Affirmed Success

Affirmed Success (USA) 1994 Bay Gelding   Affirmed (USA) x Towering Success (USA), by Irish Tower (USA)

Owned and bred by Albert Fried, Jr., who raced the horse in the name of his Buttonwood Farm, Affirmed Success was born in Kentucky on April 4, 1994. He did not race at two and made only five starts at three, winning three. Due to a peppery temperament, as well as poor hind end action apparently caused by testicular pain, he was gelded early on.

As a son of Triple Crown winner Affirmed and a mare by Irish Tower, winner of the ten-furlong Excelsior Handicap (gr. II), there was every reason to think that Affirmed Success would like a distance of ground. Apparently no one had told the horse this, though. Although Affirmed Success did run third in the nine-furlong Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II), he did not score his first stakes win until August of the following year, when he won the seven-furlong Forego Handicap (gr. II) at Saratoga by eight lengths over a sloppy track.

 Although some attributed his success to the wet conditions, seven furlongs was in fact just his cup of tea, for he next defeated a good field of established sprinters to win the Vosburgh Handicap (gr. I) at the Belmont fall meeting. He had earlier run second in the Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash (gr. II) and the Finger Lakes Breeders’ Cup Stakes (gr. III) at six furlongs, and his record was considered good enough for a crack at the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I). In that race, however, he demonstrated that six furlongs was a little too short for him against top-class sprinters, running sixth. He then stretched out to a mile in the Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) at one mile, running second to Sir Bear to end his campaign.

Affirmed Success endured a rather frustrating season at five, as he won only one race all season and waited until November to do that. However, his win was in the Cigar Mile, and he also ran second in the Carter Handicap (gr. I), Forego Handicap (gr. II), and Tom Fool Handicap (gr. II). Once again, however, he ran out of the money in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I), this time straggling home in twelfth place.

The gelding’s six-year-old campaign began more auspiciously as he became a millionaire by winning his first start of 2000, the seven-furlong General George Handicap (gr. II) at Laurel in February. His next appearance was a fine effort in the Carter Handicap on May 7, in which he finished third by less than three-quarters of a length to Brutally Frank and Western Expression while conceding six and nine pounds to the winner and the second horse, respectively.

It was obvious that Affirmed Success was as good as ever as a sprinter, but trainer Richard Schosberg, having decided that the six-furlong Breeders’ Cup Sprint was simply too short for Affirmed Success to show his best, decided to look at the Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. IT) as a potential target. Thus, on July 4, Affirmed Success entered the starting gate for the one-mile Poker Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Belmont. It was his first start on turf, but the veteran gelding handled the surface easily, winning by one and three-quarters lengths over Rabi (Ire). In his next start, however, he finished third in the Atto Mile Stakes (Can-IT). The effort was not a bad one as he was beaten less than two lengths by Riviera (Fr) and Arkadian Hero while conceding weight to both, and a subsequent second by a neck to Forbidden Apple in the Kelso Handicap (gr. IIT) while conceding four pounds to the winner was good enough to send Affirmed Success into the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Affirmed Success ran well, but once again the gelding turned in a gallant but losing effort, beaten a neck and two noses by War Chant, North East Bound, and Dansili (GB). Affirmed Success then returned to the dirt but with no better luck, as he got a troubled trip in the Cigar Mile and ran third to finish out his campaign.

After his tough fall campaign, Affirmed Success was turned out for two months and did not resume training until February of 2001. Once again, his campaign was designed with the Breeders’ Cup Mile in mind, and his opening race was the grade III Jaipur Handicap at Belmont park’s spring meeting, a race normally contested at seven furlongs on turf. Rain proved a slight detour to Schosberg’s plans, forcing the race onto the muddy main track, but it did not matter to Affirmed Success, who won anyway over the good sprinter Texas Glitter. He next contested the Poker Handicap, winning the race for the second consecutive year, before running second by a nose to Numerous Times in the Atto Mile. He did not race again prior to the Breeders’ Cup Mile as Schosberg wanted to try having him as fresh as possible for the big race, but the strategy backfired as Affirmed Success ran a dismal eleventh behind winner Val Royal, beating only Balto Star home. The son of Affirmed showed more early speed in the Cigar Mile, dueling with eventual winner Left Bank to the top of the lane, but dropped back afterwards and finished fifth to end his season.

The gelding’s losing streak stretched to five when he ran second in a $56,000 allowance race at Aqueduct in January and third in the General George Handicap in February, but Affirmed Success was never a horse that could stay away from the winner’s circle for very long. Eight years old or not, he proved that his speed was as sharp as ever by winning the historic Toboggan Handicap on March 16, 2002, and he next annexed the third grade I victory of his career by winning the Carter Handicap. The race pushed Affirmed Success over the $2 million mark in earnings, but he next ran fourth in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) and second in the Tom Fool Handicap (gr. II).

Clearly tired and underweight, Affirmed Success was turned out for what was intended to be a brief freshening at Freid’s Buttonwood Farm near Rheinbeck, New York, but ended up staying away from the track for four months. Nothing seemed specifically wrong, but the horse was slow to regain his freshness and vigor and did not return to serious training until November, ending his string of Breeders’ Cup appearances at four. He also missed the Cigar Mile and was pointed for an early 2003 start at Aqueduct instead.

Nine years old is a ripe age for any Thoroughbred to be competing in stakes races, particularly in the sprinting ranks where reaction time and quickness are at such a premium. But Affirmed Success had, if anything, sharpened his speed with age. After a win and a close second in six-furlong allowance events, he won his second consecutive Toboggan Handicap (gr. III) in 2003, becoming only the seventh horse to win back-to-back runnings of the Toboggan and the oldest horse ever to win the historic event. As the Toboggan had been dropped back to its traditional distance of six furlongs from the seven furlongs it had been run at in 2002, it also became Affirmed Success’ first graded win at six furlongs. He was then pointed to the Carter Handicap to attempt a repeat in that race as well. Against a tough field he ran fifth and last behind winner Congaree, but post-race examination disclosed a swollen right front ankle, and the gelding was sent back to the farm for evaluation.

After six weeks of rest, Affirmed Success seemed to have recovered both his soundness and his usual feisty disposition and was sent back to Schosberg to resume training. Unfortunately, the soreness recurred a month later following the horse’s first serious workout, and the inevitable decision was made. Schosberg officially announced Affirmed Success’ retirement on August 11, 2003, stating, “I never expect to see another horse with his talent, success, and longevity.” The trainer of Eclipse Award-winning two-year-old Maria’s Mon added, “I’ve trained some good horses, but you’d have to say he [Affirmed Success] was number one.”

Affirmed Success left the track with seventeen wins from forty-two starts, graded stakes victories in six straight seasons, and earnings of $2,285,215. He returned to Buttonwood Farm to begin his retirement, but was later sent to the Kentucky Horse Park, where he has joined two-time Horse of the Year John Henry, two-time Horse of the Year Cigar, and two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Da Hoss. It’s fast company for the son of Affirmed – as usual.

Text © 2005 by Avalyn Hunter.

Photo © 2004 by NYRA/Adam Coglianese. Used by permission of the New York Racing Association and may not be copied or distributed in any form without the express permission of the NYRA. For further information, please contact the NYRA at www.nyra.com.