . davy says
yes his horses loved it and he said they looked better almost straight away . he was very pleased and said he was going to plant 8 acres of it there and then , though the field he had in mind turned out to be too acidic so he couldn ' t . he has many horses all set stocked ( no rotation system ) with a worm problem including , he thinks , wormer resistance . so potentially it ' s a good site for an experiment in the benefits of sainfoin which we are sort of trying in our little way - with a plan to feed / supplement a group of young horses through the year with sainfoin to compare with the other groups . we have talked about grazing them on my sainfoin this year but are in two minds as we want to have enough sainfoin as a daily supplement through the year so we can compare that with the controls . however we are thinking of grazing some if it as opposed to second cut of hay .
he was purchased by sir james miller just a few days before being entered for the derby and was ridden by a jockey named j . watts . his racing colours were white and gold , and the derby is known as the blue ribbon race , hence the ribbon overlaying the horse shoe sainfoin later sired the colt ' rocksand ' the tripple crown winner some thirteen years later . sadly , being a gelding there were no further issue .
sainfoin is inbred 3x3 to the “emperor of stallions , ” 1852 dual english classic winner stockwell , and has a cross of stockwell ' s full brother rataplan at the fourth generation , making him inbred 4x5x4 to the baron and pocahontas . he is also inbred 5x5x5 to the baron ' s sire birdcatcher and 5x5 to 1834 st . leger stakes winner and four - time english leading sire touchstone . sainfoin is a full brother to sierra , dam of 1911 english leading sire
sainfoin has deep penetrating roots making it highly suitable for the dry , alkaline soils of england . in these times of fluctuating feed and veterinary drugs prices , alongside increased environmental demands , there are few crops that tick as many boxes .
no one dared challenge him in the lawrence realization . mrs . jeffords finally agreed to enter a horse , provided he was not beaten too badly . samuel riddle didn ' t consider this a problem , saying :
sainfoin ( gb ) ch . h , 1887 { 2 - g } dp = 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 ( 0 ) di = inf cd = inf - 11 starts , 4 wins , ? places , ? shows
there are few crops like sainfoin . it is a high - yielding , drought - resistant plant which needs no nitrogen fertiliser and little phosphate . it won’t cause bloat , is a natural anthelmintic and with rumen protected protein produces top quality meat and milk .
man o ' war acted up at the start , allowing sir barton to break on top , but the older horse held his lead for only sixty yards before man o ' war passed him . as the new york times reported :
the author could find little evidence that quarter horse breeders had attempted to incorporate the lineage of st . simon into their operation . however , rocket bar is out of a mare whose sire goes in direct decent to st . simon .
protein , animal growth & tannins protein , the essential element for growth , can be poorly utilised in ruminant animals as it can be rapidly broken down in the rumen . this is inefficient and leads to slower growth rates and increased nitrogen losses in the urine . sainfoin contains tannins ( complex chemical structures ) which bind with protein molecules , protecting them as they pass through the rumen so that they can be absorbed efficiently as they pass further down the digestive tract . this doesn’t happen with other legumes and largely explains why stock fed sainfoin have faster liveweight gain when compared to any other forage .
as with any new feed , introduce gradually over a week . sainfoin pellets are ideally fed soaked . if appropriate , feed singly as treats or mixed with twice their volume of soaked purabeet or twice their volume of chop and well dampened . use as part of the forage ration or in addition . start with 100g per 100kg of bodyweight per day , increase as required up to a maximum of 5kg per day . for example , for a 500kg horse start with 500g per day ( dry weight , before soaking ) and increase as required . feed according to requirement & condition .
i ' m putting common and isinglass back - to - back because . . . well , how many times do you see two triple crown winners in three years sired by the same horse ? not a bad run for isonomy by producing two horses to sweep the honors .
sanda , the dam of sainfoin , failed to win on the flat but was a winner over hurdles . she is a half sister to 1876 coronation stakes winner footstep ( by see saw ) and is out of the stockwell mare sanda , whose dam lady evelyn ( by don john ) won the 1849 oaks stakes .
an obscure footnote to the career of galtee more : a man named marcus daly , an american sportsman known as the
montana copper king
at that time , offered the owner of galtte more $ 125 , 000 for the horse , roughly $ 3 . 2 million in current dollars .
as lochsong began dominating the sprint division another kingsclere horse , selkirk , was making his mark as a miler . he won the queen elizabeth stakes at ascot in 1991 en route to being crowned champion miler , before taking the lockinge , the celebration mile and the challenge stakes in 1992 , all by more than two lengths . the finish was much closer in the sussex stakes at glorious goodwood , where selkirk went down by a head to marling , but he finished the year as champion older horse in britain , and retired to stud where he was a highly successful stallion until his death in 2013 .
at 3 : won derby s . ( eng , epsom , 2414m = 12f , now g1 ) , esher s . ( eng , sandown ) , dee s . ( eng , chester ) sainfoin had a full sister , sierra ( ch f 1889 ) , who is prominent in many modern pedigrees through the full stakes winning siblings ( close )
on june 6 , 1919 , man o ' war began his racing career with a six length win at belmont park . it later seemed appropriate that the great horse made his first start there , since the historic track was built by his breeder , who named it in honor of his father , august belmont i .
the so - called
race of the century ,
run on october 12 , 1920 , was a weight for age event , contested over a mile and a quarter . being the older horse , sir barton carried 126 pounds , while man o ' war carried 120 . during the week leading up to the race , the condition of each horse was questioned . louis feustel worried about a slight filling in man o ' war ' s tendon while rumors spread that sir barton was training poorly . in response to an article in chicago ' s evening post , sir barton ' s trainer h . guy bedwell issued the following statement :
355 sainfoins collected almost one for every day of the year ! from a plant breeding point of view , the ‘healthy hay’ project has been extremely productive . through the involvement of niab a great number of sainfoin accessions have been collected . these have come from around the world and include some very interesting sub - species from armenia . in total 170 have been planted , monitored and classified over the last three years . now that the initial collection has been completed , it is hoped that this resource can be exploited by plant breeders . we are also compiling the results of biochemistry research which is providing helpful information on the effects of sainfoin on meat and milk quality . for full details of the work visit urltoken ( from spring 2011 ) .
teddy has influenced the quarter racehorse at the highest level of competition . in fact , his son bull dog can be found in the pedigree of all american futurity winners hot idea , three oh’s , timetothinkrich and savannah , jr . in direct descentteddy has influenced the quater horse through jackstraw , spotted bull , everett , jr . and others .
sainfoin won the first four races of his career , ending his streak with a win in the derby stakes over a rain - soaked course . after that , it was all downhill for his racing career . the one bright spot in his stud career was 1903 english triple crown winner rock sand , who successfully maintained the male line and also wielded marked influence in the united states through his daughters .
man o’war , of course , has had a phenomenal impact upon the quarter horse . two direct descendants have won the all american futurity , namely timetothinkrich and hot idea , both by aforethought . man o’war is also in the pedigree of top deck and moolah bux , which has made a significant contribution to the quarter runner through his daughters , is out of a mare
ainfoin ' s only notable runner was 1903 english triple crown winner rock sand , although his daughter bromus won the important seaton delaval plate as a juvenile and gained greater fame later on as the dam of two - time english leading sire phalaris . sainfoin ' s only other notable contribution was tout suite , whose unbeaten son hurry on led the english general sire list in 1926 and continued the male line of unbeaten barcaldine .
a full brother to fairway , pharos was a very good horse winning 14 of 30 races . this was an unduly large number of starts for a top class english horse of pharos’ era . pharos had just failed to win the english derby and his connections left him in training in the hopes that he would win a race commiserate with his ability . their patience was well rewarded because in the last start of his career pharos was victorious in the champion stakes . this race , run at newmarket in october , is a group 1 race * this writer’s opinion a good performance in this race forecasts an adaptability by a horse’s descendants to the american style of race more so than any race in europe . the champion stakes has often been the last race of a horse’s career and at one and one•fourth mile is shorter than the more prevalent european distance of one and one• half miles . the ability to revert successfully to a shorter distance tends to indicate first class speed . pharos1 _ r at stud first in england , pharos spent much of his career in france . it was in this latter country that pharos had his best success , as he sired nearco and pharis while there . perhaps it is also worthy of note that pharos sired ei greco , the maternal grandsire of ribot . as stated earlier pharos was a full brother to fairway . in no other instance in history have two brothers been so successful at racing and at stud and their influence so far reaching . hal k . may , elements of speed
after the stuyvesant , man o ' war was once again challenged by a horse from the payne whitney stables , this time in the form of whisk broom ii ' s son john p . grier . the trainer from payne whitney , james rowe , jr . , referred to man o ' war as
that red lobster
and refused to believe that he , or any other horse , was invincible . he had been aiming john p . grier at the dwyer stakes , and was hoping to beat the champion again . john p . grier stayed with man o ' war for over a mile , even pulling ahead once , and when big red caught grier and drew clear to win in record time , he broke his game opponent ' s heart . the pole
color : ch ( gb ) at 2 : won astley s . ( eng , lewes ) at 3 : won derby s . ( eng , epsom , 2414m = 12f , now g1 ) , esher s . ( eng , sandown ) , dee s . ( eng , chester ) sainfoin had a full sister , sierra ( ch f 1889 ) , who is prominent in many modern pedigrees through the full stakes winning siblings ( close )
we have a couple of paddocks that need re - seeded . has anyone any experience of including some sainfoin in a seed mix ? i understand that it can take a year to establish and doesn ' t withstand heavy grazing but that horses love it ? our soil is alkaline and not normally prone to waterlogging ( excepting this winter ! ) . any info from the uk or other countries with using it in grazing would be helpful . thanks !
the first time johnny loftus got on him , man o ' war threw the jockey about forty feet . but according to his owner ,
tossing johnny was the last bad move man o ' war ever made ,
for once he began galloping with the stable pony , major trent , and the other yearlings , man o ' war quickly became the most highly regarded horse in the barn .
most effective at around a mile , phalaris won sixteen of twenty - four races . as witnessed by the fact that he was the number one sire in england on two occasions , phalaris was a good sire of winners . however it is the strength of phalaris’ male line which places him among the elite horses in history . in fact , phalaris has founded the strongest male line of any horse of this century .
the day of the big race , j . k . l . ross , the owner of sir barton , replaced his regular rider , earl sande , with frank keogh , explaining that sande had developed a nervous stomach , but many speculated that he was taken off the older champion because he had stated that man o ' war was the best horse he had ever ridden after substituting for clarence kummer in the miller stakes that summer .
foaled in 1905 , fair play was owned and bred by major august belmont ii , and during his racing career he was trained by andrew joyner . he was best known for his rivalry with colin , to whom fair play finished second in many game efforts , including the 1908 belmont stakes . colin was the last american champion to retire undefeated until ogden phipps ' personal ensign duplicated the accomplishment in 1988 , and fair play was the only horse to ever challenge him .
the next time he ran , chicago o ' brien expressed his confidence in man o ' war ' s greatness by betting $ 100 , 000 against tom shaw ' s $ 1 , 000 that once again the big chestnut colt would prevail .
it ' s a crazy bet , i don ' t mind giving you a grand , but any horse can fall down ,
said shaw . even with an impost of 135 pounds , man o ' war managed
the great turf writer joe palmer , of the blood - horse , called him
as near to living flame as horses get ,
and most american horsemen consider him to be the greatest racehorse in american turf history . when samuel riddle was offered a million dollars for man o ' war , he answered that
lots of men have a million dollars , but only one can own man o ' war .
offered a blank check , he again declined , saying :
louis feustel , who had galloped hastings , had worked for august belmont ii under andrew joyner during fair play ' s racing career , and had trained mahubah himself , became man o ' war ' s trainer . ex - jockey harry vitotoe broke him to saddle . man o ' war proved to have inherited some of hastings ' fire , and was said to be a very difficult horse to break , fighting every step and repeatedly dumping harry . as samuel d . riddle recalled :
like all horses , the great man o ' war had his quirks . his grandsire hastings , who won the 1896 belmont stakes , was said to be one of the most unmanageable horses in history , and was famous for biting other horses during races . although some of hasting ' s fiery temperament was passed on to his grandson , man o ' war refrained from biting his competition , and he chose to chew his hooves instead , a habit which baffled those associated with the legendary horse .
the actual bid was made by riddle ' s friend ed buhler , the uncle of the great artist richard stone reeves . one of the finest painters of thoroughbreds in racing history , reeves was always awed by the fact that his uncle had bought man o ' war , and when he was commissioned to paint the great horse , he said ,
i had gathered reference material since i was a boy . it was almost as if i had been practicing all my life for that one painting .
matthew dawson trained many classic horses as well as st . simon . st . simon was thought by dawson to be far superior to any other horse he had ever seen . going further , dawson said that st . simon was as good at one furlong as he was at three miles . dawson’s claims can be substan - tiated by reviewing a few of the performances of st . simon . as a two year old st . simon had a matched race of six furlongs against duke of richmond which ranked among the best of his age . the jockey of duke of richmond had been instructed to break in front and attempt to make all the running . yet at the end of a quarter mile st . simon was ahead by fifty yards . later st . simon won the ascot goldcup at two and one - half miles . after the ascot gold he was able to successfully revert back to a mile . both dawson and archer had a predilection against allowing a horse to exert any more energy than that necessary to win . yet st . simon won races by twenty lengths while under severe restraint .
more group 1 success came in 1989 when jeff smith’s dashing blade won the dewhurst . that same year silver fling took the prix de l’abbaye for george strawbridge , but it was a kingsclere sprinter of jeff smith’s , lochsong , who was to capture the nation’s hearts in the following years . slow to reveal her talent , lochsong blossomed as a 4 year old , taking the stewards cup , the portland handicap and the ayr gold cup in 1992 – the first time all three of these big sprint handicaps had been won by the same horse in the same year . the following year she stepped up again , running away with the group 1 nunthorpe at york before recording a startling four - length victory in the prix de l’abbaye . she was crowned champion sprinter and cartier horse of the year in 1993 . racing on in 1994 , she took the temple stakes , the king’s stand and the prix de l’abbaye , retaining her title as champion sprinter . she retired to stud and her offspring have been trained successfully from park house , whilst her half - sister lochangel was trained by ian to win the nunthorpe in 1998 .
the riddles and jeffords shared a training track between their two farms in maryland , and every year the two stables matched their most promising young horses against each other in order to give them some racing experience before their first season on the track . that year , man o ' war met golden broom in the trials and the high priced saratoga yearling won the short sprint . man o ' war , being the bigger horse , had trouble breaking fast enough to beat the smaller , quicker colt , but once the big chestnut learned how to handle his long legs , it was an entirely different story .
the kenilworth gold cup was not only the
race of the century ,
but it was also the first entire race to be filmed . photographer edward muybridge , the man who had taken the first film of a running animal forty years before , used fourteen cameras to record the event , and the film was shown on broadway . even though the great horse had outrun the triple crown winner , set numerous track records , and set world records that still stand today , man o ' war had never been fully extended , and he was retired without ever having the opportunity to display his full potential .
legend , fact and disbelief become one when reviewing the career of the horse which is still regarded as america’s best . his speed and stamina were extraordinary – few horses have combined these attributes in a more spectacular manner . man o’war won twenty of twentyone starts . his one loss can be attributed to the american style of racing in that he was boxed in between the rail and outside horses . contemporary reports stated that man o’war was fully extended only once in all his races . though a top sire , the stud career of man o’war was compromised because he stood as a private stallion and the few outside mares he received were usually of inferior credentials . man o’war sired triple crown winner war admiral and his influence today is carried on mainly by in reality and olden times . through his daughters , the name of man o’war appears in the internal parts of many pedigrees . in fact , in 1973 his name appeared in the pedigree of four of five divisional champions .
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this title is currently out of print . it will be re - published shortly .
( 1939 , the thoroughbred owners and breeders association ; reprinted in 1974 ) .
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urltoken
winx ' s staying power as one of the world ' s top rac . . .
t . j . comerford , assistant trainer for aidan o ' brie . . .
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urltoken
premium forage alternative to lucerne and grass , rich in natural minerals and trace elements .
all products are natural and seasonal variations can occur , the packaging of each product will detail the typical analysis which is relevant to the batch / cut within the bag . below are this product’s specification ranges to give an indication of the seasonal variations that can occur for this product .
we do not add vitamins as the forages themselves have them naturally occurring , often in their precursor form . we have averaged the analysis of different batches for this product to provide the following vitamin & mineral figures .
prof . irene mueller - harvey of reading university also asked if mr davy had any information on faecal egg counts ( nematodes ) and mr . davy replied
yes we have done one lot and the idea is to track through the year with some more tests
.
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not for horses but we are about to grow some for cattle this year . i would be concerned about the protein levels for horses unless they were in hard work or growing . also i think horses would graze it too close to the ground and would kill it which would make it an expensive annual plant ! try cotswold seeds for advice , i have always found them very helpful .
many thanks for your help . the horses here are a greedy bunch so grazing it to ground level might be a problem unless we can grown some at one end of the field and fence it off before it gets totally eaten away ! i ' m mostly just trying to introduce a wider range of grasses , herbs etc as some of the paddocks were previously used for grazing cattle . i ' ll talk with cotswold seeds as i see they have quite a wide range of seed mixes available .
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west australian , the first winner of the english triple crown in 1853 . ( photo : 1853 painting by harry hall )
the names of the american triple crown winners are fairly common to most of us - secretariat , affirmed , citation , seattle slew , gallant fox , etc . while we might not know the intimate details of the career of every winner , most racing fans are familar with the horses themselves .
across the atlantic our friends in great britain are on the cusp of their first triple crown winner ( camelot ( gb ) ) since the great nijinsky ( or nijinky ii in the u . s . ) in 1970 . and while most of us are familiar with nijinsky , the other english champions are a bit more obscure . to help get you up to speed , i ' ve cultivated and summarized a summary of the winners of the english triple crown , from west australian to nijinsky .
west australian began his racing career by running in two races within a week in october of his juvenile season . he lost his debut but came back to win the glasgow stakes just days later . he began his three - year - old campaign in the 2 , 000 guineas at newmarket , winning by a half - length over sittingbourne . in the epsom derby , west australian faced a field of 28 horses winning by a neck over sittingbourne .
gladiateur is the only french - bred winner of the english triple crown , and one of only three horses to sweep the series that weren ' t bred in great britain . sporting a career record of 19 - 16 - 0 - 1 , gladiateur is considered one of the best throgoubreds of his time . in addition to the english triple crown , gladiateur also won the grand prix de paris and the ascot gold cup .
i don ' t have anything particularly interesting to add about lord lyon , but check out the newspaper summary of the 1866 epsom derby entitled the race for
the derby
.
one of the great champions in thoroughbred racing history , ormonde never tasted defeat in 16 career races . so feared was ormonde that only two opponents entered to run against him in the st . james ' s palace stakes at royal ascot and he was sent to post as the 3 / 100 favorite . 3 / 100 . i wonder if there were any bridge - jumpers that day ?
ormonde was devastating over any distance , winning races from six to 16 furlongs during his career . in addition to the english triple crown , ormonde won the champion stakes , the st . james ' s palace and the dewhurst .
common was one of the more obscure winners of the triple crown in that he only raced five times in his career , winning four races and finishing third in the other . unraced as a two - year - old , the 2 , 000 guineas was the first race of his career , followed by the derby . after sweeping the first two legs of the triple crown , common went to royal ascot and won the st . james ' s palace stakes but tasted his first defeat in his next start , the eclipse stakes at sandown . common would finish his career by winning the st . leger and was retired shortly after the race .
isinglass sported a sparkling 12 - 11 - 1 - 0 record in his career and won the princess of wales ' s stakes , eclipse stakes and ascot gold cup , in addition to the triple crown .
the sire of flying fox , orme , was sired by prior triple crown winner ormonde .
following his racing career , flying fox was a three - time leading sire in france ( 1904 , 1905 and 1913 ) .
unlike many of his counterparts , diamond jubilee had one of the more uneven records of any triple crown winner at 16 - 6 - 4 - 1 . diamond jubilee was bred and owned by the prince of wales ( later king edward vii ) .
rock sand sports one of the more distinguished careers of any english triple crown winner . in addition to his victories in the 2 , 000 guineas , epsom derby and st leger stakes , rock sand won the dewhurst , the st . james ' s palace stakes at royal ascot , the princess of wales ' s stakes and the jockey club stakes .
1915 - pommern ( gb ) by polymelus ( gb ) out of a st . hilaire ( gb ) mare ( merry agnes ( gb ) )
pommern , gay crusader and gainsborough are the three winners of the english triple crown during world war i , when the series was altered significantly due to the ongoing hostilities in europe . all the races were run at newmarket and the conditions for the derby and st . leger differed from their historical norms . as a result , these three winners are generally not considered
true
winners of the triple crown .
one of three non - great britain - bred horses to win the english triple crown ; bahram was bred by hh aga khan iii at the curragh in ireland .
in addition to the triple crown , bahram won the st . james ' s palace stakes at royal ascot .
1970 - nijinsky ( can ) ( or
nijinsky ii
in u . s . ) by northern dancer ( can ) out of a bull page mare ( flaming page ( can ) )
nijinsky was one of the great race horses in the 20th century and one of the most important stallions in the last 50 years . in addition to the triple crown , nijinsky won the irish derby , the dewhurst and the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes .
nijinsky sired 1986 kentucky derby and 1987 breeders ' cup classic winner ferdinand , along with 1982 epsom derby winner golden fleece , 1986 epsom derby winner shahrastani , breeders ' cup mile winner royal academy , 2 , 000 guineas winner shadeed , and french derby winner caerleo n . that is one impressive resume .
this article has a component height of 41 . the sidebar size is long .
© 2018 vox media , inc . all rights reserved sports data © stats 2018
the term “upset” has been used in all sports . it i . . .
man o’ war , regarded as one of the two or three be . . .
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the legendary man o ' war , informally christened big red by racing fans , was foaled at the nursery stud in lexington , kentucky , shortly before midnight on march 29 , 1917 .
his dam was mahubah , a bay daughter of the english triple crown winner rock sand . bred in england , rock sand won that country ' s most coveted trio of races , the epsom derby , the 2 , 000 guineas , and the st . leger stakes , in 1903 , and then made headlines again in 1906 with his $ 125 , 000 pricetag when purchased by august belmont ii , who imported him into the united states .
man o ' war ' s sire was the leading sire fair play , a golden chestnut sired by hastings , the infamously bad tempered belmont stakes winner of 1896 , and out of fairy gold . winner of england ' s woodcote stakes for two - year - old fillies , fairy gold was a daughter of the 1880 epsom derby winner bend or .
when the two retired to stud , it was colin who found himself to be overshadowed , for his stud record paled in comparison to that of his old rival . in addition to man o ' war , fair play sired the accomplished horses display , mad play , chance shot , chance play , mad hatter , my play , ladkin , chatterton , stromboli , masda , sands of pleasure , and countless others , leading the american sires list in 1920 , 1924 , and 1927 .
man o ' war was so dubbed by mrs . eleanor robson belmont , who traditionally named all of her husband ' s horses , including mahubah , whose name is arabic for ' good tidings ' . mrs . belmont originally wanted to call mahubah ' s colt
my man o ' war
in honor of her husband ' s participation in world war i . when she sent the registration to new york , the first word was dropped and he was officially named man o ' war .
major belmont had planned on racing the colt in his own colors , as he usually raced the horses he bred , but in 1918 belmont decided to sell his yearlings , feeling that his involvement in the war in europe would prevent him from racing them . therefore , after an attempt to sell them as a package failed , man o ' war and the other nursery stud youngsters were sent to saratoga ' s sale in august of 1918 .
the highest priced yearling at saratoga that summer was a blaze faced chestnut colt named golden broom , purchased by mrs . walter m . jeffords for $ 15 , 600 . her cousin , samuel doyle riddle , a textile manufacturer and former rider on the northeastern hunt circuit , paid a moderate $ 5 , 000 for man o ' war .
the reasons for riddle ' s purchase have been greatly debated , with numerous individuals claiming to have influenced the decision . what is known is that trainer louis feustel wanted a fair play colt , and also admired man o ' war ' s dam , mahubah , having trained her for belmont . it was said , probably with at least some truth , that riddle felt that man o ' war would surely make an excellent hunter , if he was not a successful racehorse .
it was also said that sam riddle liked the way the colt ' s coat shone
like gold in the afternoon sunlight ,
although this poetic legend seems at odds with claims that man o ' war was not prepared for the sale as carefully as his stablemates . belmont had considered holding man o ' war back from the sale , but had decided that keeping the best colt for himself might make a bad impression on potential buyers .
he fought like a tiger . he screamed with rage , and fought us so hard that it took several days before he could be handled with safety .
while this description was very possibly an exaggeration , it was well known that man o ' war threw his rider while still at saratoga , and enjoyed at least fifteen minutes of freedom before he was captured .
three days after breaking his maiden the first time out , man o ' war went on to win the keene memorial , beating colin ' s son on watch by three lengths . he covered the sloppy five and a half furlongs in 1 : 05 3 / 5 .
next came the youthful stakes at jamaica . once again , on watch failed to catch him , and man o ' war was the two and a half length winner . it was only two days later that he went to post at aqueduct in the hudson stakes , and despite an impost of 130 pounds the story was no different . the big chestnut son of fair play won by a length and a half , and was quite obviously not running his hardest . in the july 5 tremont stakes , also at aqueduct , and also under 130 pounds , an extra furlong proved no challenge . man o ' war easily beat ralco by a length .
after a month off , man o ' war went to post at saratoga for the u . s . hotel stakes . for the third time he carried 130 pounds . big red wired the field , and h . p . whitney ' s upset could only get within two lengths of him . man o ' war ' s brilliance in these early juvenile stakes prompted comparisons to colin and sysonby .
then , on august 13 , 1919 man o ' war met payne whitney stable ' s upset and his old rival golden broom , who had since won the saratoga special , in saratoga ' s sanford memorial stakes . after a substitute starter sent the field off while he had his hindquarters to the barrier , man o ' war was working to make up lost ground when his rider , johnny loftus , sufferd an error in judgment , going to the inside , and the champion was boxed in . when he finally found racing room , it was a moment too late . the living legend had been upset by upset , losing by less than a half length and carrying fifteen pounds more than the winner , who in the race of his life had covered the six furlongs in 1 : 11 1 / 5 . willie knapp , who rode upset , described the race :
we ' d passed the quarter pole and were going to the eighth pole , i guess it was , and i heard something right behind me and i knew it was big red coming at me now . i looked back and there he was . johnny loftus was riding like a crazy man and he yelled at me , ` move out , willie ! i ' m coming through ! ' so i yelled back at him , ` take off ! take off me , bum , or i ' ll put you through the rail ! ' then i set down to riding and we won .
stable employees claimed that man o ' war had nightmares for weeks after his only defeat , and he never lost again . golden broom developed a quarter crack , and was retired for the year after finishing third in the sanford memorial .
man o ' war got even in the grand union hotel stakes , beating upset by a length with the highly regarded blazes third . he also won the hopeful stakes by four lengths and finished the season with a two and a half length victory over john p . grier in the belmont futurity .
in 1920 , johnny loftus was denied a renewal of his jockey ' s license , possibly as a result of the controversy following the sanford memorial , and therefore man o ' war had a new regular rider in clarence kummer .
man o ' war ' s three - year - old career began with a win over upset and wildair in the 1920 preakness stakes . to the great disappointment of racing fans , he had been kept out of the kentucky derby because samuel riddle disapproved of three - year - olds being asked to run a mile and a quarter so early in may . after setting a new american record of 1 : 35 4 / 5 for the mile in the withers stakes , big red took the belmont stakes by a stunning twenty lengths , breaking sir barton ' s american record in the process . man o ' war ' s time for the mile and three eighths was 2 : 14 1 / 5 .
to keep his footing and rewarded the faithful gambler by easily scoring an eight length victory in the stuyvesant handicap . he had successfully given 32 pounds to runner up yellow hand .
where man o ' war passed grier was preserved at aqueduct , called the
man o ' war pole
in honor of the event . man o ' war ' s time of 1 : 49 1 / 5 for the mile and an eighth was a new american record .
john p . grier did at least partially recover , and later beat the champion filly cleopatra in the aqueduct handicap while giving her sixteen pounds . he also won the edgemere and annapolis handicaps , and was widely considered the second best three year old of 1920 .
after the dwyer , man o ' war won the miller stakes by six lengths and in the travers stakes he beat upset by two and a half lengths , with john p . grier third , and covered the mile and a quarter in 2 : 01 4 / 5 without any difficulty , despite high weight of 129 pounds . the whitney horses carried 123 and 115 , respectively .


metadiaptomus is a genus of crustacean in the family diaptomidae , containing the following species : metadiaptomus aethiopicus ( daday , 1910 ) metadiaptomus alluaudi ( guerne & richard , 1890 ) metadiaptomus asiaticus ( ulyanin , 1875 ) metadiaptomus capensis ( g. o. sars , 1907 ) metadiaptomus chevreuxi ( guerne & richard , 1895 ) metadiaptomus colonialis ( douwe , 1914 ) metadiaptomus gauthieri brehm , 1949 metadiaptomus lobulifer ( rylov , 1927 ) metadiaptomus mauretanicus kiefer & roy , 1942 metadiaptomus meridianus ( douwe , 1912 ) metadiaptomus purcelli ( g. o. sars , 1907 ) metadiaptomus transvaalensis methuen , 1910 metadiaptomus vandouwei ( kiefer , 1930 )

metadiaptomus

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information on metadiaptomus capensis is being researched and written and will appear here shortly .
metadiaptomus capensis is classified as vulnerable ( vu ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .
worms - world register of marine species - metadiaptomus purcelli ( sars g . o . , 1907 )
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updated locality records of species of metadiaptomus and tropodiaptomus on the african continent confirm the generally disjunct distribution of these two taxa as recognised by dumont ( 1980 ) in north africa . distributional data for southern africa reveal little range overlap between these two genera . apart from two south western cape taxa , species of metadiaptomus are largely confined to upland , higher latitude , semi - arid or arid warm subtemperate regions , while species of tropodiaptomus generally occupy moist , lower - lying , lower latitude subtropical regions . separation along latitudinal and / or altitudinal axes implicates temperature as a controlling factor , while separation on the precipitation axis suggests the importance of habitat permanence . using a multiple regression equation derived for african waters to predict water temperature from latitude and altitude , it is shown that the two genera tend to separate around the 20 °c mean annual temperature isotherm . additional factors influencing distribution ( habitat permanence , water quality , competition and predation ) are discussed .
walter , t . c . & boxshall , g . ( 2018 ) . world of copepods database .
walter , chad . the world of copepods . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of paradiaptomus colonialis ( douwe , 1914 ) ) walter , chad . the world of copepods . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of diaptomus colonialis douwe , 1914 ) walter , chad . the world of copepods . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of paradiaptomus asiaticus ( ulyanin , 1875 ) ) walter , chad . the world of copepods . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of diaptomus asiaticus uljanin , 1875 ) walter , chad . the world of copepods . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of diaptomus purcelli sars g . o . , 1907 ) sars , g . o . ( 1907 ) . on two new species of the genus diaptomus from south africa . archiv för matematik og naturvidenskab , christiana 28 ( 8 ) : 1 - 17 , pls . 1 - 2 . [ details ]
( of diaptomus purcelli sars g . o . , 1907 ) walter , chad . the world of copepods . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
depth range based on 8 specimens in 4 taxa . environmental ranges depth range ( m ) : 52 - 52 note : this information has not been validated . check this * note * . your feedback is most welcome .
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matthew bird freshwater research unit zoology dept university of cape town 7707 rhodes gift western cape south africa tel : + 27 721760102 matthew . bird @ urltoken
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allanson , b . r . , r . c . hart , j . h . o ' keeffe & r . d . robarts , 1990 . inland waters of southern africa : an ecological perspective . kluwer academic publishers , dordrecht , 458 pp .
bailey , h . p . , 1960 . a method of determining the warmth and temperateness of climate . geogr . annaler , 42 : 1–16 .
băanăarescu , r . , 1990 . zoogeography of fresh waters , 1 . general distribution and dispersal of freshwater animals . aula - verlag , wiesbaden , 511 pp .
begon , m . , j . l . harper & c . r . reynolds , 1990 . ecology . individuals , populations and communities . 2nd edn . , blackwell scientific publications , boston , 945 pp .
burgis , m . j . & j . j . symoens ( eds ) , 1987 . african wetlands and shallow water bodies . directory . orstom , paris . travaux et documents no . 211 , 650 pp .
dumont , h . j . , 1980 . zooplankton and the science of biogeography : the example of africa . in w . c . kerfoot ( ed . ) , evolution and ecology of zooplankton communities . the university press of new england , hanover ( n . h . ) ; lond . : 685–696 .
dumont , h . j . & h . m . verheye , 1984 . the nature and origin of the crustacean zooplankton of sahelian africa , with a note on the limnomedusa . hydrobiologia 113 : 313–325 .
dussart , b . , 1989 . crustacés copépodes calanoïdes des eaux intérieures africaines . crustaceana , supplement 15 : 1–205 .
dussart , b . & d . defaye , 1983 . répertoire mondial des crustacés copépodes des eaux intérieures . i . calanoïdes . c . n . r . s . , paris , 224 pp .
green , j . , 1990 . zooplankton associations in zimbabwe . j . zool . , lond . 222 : 259–283 .
hart , r . c . , 1985 . seasonality of aquatic invertebrates in lowlatitude and southern hemisphere inland waters . hydrobiologia 125 : 151–178 .
hutchinson , g . e . , 1967 . a treatise on limnology , 2 . j . wiley & sons , n . y . , 1115 pp .
hutchinson , g . e . , g . e . pickford & j . f . m . schuurman , 1932 . a contribution to the hydrobiology of pans and other inland waters of south africa . arch . hydrobiol . 24 : 1–154 .
labarbera , m . c . & p . kilham , 1974 . the chemical ecology of copepod distribution in the lakes of east and central africa . limnol . oceanogr . 19 : 459–465 .
noble , r . g . & j . hemens , 1978 . inland water ecosystems in south africa — a review of research needs . south african national scientific programmes report 34 : 1–150 .
rayner , n . a . , 1990 . the freshwater diaptomidae ( calanoida : copepoda ) of southern africa . unpublished ph . d . thesis , university of natal , pietermaritzburg , 219 pp .
rayner , n . a . & j . heeg , 1994 . distribution patterns of the diaptomidae ( calanoida : copepoda ) in southern africa . hydrobiologia 272 / dev . hydrobiol . 92 : 47–75 .
straškraba , m . , 1980 . the effects of physical variables on freshwater production : analyses based on models . in e . d . le cren & r . h . lowe - mcconnell ( eds ) , the functioning of freshwater ecosystems . cambridge university press , london : 13–84 .
stuckenberg , b . r . , 1969 . effective temperature as an ecological factor in southern africa . zool . afr . 4 : 145–197 .
van schalkwyk , d . j . & r . d . walmsley , 1984 . prediction of surface water temperature of south african impoundments . j . limnol . soc . sth . afr . 10 : 57–61 .
walmsley , r . d . & m . butty ( eds ) , 1980 . limnology of some selected south african impoundments . water research commission and national institute for water research collaborative report , v & r printing works , pretoria , 229 pp .
williams , w . d . , ( 1988 ) limnological imbalances : an antipodean viewpoint . freshwat . biology 20 : 407–420 .


afleet alex ( born may 9 , 2002 in florida ) is an american thoroughbred race horse who , in 2005 , won two of america 's classic races , the preakness stakes and the belmont stakes .

he is owned by the cash is king stable partnership , was trained by tim ritchey and was ridden by jeremy rose .

in twelve lifetime starts , alex won eight times ( six times in stakes , three times in g1 stakes ) , placed twice ( both in g1 stakes ) , and came in third once ( in the kentucky derby ) over 12 starts , for lifetime earnings of $ 2,765,800 .

afleet alex

alex ' s lemonade stand foundation and afleet alex have an important message : dream big . # preakness
following are photos of afleet alex and tapit taken on that beautiful may morning .
afleet alex was named in honor of his sire , northern afleet , and three of the children of his owners who shared the name or nickname “alex . ”
the owners of thoroughbred racehorse afleet alex invite alex ' s parents to set up a lemonade stand at the kentucky derby . a few weeks later , afleet alex goes on to win the preakness stakes despite a dramatic stumble , bringing more attention to alex ' s story .
watching from the stands , tim richey , afleet alex ' s trainer , feared the worst .
alex’s lemonade stand is a registered service mark of alex ' s lemonade stand foundation .
the training regimen of top kentucky derby candidate afleet alex is unlike that of most horses in north america .
in his racing career , afleet alex faced many obstacles . two heart - breakingly narrow losses and a lung infection
afleet alex is relatively early in a long stud career at gainesway , now run by antony beck following his father’s death in 2010 . afleet alex has the chance to match the output of his own sire , taylor made’s veteran northern afleet , who has what some might call a “sneaky good” résumé , with 6 percent stakes winners through 12 crops of racing age . afleet alex is northern afleet’s best offspring , but northern afleet also has sired champions amazombie and negligee , as well as multiple grade 1 winners evening jewel and teaks north .
afleet alex is outcrossed through five generations . he is a full brother to grade ii - placed stakes winner unforgettable max
that summer afleet alex won his first race at delaware park by 11 lengths and his second by 12 . ritchey immediately began charting a schedule of top races for alex .
afleet alex’s triumphant display in the 2005 belmont stakes came as a timely reminder of his potential , and perhaps what might have been . as far as performances in the belmont stakes , few matched afleet alex’s seven length demolition of a field .
ritchey said he does get some double takes in the mornings with afleet alex , who is currently training at churchill downs .
scrappy t responded by bounding sideways right into the path of afleet alex , who clipped his heels . somehow , afleet alex managed to get his left front leg under him as his right splayed out in front of him ; somehow , jockey jeremy rose stayed aboard . somehow , afleet alex was back in full flight within a few strides and strode away to win brilliantly .
chuck zacney will be watching the derby at the oaks turf club . one of afleet alex ' five owners , zacney had a great alex thrill last saturday when alex ' s son , 24 - 1 shot afleet again , won the withers stakes at aqueduct . zacney ' s cash is king stable happens to own afleet again , so that was not a vicarious thrill .
count kiaran mclaughlin , whose horse closing argument finished half a length in front of afleet alex in the derby but about 26 lengths behind him in the preakness , among alex’s great admirers .
the public seemed to agree . afleet alex was the favorite for the historic preakness stakes . the race seemed to unfold perfectly . jockey jeremy rose and afleet alex waited patiently toward the back of the pack , saving energy . then with just a nudge from rose , the colt unleashed a furious burst of speed at the top of the stretch . but just as afleet alex was sailing into the lead , another horse suddenly , unexpectedly shied outward , directly into afleet alex’s path . his legs tangled with afleet alex , who tripped and went to his knees . the colt’s nose was in the dirt , and rose seemed about to pitch forward to the ground .
lukas bids on a horse ' s confirmation . bloodlines are secondary . the colt just happened to be a son of afleet alex .
alex and the amazing lemonade stand , a children ' s book telling alex ' s story , is published . it was written by alex ' s parents , liz and jay scott , and illustrated by alex ' s aunt pam howard .
iotapa , winner of last week ' s clement hirsch at del mar , is the third grade 1 winner sired by champion afleet alex .
afleet alex has produced horses that seem to get better with age , and they can excel on any surface . photo : coglianese / nyra
afleet alex opened up his sophomore season with a stakes win at oaklawn park in the mountain valley stakes at 6f . prepping for the derby , ritchey sent afleet alex in the rebel stakes ( g3 ) and the arkansas derby ( g1 ) before his start in the derby .
soon after his retirement , cash is king announced a deal with gainesway farm in lexington , kentucky . prominent breeder and owner jess jackson , who purchased afleet alex’s dam maggy hawk , bought an interest in afleet alex’s breeding career and assisted cash is king partners in choosing gainesway .
with better racing luck , afleet alex might have been the first breeders’ cup juvenile / triple crown winner . the son of northern afleet finished second in the 2004 breeders’ cup juvenile behind wilko after a tough , wide trip . a year later in the kentucky derby , afleet alex was wide around both turns before shifting to the inside where he just missed by a length . the 2005 preakness showcased afleet alex’s athleticism when the colt was brought to his knees after clipping the heels of scrappy t in deep stretch after that colt ducked from the whip . despite the mishap , afleet alex gathered himself and powered to a 4 ½ length victory .
part of afleet alex ' s earnings and merchandising proceeds were donated to alex ' s lemonade stand , a fundraising effort for juvenile cancer research started by cancer patient alexandra scott that raised some $ 3 . 5 million in 2005 thanks to publicity generated by afleet alex . afleet alex ' s owners and trainer also visited juvenile cancer wards in louisville , baltimore and new york city prior to the colt ' s triple crown races . cash is king stable ' s activities on behalf of alex ' s lemonade stand were honored by the 2005 special eclipse award .
afleet alex ' s preakness victory was voted the “moment of the year” for 2005 by the national thoroughbred racing association . it also ranked # 54
afleet alex won his first two starts by a combined 23 ¼ lengths at delaware park . from there , he was pointed to graded stakes .
though she never met afleet alex , her daughter would have hugged him , scott said :
alex loved animals . shortly before she died , we went to a horse show and walked through the stables .
afleet alex resides at gainesway farm , and it was great seeing him again on a sunny , breezy afternoon the day before this year’s kentucky derby .
afleet alex ( left ) , with regular jockey jeremy rose up , takes a light jog alongside trainer tim ritchey on monday morning at churchill downs .
ritchey ' s playbook will be put to the ultimate test next month , when afleet alex meets the best of his generation in the kentucky derby .
helped by afleet alex , alex scott’s dream of raising $ 1 million to benefit pediatric cancer research has now exceeded $ 2 million . alex’s lemonade stand foundation has funded dozens of grants that are helping researchers fight childhood cancer . but even that is not the end of the story .
when the owners of afleet alex heard the story of alex scott and her lemonade stand , they thought of their friend john silvertand and his fight against cancer , and knew right away that they wanted to use the colt’s star power to benefit the cause of cancer research . chuck zacney , the managing partner , announced that every time afleet alex did well in a race , they would donate a portion of his winnings to alex’s lemonade stand . they also donated profits from the sale of afleet alex gear , and used the colt’s popular website and media interviews to promote alex’s lemonade stand . they even convinced the racetracks where afleet alex was appearing to sponsor alex’s lemonade stands . the kentucky derby , the preakness , and the belmont stakes all featured alex’s lemonade stands , spotlighted by nbc and espn . on belmont stakes day , 30 racetracks throughout the u . s . held stands in her name , raising tens of thousands of dollars .
children ' s hospital of philadelphia ( alex ' s hospital ) names its oncology day hospital the
alex scott day hospital .
ritchey trained afleet alex to one of the best 3 - year - old seasons of the previous decade , a campaign that came on the heels of triple crown runs from regional heroes funny cide in 2003 and smarty jones in 2004 , and he would add his own mark on the triple crown races . bred in florida by john martin silvertand , afleet alex was by multiple grade 2 winner northern afleet , at the time an unproven sire . afleet alex was a full brother to one of northern afleet’s few stakes - winning horses to that point , unforgettable max , both being out of the hawkster mare maggy hawk .
in the champagne , afleet alex missed the win by about a half - length to proud accolade ( yes it’s true ) . the breeders’ cup juvenile should have been an easy race for the colt , but afleet alex was out finished by longshot wilko ( awesome again ) by ¾ of a length . afleet alex finished the year with four wins and two seconds in six starts . he was ready to head down the road to the kentucky derby .
afleet alex ( truenicks , sro ) : conformation , left , and nearly falling before winning the 2005 preakness stakes ( gr . i , video ) .
chuck zacney , one of the owners of afleet alex , then a spirited 2 - year - old , was among those moved to contribute in 2004 .
i cannot say whether afleet alex is guided by the spirit of little alex scott . but i would have to say that i witnessed a miracle . that a 4 - year - old child dying of cancer started a charity
chuck zacney , managing partner of the cash is king syndicate , which owns afleet alex , said he has great confidence in the training route ritchey has taken .
we wanted to continue alex ' s work , but how would we keep people interested ?
said liz scott , her mother .
then [ racehorse ] afleet alex comes along and takes it to another whole level .
in the preakness , after angling his colt to the rail at the start , jeremy rose kept afleet alex well behind the pace . he made a bold move around the second turn while circling much of the field . when he was about to pass pacesetter scrappy t at the head of the stretch , scrappy t veered out directly in the path of the fast - moving afleet alex . afleet alex stumbled and nearly fell but miraculously recovered , regained his feet , and won going away .
afleet alex’s offspring aren’t noted as win - early types . he has 13 % lifetime two year old winners , which is average . his babies are slower developing types and although the occasional sprinter will crop up , shorter distances really aren’t their forte . afleet alex’s babies are most competitive at seven furlongs to 1 1 / 8 miles , and four of his offspring have won stakes races at classic distances , including travers hero afleet express . afleet alex’s progeny are at home on dirt , mud and to a lesser extent , turf and various synthetics . afleet alex is enjoying a resurgence in popularity . his son texas red won the breeders’ cup juvenile last year and looked like an excellent prospect for this year’s kentucky derby trail before he was injured .
three weeks later at the belmont stakes , along with tens of thousands of racing fans across the nation , i made a donation and enjoyed a glass of lemonade at alex’s lemonade stand . i could hardly wait to see what afleet alex would do next . he did not disappoint . i got goosebumps as afleet alex powered to the lead with a dramatic rush . as the courageous little horse sped past me on the way to a seven length victory , i shouted , “fly , alex , fly ! ” i’m not sure which alex i meant .
dancing afleet’s rapid improvement at delaware park in the past six weeks gave him another graded stakes winner , and she could develop into a top horse for afleet alex , although she has yet to be tested against the nation’s top 3 - year - old fillies .
afleet alex had his greatest accomplishment in what would be the final start of his career , the belmont stakes . the bay demolished a field of ten rivals , including kentucky derby winner giacomo , by seven lengths . was the rest of the field that bad or was afleet alex that good ? the colt’s final quarter of : 24 . 50 was the fastest since 1969’s hero arts and letters . secretariat got his last quarter in : 25 flat . his exploits earned afleet alex three year old championship honors .
stallion feature ; the “little superhorse , ” afleet alex : “scrappy t blew the turn and afleet alex ! jeremy rose almost fell out of the saddle ! a dramatic occurrence at the top of the stretch ! ” tom durkin couldn’t have called the almost catastrophic event in the 2005 preakness stakes ( g1 ) any better . afleet alex is likely best remembered for his preakness victory . the “little superhorse” went to his knees at the top of the pimlico homestretch , yet managed to gather himself , and in a flash , was five lengths in front of scrappy t . afleet alex went on to win the belmont stakes ( g1 ) in even more impressive fashion before retiring prematurely .
the kentucky derby could have easily had a different outcome had afleet alex not gotten blocked in on the rail and had instead been on the outside , but finished third behind 50 - 1 shot giacomo and closing argument , was not a bad result . tim ritchey sent jeremy rose and afleet alex to the preakness , in search of redemption .
afleet alex , why would you slam that back , when pete is offering seriously thought out , good advice ? why would you think afleex alex ' s fee will rise ? it could easily slump also . this is a very tricky game . to consider spending $ 40 , 000 on a stud fee , the mare needs to be worth $ 120 - 160k . if afleet alex ' s offspring do not run as expected , his fee will drop . he may fall eventually into the range where you could actually afford to buy a mare that would be justified in breeding to afleet alex .
coincidentally , the day before the preakness , afleet alex’s jockey , jeremy rose , said of the colt , “this horse will run on broken glass if i ask him . ”
it all happened so quickly , yet the horrific image of afleet alex nearly falling after clipping heels will remain embedded in the memory , forever teetering on the edge of disaster .
as the time approached for afleet alex to resume training , ritchey , 53 , decided he would toy with a philosophy he used years ago with a horse named general g .
also included in the afleet alex story is
alex ' s lemonade stand ,
started by 4 - year - old alexandra
alex
scott , who had been diagnosed with a form of juvenile cancer . prior to her death last august , she opened a lemonade stand to raise money for her hospital and for cancer research . it reached people all over the world , eventually raising close to $ 1 . 7 million . afleet alex ' cash is king stable partners , touched by the story , have donated a portion of the colt ' s earnings to alex ' s lemonade stand .
afleet alex came off the winter layoff to win a 6 - furlong race in an impressive 1 : 09 2 / 5 at oaklawn . two weeks later , on march 19 , he came back and ran the worst race of his life in the rebel . heading into the race , the owners wanted a high - profile jockey . though jeremy rose had ridden afleet alex for every race of his career , john velazquez , the nation’s top rider in 2004 , got the mount for the rebel stakes . afleet alex finished dead last .
afleet alex ' s owners had been modest when they said their horse was
pretty good .
their horse was invited to the kentucky derby in 2005 and the scotts were invited to set up a lemonade stand there .
just like that , alex ' s lemonade stand foundation ( alsf ) was on the world ' s stage .
afleet alex and jockey jeremy rose stumbled on the final turn of the preakness , miraculously afleet alex was able to regain his footing and go on to win exemplifying the true determination of a champion – getting back up and fighting , no matter what challenges lay ahead . this spirit has continued to be a core part of alex ' s lemonade stand foundation .
that same day , in saratoga springs , new york , a young thoroughbred horse won his first major race , the sanford stakes . his name was alex , too : afleet alex . it was clear from his impressive victory that afleet alex was no ordinary racehorse , but a potential champion . gifted with unusual stamina , intelligence , and athletic grace , the plucky little horse won races , a growing number of fans , and media attention .
in truth , breeders have never really warmed up to afleet alex , perhaps partly because of his rather unfashionable pedigree . afleet alex is the best of 72 stakes winners by his sire , northern afleet , a powerfully built miler who was a decent sire in the united states but a very good one on shuttle journeys to brazil , where he led the sire list in 2013 . afleet alex’s dam , maggy hawk , by the undistinguished sire hawkster , also produced his full brother , the stakes winner unforgettable max , and her dam was the grade 1 winner qualique , by hawaii , but the next dam was by the unfashionable sensitivo . none of those names was appealing to fashion - conscious kentucky breeders , and afleet alex , though well made , is not the most imposing individual . his stud career has suffered as a consequence .
afleet alex made his stakes debut on one of the toughest circuits for 2 - year - olds , at saratoga springs in new york . he won the sanford in stakes record time and offers reportedly as high as $ 2 million followed . cash is king had no intention of selling and turned down all offers . afleet alex followed his sanford with a win in the hopeful , also at saratoga . afleet alex closed his 2 - year - old season with two close second place finishes in the champagne at belmont park and the breeders’ cup juvenile .
afleet alex was sired by northern afleet from the prominent raise a native sire line . northern afleet had five career wins from 21 starts , including three graded stakes wins in california at distances from seven furlongs to 1 ½ miles . he was grade 1 placed in the malibu stakes at santa anita and the met mile at belmont park . afleet alex’s dam , maggy hawk , was out of the sire hawkster , who earned $ 1 . 5 million during his career with three grade 1 stakes wins . he also set the world record for 12 furlongs at santa anita .
afleet alex was sent off as the second choice behind bellamy road in the 2005 kentucky derby . he was among three horses in deep stretch whose nose touched the lead , but he could only manage a third - place finish behind longshot winner giacomo and even longer shot closing argument . afleet alex’s next race came in the preakness at pimlico , just a few miles from the timonium sales pavilion where he was purchased by ritchey and cash is king . the second leg of the triple crown for afleet alex is the race all remember when recalling his career .
a less - than - spectacular 2009 was followed by a better 2010 for afleet alex’s first crop , highlighted by afleet express’s nose win in the travers . that colt had emerged in late spring with sharp wins in an allowance race at belmont and the grade 3 pegasus , along with a rough - trip third in the jim dandy . but like his sire , he would not race again after his career - defining win , in this case due to a suspensory ligament injury . afleet express stands at gainesway alongside afleet alex , and his first foals are yearlings of 2013 .
today , afleet alex is living the good life , retired to a horse farm in kentucky , but i will never be able to thank that horse enough for what he did for the foundation , and for our family . this saturday , may 2 , a special horse will be in the field at the kentucky derby - materiality . what makes this horse special , his sire is none other than afleet alex . ten years after afleet alex took two out of three of the triple crown races , i cannot think of a better tribute to that special time in our lives than to see afleet alex ' s legacy continue , along with our daughter alex ' s . icing on the cake - we will be setting up a lemonade stand at the preakness this year , and know there will be signs of our alexs everywhere .
[ afleet alex ' s ] place in horse racing lore was established at that year ' s preakness . after another horse veered into his path , their heels clipped , and afleet alex dropped almost to his knees , his nose inches from the dirt , his jockey , jeremy rose , barely hanging on . it was a feat of athleticism for both horse and jockey . instead of going down , afleet alex regained his footing and roared off to a 43 / 4 - length victory .
he did something champions do ,
rose said after the race .
though he was the second betting choice in the derby , afleet alex finished third . the 2005 kentucky derby belonged to 50–1 giacomo and mike smith , while 71–1 long shot closing argument finished second . afleet alex finished third by a length . afterwards , of jeremy rose’s ride , ritchey said , “he did everything right . he took the horse through traffic to give him the opportunity to win . the other two horses were just a little better . ” now , it was on to the preakness for afleet alex , where the horse would soon become a legend .
soon after , the horse ' s owners offered a percentage of his winnings to alex ' s cause , and contributions took off . so did afleet alex ' s career . there was an alex ' s lemonade stand at the kentucky derby , where the horse finished third , and others at the preakness and belmont stakes , where he won both races .
afleet alex is currently active . his progeny tend to stay better than those of the average american sire but typically need time to mature . he stands at gainesway farm , lexington , kentucky .
on alex ' s 9th birthday , alex ' s lemonade stand foundation for childhood cancer is officially established , dedicated to funding and finding cures for all children battling cancer .
alsf reaches the $ 80 million fundraising mark—surpassing alex’s original goal by $ 79 million .
after the belmont , ritchey intended to take afleet alex back to saratoga and point to the travers stakes . however , in late july , ritchey announced that his colt had undergone surgery to repair a small fracture . even with this setback , cash is king hoped for a return in the fall with a goal of running in the breeders’ cup . in october , afleet alex’s fracture had not fully healed . in december , when a test revealed a degeneration of bone in his fractured leg , a condition that increased the possibility of another break , afleet alex was retired to stud .
louisville , ky . - the last race of smarty jones ' brilliant career was on june 5 , 2004 . exactly 21 days later , 2 - year - old afleet alex made his debut .
alex has sired a number of top - class horses , including travers stakes winner afleet express , who also stands at gainesway , and afleet again , winner of the breeders’ cup marathon and withers stakes . in all he has sired 10 graded stakes winners , 23 black type stakes winners , and two champions .
afleet alex was a star from the beginning . he wasn’t the most expensive horse in any of the sales , but once trainer tim ritchey got his hands on the northern afleet colt , things just went right . from the beginning , the colt knew how to win . afleet alex started his career at delaware park in a 5 . 5f maiden special weight , which he won easily . from there , the colt won an allowance at delaware before shipping to saratoga to run with the big boys . in his two graded stakes races at saratoga , the 6f sanford ( g2 ) and the 7f hopeful ( g1 ) , afleet alex went to belmont to start in the g1 champagne on a four race win streak .
just days before her first birthday , alex is diagnosed with neuroblastoma , a childhood cancer .
alsf starts team lemon , a charity race program supporting alex ' s lemonade stand foundation .
ten years later , reflecting back on afleet alex and the national prominence alsf gained because of the horse and his owners , it ' s hard to overstate how important it was to the foundation . afleet alex ' s story will be highlighted during this year ' s preakness coverage , with josh elliott interviewing liz and jay scott . tune in to preakness coverage on nbc on saturday , may 16 to watch .
nobody could live with afleet alex’s devastating turn of foot . his lead increased with every stride , running the final quarter mile in : 24 . 50 , the fastest closer since arts and letters in 1969 .
at the top of the stretch , he was set to engage the long - shot leader scrappy t when that rival suddenly ducked out , causing afleet alex to clip heels , stumble and nearly go down .
alexandra
alex
scott , future founder of alex ' s lemonade stand foundation , is born in connecticut to parents liz & jay scott . she is the second of four children .
afleet alex was a talented , ultra - consistent competitor and as game and determined as any horse who ever looked through a bridle . he proved all that and more with his rather miraculous victory in the preakness .
afleet alex , the champion 3 - year - old male of 2005 , has settled into a steady stallion career at gainesway in lexington , ky . , though he has yet to sire a true breakout horse .
it was clear that day the similarities between my daughter and afleet alex , they both showed spirit and strength to overcome adversity and race on . when the final day of the triple crown came , the belmont stakes , our immediate family couldn ' t be there , so alex ' s grandparents , aunts and uncles completed the
triple crown
of lemonade stands at the race . you see , we had a prior commitment , it was the same date as alex ' s
original
lemonade stand . this would be the very first stand we would hold without alex , and while there were tears shed that day , afleet alex gave us hope for the future . when post time finally arrived , we were still cleaning up from the lemonade stand , but we all huddled inside of the elementary school where alex ' s stand is held and watched on a tv provided for just this purpose . as we anxiously awaited the outcome , afleet alex seemed to have run out of luck staying in the middle of the pack until the last turn . but then , life found his feet and afleet alex took off once again , leaving the field in his dust . he won again by many lengths , showing the spirit of our alex , to never give up , and that it is never too late to make the difference .
the race was also notable for colts from the first crop sired by afleet alex ( truenicks , sro ) taking first and second here , with withers stakes ( gr . iii ) winner afleet again taking second . adding in last year’s hopeful stakes ( gr . i ) victor dublin – also grade i - placed this year – afleet alex now has three u . s . graded winners among his seven first crop stakes winners . to make the weekend even brighter , afleet alex’s second crop was represented by sharp - looking belmont park maiden winner commonwealth rush ( dam by forest wildcat ) on friday , and avatar day ( out of a salt lake ( truenicks , sro ) mare ) was second in the premio primi passi ( gr . iii ) in italy .
after an easy win in the six - furlong mountain valley at oaklawn to start his 3 - year - old season , afleet alex stopped badly in the grade 3 southwest , backing up to finish last in the six - horse field . diagnosed after the race with a lung infection , afleet alex recovered in time for the arkansas derby , where all doubts about his ability were put to rest when he won by eight lengths .
unfortunately , alex never raced again after suffering a fracture . when he was operated on , veterinarian patty hogan said she had to go through several drill heads because alex’s bone was so hard .
alex announces she is going to raise $ 1 million to help all children battling childhood cancer .
from there it was on to historic saratoga race course . he “drew away when aroused” and beat 10 other horses in the grade ii sanford , winning by over five lengths . next , afleet alex won the grade i hopeful on august 21 , 2004 . it was race 9 , right before the alabama where society selection would eventually win over ashado . afleet alex was bumped in the early stages by consiladator but eventually recovered and launched a rally going four - wide . the equibase chart report states that afleet alex “finished with a flurry to wear down devils disciple . ” he won by a neck and headed to belmont park as an undefeated horse .
afleet alex , as was his custom , had already been out for his customary jog around the belmont oval , and was now back for his usual second tour of the track , this time for a stiff gallop .
afleet alex began his second season with an easy victory in the six - furlong mountain valley stakes at oaklawn but ran the only bad race of his career in the grade 3 rebel stakes , finishing sixth , beaten 12 1 / 2 lengths by greater good . afleet alex recovered quickly from the lung infection behind that poor performance and booked his ticket to the kentucky derby with an eight - length romp in the grade 2 arkansas derby .
afleet alex , who has more graded earnings than any other 3 - year - old racing , trains twice a day in a routine that has been followed three to four times a week since january . trainer tim ritchey , who devised the plan over the winter , divides afleet alex ' s training into two sessions . he has him jog when the track first opens , then brings him back later in the morning for a gallop . most horses go to the track once a day , but ritchey ' s approach , which he doesn ' t use with other horses in his stable , is custom made to balance fitness with contentment for afleet alex .
afleet alex came out of the preakness incident with only a slight scrape on his left front ankle . “i would like to see afleet alex run a stalking race and make one good three - eighths - mile run , ” ritchey said . “i think he has a tremendous shot to win the belmont because he rates so well . he’ll relax behind horses - sit , sit , sit - and when jeremy asks him , he’ll make that big kick . ” heading in to the belmont stakes , the 1 1 / 2 - mile distance is always the big question . trainer tim ritchey believed he had afleet alex ready to go the distance . to jeremy rose , the distance wasn’t daunting when you had a superior horse like afleet alex . “if the preakness were a mile and a half , ” asked rose , “how many do you think we’d have won by ? ”
so america ' s top two runners did no better than round out their divisional superfectas , with afleet alex behind hurricane run , motivator , and shamardal among the 3 - year - olds and saint liam in arrears of ghostzapper , azamour , and westerner in the elder division . in all , only five americans - ghostzapper , saint liam , afleet alex , leroidesanimaux , and roses in may - made the hemisphere ' s top 20 .
it ' s really working out for alex ,
said zacney .
i give tim all the credit in the world . he picked the horse out . he ' s been his baby , his project , and he loves alex , and alex is thriving because of it .
while afleet alex did not win the kentucky derby ( he came in a respectable third place ) , the kentucky derby provided us with an amazing opportunity to expose alex ' s lemonade stand to new people , and as an added bonus , the horse racing and sports media began covering the story of the two alexs .
when afleet alex’s career took off , no one was more excited than silvertand . diagnosed with colon cancer , and given only two months to live , silvertand elected to discontinue chemotherapy and leave it “in god’s hands” so that he could fully enjoy afleet alex’s triumphs . “the horse keeps me going , ” silvertand told the associated press . “i truly believe he’s helping me in my battle . ” silvertand has now survived nearly three years since his diagnosis .
the pace was slow and steady early on , set by longshot pinpoint . cautioned about making a move too early , jeremy rose tucked afleet alex to eighth on the inside right , saving ground for the run - in .
in saturday ' s kentucky derby , the auxiliary starting gate will include no . 17 dublin , a son of afleet alex . in the next stall , no . 18 will be backtalk , a son of smarty jones .
our founder alexandra “alex” scott gave us our mission : to find cures for all children battling cancer .
kristen thompson , left , and terese brittingham at alex ' s lemonade stand at pimlico race course .
this is smarty ' s second crop of 3 - year - olds , alex ' s first .
that win sent the horse to churchill downs as one of the favorites for the kentucky derby , and after a blistering pace cooked the front - runners , a rallying afleet alex had every chance in the stretch at odds of 9 - 2 . the final sixteenth of the 2005 derby was a free - for - all , as a trio of closers staggered to the finish , and afleet alex could only get up for third behind longshots giacomo and closing argument .
nureyev is also broodmare sire of the highly successful us sire northern afleet –the sire of , among others , us champion and dual classic winner afleet alex . the latter is himself now a successful sire at gainesway farm with his progeny including such gr1 winners as dublin , afleet express , texas red , materiality , iotapa and sharla rae . yet another successful sire out of a nureyev mare is the zafonic horse iffraaj –whose dam , pastorale , is a half sister to cape sire great britain .
4 - year - old alex announces she wants to hold a lemonade stand to help her hospital ! with the help of her older brother , alex raised an amazing $ 2 , 000 for her hospital .
during the first 12 days of his life , afleet alex was bottle - fed by silvertand ' s then 9 - year - old daughter lauren because his dam was unable to produce milk and a nurse mare was not immediately available .
scrappy made a fantastic controlled run to the front with plenty left in the tank . afleet alex took a masterful ride and made a major impressive move in clear view of everyone prior to the incident . scrappy t then blew the turn going about 4 wide . i will always wonder if he would have won the race had he not blown that turn . afleet alex was really coming hard , just gobbling up ground so fast it seemed everyone else was in slow motion .
afleet alex might not have been the best preakness winner in recent memory , but his 4 3 / 4 - length win in the 2005 pimlico classic was certainly the most dramatic and perhaps the most visually impressive of the early 21st century .
finally , afleet alex was retired . a new injury was discovered before the horse was shipped to gulfsteam park . “it would heal , but your’re looking at six to eight months , ” ritchey said . “and with a horse of his value and his credentials , he just needs to be retired and go to stud . ” a deal was made for afleet alex to stand at stud in kentucky at gainesway farm in 2006 . his initial stud fee was $ 40 , 000 .
afleet alex finished the year with two losses when he was outfinished by longshot wilko and finished second at the breeders’ cup juvenile stakes . alex bobbled at the start and endured another bump with consiladator . he finished gamely but weakened slightly at the end of the race . going five - wide and eventually four - wide most of the trip had taken its toll . nevertheless , afleet alex was on the radar as one of the top derby contenders for 2005 . and he was now going to follow the same path as smarty jones and head for oaklawn to prep for the kentucky derby .
alex ' s story attracts national attention and she appears on the oprah winfrey show and the today show .
we were going down , and ' little alex ' popped us up ,
he told her .
the little girl , alex scott , was loved by people everywhere who were inspired by her courage and her will to live . the little horse , afleet alex , is loved by people everywhere who are inspired by his courage and his will to win . “i’ve received letters from people who say when they watch this horse run it literally brings tears to their eyes , ” says ritchey . i am among them . and as the story continues , as afleet alex races on , with every glass of lemonade i drink this summer , i will know that i am participating in a miracle .
the potentially horrific scene seemed to play out in slow motion . incredibly , afleet alex did not fall . in a remarkable feat of athleticism , he somehow pulled his half - ton frame upright . then , to everyone’s amazement , he recovered his stride and kept running . the astonished crowd roared as afleet alex , unhurt but clearly incensed , surged ahead and won the race by nearly five lengths . that moment will go down as one of the most remarkable in horse racing’s history .
bred in florida by john silvertand , afleet alex was plucked from the 2004 fasig - tipton midlantic sale of 2 - year - olds in training by trainer tim ritchey on behalf of the cash is king stable syndicate headed by chuck zacney . afleet alex won his first start , a 5 1 / 2 - furlong maiden race at delaware park , only a little more than a month later , cruising to an 11 1 / 4 - length victory in 1 : 03 . 85 .
the next two legs of the triple crown would define afleet alex’s career and set him up for a strong initial reception as a stallion after he was retired later that summer . his amazing , athletic performance in the preakness – where he nearly dropped to his knees at the top of the stretch after being bumped by scrappy t and then recovered to win going away – was replayed countless times during the interregnum before the belmont , giving afleet alex national recognition for his athleticism and ability .
afleet alex , who ran in all the triple crown races in 2005 and won the preakness after a dramatic stumble , was one of alsf ' s earliest
celebrity
supporters . the support of his owners was a turning point for the foundation . after alex passed away in 2004 , alex ' s parents , liz and jay scott , weren ' t sure how to go on without her . as jay scott wrote in a recent huffington post piece :
if the jacksons expected great things from their colt , barbaro’s delaware park predecessor , afleet alex , far exceeded his owners’ expectations . five newcomers to the sport bought the florida - bred alex at maryland’s 2004 fasig - tipton two - year - old in training sale for the rock bottom price of $ 75 , 000 . chuck zacney , bob brittingham , joe judge , joe lerro and jen reeves made alex the first purchase of cash is king stable . delaware park trainer tim ritchey chose alex for the group after watching the small but sturdy colt strut through the ring .
eight horses were entered in the $ 500 , 000 champagne stakes at belmont . juvenile supremacy in the east was on the line . this race was also a prep for the breeders’ cup october 30 at lone star park . the champagne would be afleet alex’s first attempt at 1 1 / 16 - miles . it had been deemed the battle of the unbeaten horses . proud accolade was 3 - for - 3 , while afleet alex was 4 - for - 4 heading into the champagne . sun king was also entered in the champagne and would be a familiar opponent for afleet alex through the years . but it was todd pletcher’s proud accolade , the son of yes it’s true , who ended up winning by a half a length .
afleet alex ( 2004 ) – afleet alex won the sanford and the hopeful as a two - year - old , but is best known for his three - year - old season . after finishing third in the 2005 kentucky derby behind 50 - 1 shot giacomo , he came back to win a heart stopping preakness and a dominant belmont stakes . after not racing for the remainder of 2005 , he was still named champion three - year - old . he is the sire of multiple top horses , including 2014 breeders’ cup juvenile winner , texas red . he also has sired iotapa , afleet express , materiality , and dublin .
retired to gainesway in 2006 , afleet alex sired the grade 1 hopeful stakes winner dublin ( out of classy mirage , by storm bird ) , the grade 1 travers stakes winner afleet express ( expanse , by distant view ) , the grade 2 breeders’ cup marathon winner afleet again ( lucky again , by wild again ) , the grade 2 winner afleeting lady ( oatsee , by unbridled ) , and the grade 2 winner harissa ( dynasty , by time for a change ) in his first crop . that was , in fact , a pretty spectacular start to any horse’s stud career , but until iotapa came along in his fourth crop , those first - crop graded stakes winners were his five best offspring . afleet alex’s production in between those crops was rather uninspiring .
in the 1 1 / 2 - mile belmont , afleet alex completely dominated his opposition , winning by seven lengths . it would be his last start , however , as a hairline fracture was discovered shortly afterward , followed by a diagnosis of bone degeneration in his left foreleg . the horse was retired in december and sent to graham beck’s gainesway for the 2006 breeding season . at that time , stonestreet’s jackson bought a major interest in afleet alex to join cash is king and gainesway as owners .
despite the loss in the rebel stakes , the horse had an excuse and the road map to the derby was still going according to plan . the arkansas derby would be the third and final race leading to the first saturday in may . and just like the 2004 kentucky derby winner , smarty jones , afleet alex performed brilliantly in the arkansas derby . jeremy rose was back aboard , and afleet alex won by eight lengths , the largest margin of victory in the race’s 69 - year history .
this is afleet alex ' s preakness 2005 run where he almost falls at the top of the stretch ! he recovers to take off and win in stunning fashion . there is footage after the race which covers slow motion footage of the near fall .
afleet alex had surpassed his owners ' wildest dreams . zacney and his partners had purchased the horse , their first buy , at a timonium auction in 2004 for $ 75 , 000 , at the behest of tim richey , a trainer from elkton .
cash is king stable purchased afleet alex from the 2 - year - old sale . cash is king was then a brand new partnership whose members were from the philadelphia and delaware valley area . in early 2004 , the head of the stable , chuck zacney , asked tim ritchey to buy and train a horse for cash is king . ritchey made the first purchase for cash is king for $ 75 , 000 at the timonium sale in april 2004 . that colt turned out to be afleet alex .
after starting off hot , alex is looking for that next big horse to put him back in the limelight .
alex does not have history on his side . his third in the kentucky derby blew his triple crown chances .
afleet alex ' s trainer , tim richey , was featured in the interactive program “talkin ' horses” on urltoken on may 25 , 2005 , with much of the discussion focusing on the colt ' s derby and preakness performances . the transcript was later published in
late in 2005 , afleet alex retired , having won eight of 12 starts for $ 2 , 765 , 800 . leg injuries suffered , most likely , in the preakness ended his career . he stands at stud at gainesway farm ( ky . ) .
afleet alex knew what it was like to fight for life . at birth , he was given little chance of survival when his mother was unable to produce milk , depriving him of critical colostrum needed to fight infection . for two weeks he was bottle - fed by breeder john silvertand’s 9 - year - old daughter lauren . against the odds , afleet alex survived and grew strong . overlooked by racing’s elite , he was purchased for a bargain price by a group of five philadelphia friends buying their very first racehorse .
afleet alex raced only once more , winning the belmont by seven lengths and confirming that he was the champion of what , in retrospect , was not among the best crops in the history of american racing . none of the other runners in that year’s triple crown races have become outstanding sires – flower alley’s 2012 kentucky derby and preakness winner i’ll have another is probably the best horse sired by any of the participants – but on balance , afleet alex is the best sire of the crop , just as he was , on balance , the best racehorse . his daughter , iotapa , the winner of the clement l . hirsch stakes at del mar on aug . 2 , is afleet alex’s third grade 1 winner among his 25 stakes winners from 504 foals ages 3 and up .