Affirmed

Affirmed (USA) 1975 Chestnut Colt   Exclusive Native (USA) x Won't Tell You (USA), by Crafty Admiral (USA)

When the subject of sports rivalries comes up, a few names come to mind almost automatically. In college football, Army vs. Navy. In baseball, the Yankess vs. the Red Sox. In tennis, Bjorn Borg vs. John McEnroe or Martina Navratilovna vs. Chris Evert. And in horse racing, there’s THE rivalry: Affirmed vs. Alydar. Defining both consistency and courage, these two grand chestnuts gave it everything they had, every time they met. It is because of the courage, class, and consistency of his great rival, Alydar, that Affirmed can arguably be considered to have won the greatest Triple Crown in American racing history. Other Triple Crown winners may have done the job in more spectacular fashion, but none ever faced a classier or more determined opponent throughout the series.

Affirmed was foaled on February 21, 1975, at Harbor View Farm near Ocala, Florida, which had also bred and raced his sire Exclusive Native. A son of the brilliant Raise a Native and the excellent broodmare Exclusive, Exclusive Native was one of the better racehorses of his crop at both two and three in an injury-shortened career before embarking on a stud career that saw him become America’s leading sire twice.

Won’t Tell You, the dam of Affirmed, was not an obvious choice to produce a champion. Although she had proved reasonably durable as a runner, winning five of her twenty-three starts, she never rose above the status of a low-level allowance horse and raced mostly in claimers. By the time she visited Exclusive Native in 1974, she had produced five foals, none of which was above allowance class though all five were winners.

A rather slight, almost feminine-looking youngster, Affirmed made his first start in a Belmont maiden special weight over five and one-half furlongs on May 24, 1977. He won by four and one-half lengths in businesslike fashion, good enough for trainer Laz Barrera to wheel the colt back in the Youthful Stakes on June 15. There, for the first time, Affirmed met up with Alydar, who was making his first career start. The experience difference between the two colts showed up during the Youthful; while Affirmed went about his business, stalking the early pace until mid-stretch and then drawing off to win, Alydar broke slowly and was trapped behind horses coming out of the turn, ending up fifth. The nearly five-length margin between Affirmed and Alydar was the widest that would ever separate the pair.

The nascent rivalry heated up when Affirmed and Alydar met again in the Great American Stakes on July 6. Alydar was getting a five-pound weight break from Affirmed, and though Affirmed went to the early lead and set brisk fractions, Alydar was able to run him down in the stretch, winning by three and one-half lengths.

Affirmed then made the first of his many cross-country trips, going to Hollywood Park in California for the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (gr. II). The race drew so many entries that it split into two divisions. Affirmed drew into the first division and duly won it by seven lengths. He then headed back to New York for the Sanford Stakes (gr. II). This race marked the beginning of Affirmed’s partnership with the sensational young jockey Steve Cauthen. The duo could not have gotten off to a better start as Affirmed won nicely by two and three-quarter lengths despite going wide during the stretch drive.

Affirmed’s next engagement was the Hopeful Stakes (gr. I), where he would have his third tilt with Alydar. The latter was the race day favorite, coming in off a win in the Sapling Stakes (gr. I) at Monmouth, but Affirmed was the winner by a slowly widening half length at the finish. His time of 1:15-2/5 was a new stakes record for the six and one-half furlong race. As all entrants in the Hopeful carried 122 pounds, there could be no real excuses, and in truth, neither colt needed any; it had been an excellent race for both.

The Futurity Stakes (gr. I) on September 10 was an even better race for the rivals – and for the rivalry. From the half-mile marker to the finish, the two colts staged a ding-dong battle right down to the wire. At the end it was Affirmed by a desperate nose in a very quick 1:21-3/5 for the seven furlongs.

The Champagne Stakes (gr. I) on October 15 was next for both colts, and this time Alydar got his revenge, surging ahead of Affirmed in the last hundred yards to win by a length and a quarter. Then came the October 29 Laurel Futurity (gr. I) and with it the race for the juvenile championship. Again, the pair battled down the stretch, neither yielding, and the decision went to Affirmed by a slowly shrinking neck. On the basis of his four-to-two margin in his tilts with Alydar – and doubtless helped by Alydar’s upset loss to Believe It in the Remsen Stakes a month later – Affirmed won both the Eclipse Award as the divisional champion and the highweight position on the Experimental Free Handicap. He was weighted at 126, with Alydar and Believe It both one pound below him at 125.

Affirmed grew taller and muscled out over the winter, though he would remain a somewhat slighter-appearing horse than the burly Alydar. The colt made his three-year-old debut in a six and one-half allowance race on March 8, 1978, at Santa Anita and won easily by five lengths. Ten days later, he faced the starter for the San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) and again won without undue effort, beating Chance Dancer by two lengths.

Steve Cauthen could not ride Affirmed in the April 2 Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) as he was serving a suspension, so Laffit Pincay, Jr., subbed in. He was familiar with the colt from having ridden him in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship as a juvenile, and in any event, Affirmed probably would have won carrying anything short of a baby elephant, for he dusted his hapless rivals by eight lengths. The effort may have taken a little more out of him than anyone suspected, however, for he was workmanlike but not spectacular as Cauthen guided him to a two-length win in the Hollywood Derby (gr. I) two weeks later.

In the meantime, Alydar had also matured substantially from two to three and had dominated the Eastern classic hopefuls, finishing off his pre-Derby campaign with a thirteen-length blowout at the expense of moderate competition in the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I). Despite Affirmed’s record, he simply could not seem to muster up the same level of enthusiasm among fans as the more charismatic Alydar, and the latter went to the post as a 6-5 favorite, with Affirmed at 9-5. The two indeed finished one-two but in the reverse order that their odds indicated, with Affirmed easily containing Alydar’s too-late charge to win by a length and a half. The final time was a solid 2:01-1/5.

Both horses moved on to Pimlico, where Alydar seemed to work more sharply than he had at Churchill Downs, perhaps supporting trainer John Veitch’s contention that the colt had not cared much for the Churchill Downs track. This time Affirmed was a slight favorite, and the crowd had things pegged about right. Alydar was much closer to the pace than he had been in the Derby and came after Affirmed at the top of the stretch. From there on out, it was as good a contest as any racing fan could hope to see, with both colts surging at each other repeatedly. At the end, it was Affirmed by a neck. The victory not only gave Affirmed two-thirds of the Triple Crown but made him the youngest horse ever to pass the $1 million mark in earnings.

As good as the previous encounters between Affirmed and Alydar had been, they were only appetizers for the main course that was to come. The Belmont Stakes on June 10 was to become not only the defining moment of the Affirmed-Alydar rivalry but one of the great horse races of all time.

Only five horses entered the starting gate for the 110^th Belmont, and three of them did not matter except as footnotes to racing history. (For the record, they were Darby Creek Road, Noon Time Spender, and Judge Angelucci.) Affirmed and Alydar broke side by side from positions three and two, respectively, but Cauthen sent Affirmed up to take the early lead and the inside path. Jorge Velasquez on Alydar let his colt settle into stride for the first three furlongs; then, sensing that the pace was slow, he sent his colt after Affirmed – and the battle of the ages was on. For a full mile, Affirmed and Alydar went after each other in a stirring display of speed and determination. As the crowd roared, Affirmed clung grimly to the narrowest of leads at the mile and stretch calls; then, in deep stretch, Alydar shoved his head in front. Calling on every reserve, Affirmed wrested back the lost ground and a few inches more – just enough – with perhaps fifty yards to go and held Alydar’s last desperate surge safe to win by a head.

Both colts had turned in one of the greatest performances of all time, but only one could wear the blanket of carnations. Affirmed stood alone in the winner’s circle, flanks heaving; Alydar went back to the barn with the bittersweet glory of becoming the first horse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races. The total difference between the two colts for all three races had been less than two lengths.

Affirmed took a breather following the Belmont, returning to racing in the Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. III) at Saratoga on August 8. The track came up sloppy that day, and Sensitive Prince, a talented front runner who was getting nine pounds (128 to 119) from Affirmed, stole a long lead on the speed-favoring surface. Affirmed did not really appear comfortable in the off going but in the matter of a true champion just got up to win by half a length.

The Travers Stakes (gr. I) was next, and with it Affirmed’s last race against Alydar. It proved a bitter anticlimax to the rivalry. Laffit Pincay had the mount on Affirmed thanks to minor injuries suffered by Steve Cauthen in a spill ten days earlier and set the pace with prompting from Shake Shake Shake. Coming into the final turn, Alydar moved strongly up the inside and was actually lapped on Affirmed when Pincay cut over to the rail sharply. The colts made contact and Alydar had to pull up sharply. Game to the core, the Calumet Farm runner regrouped and set out in pursuit of Affirmed once more but still trailed by one and three-quarters lengths at the wire. No one was really surprised when the “Inquiry” light went up on the tote board, and there was sadness but not shock when Affirmed was disqualified for impeding Alydar. The only real dissenter was Laz Barrera, who felt that Alydar had caused the problem by trying to come through too small an opening between Affirmed and the rail.

Velasquez was furious after the race, feeling that his mount was making a winning move when shut off by Pincay’s maneuver, but he was never to have the opportunity for a rematch. On September 11, five days before the Marlboro Cup in which both colts were scheduled to appear, Alydar showed signs of lameness while cooling out from a workout. X-rays revealed a fracture on the wing of the colt’s left fron coffin bone, ending Alydar’s season. The following year, Alydar would struggle through a disappointing season during which he never seemed one hundred percent before another injury ended his career for good.

Affirmed went on to the Marlboro Cup bun ran into a new buzz saw in the form of the 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, just then coming back into his best form. Affirmed was the only real speed in the race besides Slew, and Cauthen on Affirmed elected to let Angel Cordero, Jr., and Seattle Slew set the pace without any real pressure. That proved a crucial mistake, for when Affirmed made his run, he found a fresh horse up front with more than enough to stand him off. Slew won by three lengths in 1:45-4/5, only two-fifths of a second off Secretariat’s world record for nine furlongs.

The two met again in the mile and one-half Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 14. This time Barrera put in Affirmed’s stablemate Life’s Hope as a pacemaker. The idea was that Life’s Hope, himself a grade I winner, would pressure Slew during the early stages of the race; then Affirmed could come on and tackle the older Triple Crown winner, who by then should be sapped by the speed duel.

As it turned out, the early speed duel probably did cost Slew the race, but it cost Affirmed even more. Instead of dropping back behind the dueling front runners as planned, Affirmed stayed right up with what proved a suicidal early pace. It was later learned that Cauthen’s saddle had slipped, robbing him of much of his control over his mount, and Affirmed was cooked after seven furlongs. Seattle Slew continued on gamely but lost by the barest of noses to the late-running Exceller; Affirmed finished fifth, out of the money for the only time in his career.

The two season-closing losses set up a dramatic Horse of the Year vote. Seattle Slew had finished well ahead of Affirmed on both occasions that they met, but Affirmed had won the Triple Crown and had shown more consistent form during the course of the year. In a tight finish, Affirmed was awarded the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year to go with his title as champion three-year-old male.

Affirmed was syndicated for $14.4 million after his three-year-old season, prompting rumors that the horse would be retired to stud rather than racing on as a four-year-old. But when Santa Anita’s Strub Series for four-year olds kicked off in the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes (gr. II) on January 7, 1979, Affirmed was there. He had trained up to the race well but was boxed in early and tired while running along the rail, which had been playing dull for that day’s card. The colt finished third, not what was expected of a champion facing not quite top-drawer competition.

Affirmed continued to the next stage of the Strub Series, the nine-furlong San Fernando Stakes (gr. II), but fared only slightly better than in the Malibu as he finished second, two and three-quarters lengths behind Radar Ahead. Laz Barrera felt that Affirmed’s struggles were in no small part due to the Santa Anita surface, which had been quite variable throughout the winter meeting due to frequent rains, but he had also perhaps lost some confidence in Steve Cauthen, who was mired in the middle of what would end as a 110-race losing streak. For the concluding race of the Strub Series, the Charles H. Strub Stakes (gr. I), Barrera replaced Cauthen with Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Affirmed trained more sharply for the Strub than he had for the preceding two races of the series, and his coat began to assume the dappled bloom of peak condition. When the Strub came around on Feburary 4, it was not the Affirmed of old who took the track; it was a better, more mature Affirmed, who roared home ten lengths in front. His time for the ten furlongs over a track rated “good” was 2:01, drawing a roar of approval from the crowd. Given a fast track for the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) at the same distance, Affirmed was even better, winning by four and a half lengths from the versatile stakes horse Tiller in track record time of 1:58-3/5.

Since Laz Barrera needed to take some time out for heart surgery, Affirmed got a break until the Californian Stakes (gr. I) at Hollywood on May 20. Showing a new dimension in the mile and one-sixteenth race, he roared out of the gate, raced the other speed horses into defeat, and went on to win by five lengths. Carrying 130 pounds, he had conceded four to sixteen pounds to his seven rivals and had stopped the clock in a brisk 1:41 flat.

Affirmed was assigned 132 pounds for the Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. I) on June 24, and it nearly proved a pound too much; the second highweight, the 1977 Derby Italiano (Ity-I) winner Sirlad (Ire) had but 120, and Affirmed was giving away as much as twenty pounds to some of the others. Affirmed took the early lead but was pressured by Sirlad and Text, another high class runner, throughout; at the mile, the three were noses apart. During the last testing quarter-mile, Text gave way and fell back, leaving Affirmed and Sirlad to duke it out. Sirlad kept driving tenaciously, but in the final fifty yards, it was Affirmed slowly edging away to win by three-quarters of a length. The final time of 1:58-2/5 missed the world’s record by only one-fifth of a second.

That was Affirmed’s farewell to California, for his next scheduled stop was the Marlboro Gold Cup at Belmont. The horse went beautifully in his prep for the big race, a betless exhibition at a mile in which Affirmed defeated Island Sultan and Prefontaine by six and twenty lengths, respectively. But when the weights came out for the Marlboro Cup, Barrera politely declined, feeling that asking Affirmed to carry 133 pounds – seven over scale weight – against 124 (three above scale) on Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Spectacular Bid and 122 on Belmont Stakes winner Coastal was a bit much. Spectacular Bid won handsomely in Affirmed’s absence, setting the stage for a confrontation with the older champion in either the Woodward Stakes (gr. I) or the Jockey Club Gold Cup, both at weight for age.

When the horses pranced to the post for the Woodward Stakes on September 22, it was Spectacular Bid’s turn to decline the issue as the colt was sidelined by a fever. Affirmed won by two and a half lengths over Coastal without being fully extended.

The two champions finally came together in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 6 with Horse of the Year honors on the line. The only other starters in the race were Gallant Best and Coastal, and Gallant Best was effectively out of it after leading for the first quarter. Affirmed took over at that point and repelled bids by first Coastal and then Spectacular Bid, defeating the latter by three-quarters of a length. The prize money for first and second place made Affirmed and Spectacular Bid the first two horses to earn more than a million dollars in a single season of racing, with Affirmed reaching that mark first by less than one-fifth of a second.

Affirmed had done more than enough to retire to Spendthrift Farm with honor. The winner of twenty-two of his twenty-nine starts, with five seconds and one third, Affirmed had won divisional championships each year he raced along with two Horse of the Year titles and had earned $2,393,818. One year after his retirement, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.

Affirmed was never considered a top-flight stallion during his stud career, but he proved a good and consistent sire whose offspring often showed a surprising bent for turf racing. His most noted runners in North America were two-time champion grass mare Flawlessly and the 1993 Canadian Triple Crown winner Peteski, while he was represented abroad by the 1988 Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-I) winner Trusted Partner, 1987 French champion three-year-old filly Bint Pasha, and 1991 Irish champion older male Zoman. None of his sons proved able to carry on as sires, but Affirmed’s daughters have earned him the reputation of a good broodmare sire.

Forced to move from Spendthrift Farm and then Calumet Farm by the financial woes of both farms, Affirmed spent the last decade of his life at Jonabell Farm. He was humanely destroyed on January 12, 2001, and was buried at Jonabell.

Text © 2005 by Avalyn Hunter

Artwork © 2005 by Pat DeLong. Used by permission and may not be copied or distributed without the express consent of Pat DeLong. For information regarding purchases, reproductions, or licensing, please contact Pat DeLong at patdelongart@aol.com.