SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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SPECTACULAR BID
By 1979, everything had changed. Triple Crown winners had become commonplace again, with Secretariat winning it in 1973, Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978. Now a horse with another great name- Spectacular Bid- was favored to make it three in a row. He was a grandson of Bold Ruler, and other great name and one of the great sires of all time, (Secretariat was Bold Ruler’s son). She was owned by Madelyn Jason and her mother Mrs. William Gilmore, who owned Hawksworth Farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. His trainer was the Hall of Famer Bud Delp. Willie Shoemaker said Spectacular Bid was the best horse he ever rode. But he wasn’t his jockey for the Triple Crown. That was Ronnie Franklin.
In his two year old season he won 5 of 7 raced and set two track records, then won 5 in a row as a three year old to make him the odds-on favorite in the Derby and even for the Triple Crown. Per Wikipedia, “Delp was so confident of victory that as the horse paraded in front of the fans, he called, "Go bet! Go bet!" He won by nearly three lengths over General Assembly, a son of Secretariat. He then overcame some early bumping to win the Preakness by 5 ½, lengths in an official time faster than Secretariat, Seattle Slew or Affirmed, (although Secretariat’s time has been disputed). The Belmont seemed like it would be a coronation of the third straight Triple Crown winner and maybe the best yet.
“On the morning of the Belmont Stakes, a freak accident was discovered: Spectacular Bid had stepped on a safety pin. The pin had become embedded in his hoof, later leading to an infection that threatened his life and requiring the hoof to be drilled to cure the problem. However, after the discovery of the injury, Spectacular Bid did not seem lame and was entered into the race. Several days prior to the race, his teenaged jockey, Ronnie Franklin, engaged in a fist fight with Angel Cordero, Jr. in the jockeys' preparation room due to a dispute over an earlier race at Belmont. (Franklin felt Cordero interfered with his horse, causing him to pull up.) In the Belmont, Franklin gunned Spectacular Bid early in the long race. Spectacular Bid faded to third behind Coastal and Golden Act , horses he had defeated in other major races. Franklin was then replaced as Spectacular Bid's jockey.”
How a horse’s hoof can be impaled on a safety pin is beyond me. But Spectacular Bid went on to one of the great careers in the history of horse racing. After taking time off to heal, he raced 13 more times, losing only once- to Affirmed- and then went undefeated in 9 races as a four year old, winning horse of the year honors. In 30 races he had a record of 26-2-1. He then had a spectacular career as a stud horse, producing offspring that won another 253 races. Blood Horse magazine made a list of the top horses of the 20th century and rated Spectacular Bid #10.
Had it not been for that safety pin, he would be the last Triple Crown winner and the subsequent horses would be trying to match his achievements.
A brief documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3rIIl9IPO4
The Derby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNufEXG7fYs
(U-Tube doesn’t have the Preakness)
The Belmont:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqGCNehxJ2Y
PLEASANT COLONY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqEWAL3kEUk
Another disappointing name for a great horse. He was a grandson of Ribot, the great Italian horse who had dominated European racing in the mid-50’s. He was bred by Thomas Mellon Evans at Buckland Farm in Virginia, trained by John P. Campo, ridden by Jorge Velasquez. He won the 1981 Kentucky Derby by ¾ of a length and then the Preakness by a length but was not dominant the way Spectacular Bid had been. He came up short in the Belmont, finishing third. His career record was 6-3-1 in 14 races. Perhaps if he had a more impressive-sounding name…
ALYSHEBA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dP24B9NkRA
Alysheba was going to be Alydar’s revenge. His Daddy had finished second to Affirmed in all three Triple Crown races but Alysheba won the 1987 Kentucky Derby after being “nearly knocked to the ground” by a horse named Bet Twice, (can you do that?). He then won the Preakness. He’d been taking lasix, a drug that prevents horses from bleeding through the nose during races. It had been made illegal in New York and he ran 4th in the Belmont, which was won by Bet Twice by 6 lengths. He was owned by Preston Madden and Hamburg Place farm in Kentucky, trained by Jack Van Berg and ridden by Chris McCarron and had an 11-8-2 record in 26 races.
SUNDAY SILENCE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpYUYpRty1M
There was no silence when Sunday Silence ran: “in his career, he had three losses by margins of a head or a neck, two wins by a nose and a neck, and a win and a loss by less than a length.” (Wikipedia) He had a great rival in Easy Goer. They met four times and Sunday Silence won 3, two by a nose and neck. He was owned by H-W-G Partners, LTD, the initials standing for Arthur Hancock III, who owned Stone Farm near Paris, Kentucky, Charlie Whittingham, his trainer, and Dr. Ernest Gallaird. Pat Valenzuela was the jockey.
Easy Goer was the 2 year old champion in 1988 and was the favorite in each of the Triple Crown races. On a muddy track, Sunday Silence beat him by 2 ½ lengths in the Derby, then by a nose on a dry track in the Preakness. But Easy Goer finally came through in the Belmont, running the second fastest time ever, (to guess who?) and won by 8 lengths. But Sunday Silence later held on to beat Easy Goer by a neck in the Breeder’s Cup and won horse of the year. His career record was 9-5-0 in 14 races. Easy Goer, (another son of Alydar) was 14-5-1 in 20 races, so neither horse was ever out of the money. Essentially, we had two Triple Crown quality horses that happened to have been born in the same year so neither of them won it.
SILVER CHARM
If you are going to end a drought, why not with a horse that has “charm” in his name? A grandson of Buckpasser, he was owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis of California, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens. The Charmer won the 1997 Derby by a neck and Preakness in a photo finish but finished second to Touch Gold, (another good name), by half a length in the Belmont. Taken together, these may have been the closest Triple Crown races ever. He went on to a 12-7-2 record in 24 races and an successful career at stud.
The Derby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBoZTsHbk3E
The Preakness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoUmFarSYwU
(dig the on-board camera!)
The Belmont:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Auvs7LD5I
REAL QUIET
Bob Baffert was back in 1998 with Real Quiet, a Florida horse bought from a Columbian owner by Michael Pegram. Kent Desormeaux was the jockey. He was an upset winner of the Derby and won the Preakness by a convincing margin, then lost the Belmont by a nose to the well-named Victory Gallop. Many people thought Desormeaux had taken him out too early so he didn’t have quite enough down the stretch. Real Quiet won only 6 of 20 races but placed 18 times with a 6-5-6 record.
The Derby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AJDyKofHxQ
The Preakness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEXNf_4x4DE
The Belmont:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLV7xZPwvM0&feature=related
I really thought Real Quiet had done it live but Victory Gallop lunged forward at just the right time.
CHARISMATIC
Owner Bob Lewis, who had barely missed a Triple Crown with Silver Charm, tried again two years alter with Charismatic. But instead of Bob Baffert, the trainer was his great rival D. Wayne Lucas. Chris Antley was the jockey. The horse was a 31-1 shot for the 1999 Derby but won it over Menifee by a neck. He beat Menifee by 1½ lengths in the Preakness, setting up a third straight Belmont with the Triple Crown on the line. It was a memorable one, with the greatest drama coming after the race.
It looked like Charismatic would become the first TC winner in 21 years but he faded badly down the stretch, finishing third. As his horse crossed the finish line, Chris Antley jumped off of and grabbed Charismatic’s left front leg, holding it in place until help could come. He was credited with saving the horse‘s life, as his leg was broken. They were able to operate and save Charismatic’s leg and life and he’s alive today, merrily making more race horses in Japan. In 17 races he was 5-2-4.
ESPN did a documentary on Charismatic and his tragic jockey, Chris Antley, who could save his horse but not himself. Here is Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH_yuKTj61Q
By 1979, everything had changed. Triple Crown winners had become commonplace again, with Secretariat winning it in 1973, Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978. Now a horse with another great name- Spectacular Bid- was favored to make it three in a row. He was a grandson of Bold Ruler, and other great name and one of the great sires of all time, (Secretariat was Bold Ruler’s son). She was owned by Madelyn Jason and her mother Mrs. William Gilmore, who owned Hawksworth Farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. His trainer was the Hall of Famer Bud Delp. Willie Shoemaker said Spectacular Bid was the best horse he ever rode. But he wasn’t his jockey for the Triple Crown. That was Ronnie Franklin.
In his two year old season he won 5 of 7 raced and set two track records, then won 5 in a row as a three year old to make him the odds-on favorite in the Derby and even for the Triple Crown. Per Wikipedia, “Delp was so confident of victory that as the horse paraded in front of the fans, he called, "Go bet! Go bet!" He won by nearly three lengths over General Assembly, a son of Secretariat. He then overcame some early bumping to win the Preakness by 5 ½, lengths in an official time faster than Secretariat, Seattle Slew or Affirmed, (although Secretariat’s time has been disputed). The Belmont seemed like it would be a coronation of the third straight Triple Crown winner and maybe the best yet.
“On the morning of the Belmont Stakes, a freak accident was discovered: Spectacular Bid had stepped on a safety pin. The pin had become embedded in his hoof, later leading to an infection that threatened his life and requiring the hoof to be drilled to cure the problem. However, after the discovery of the injury, Spectacular Bid did not seem lame and was entered into the race. Several days prior to the race, his teenaged jockey, Ronnie Franklin, engaged in a fist fight with Angel Cordero, Jr. in the jockeys' preparation room due to a dispute over an earlier race at Belmont. (Franklin felt Cordero interfered with his horse, causing him to pull up.) In the Belmont, Franklin gunned Spectacular Bid early in the long race. Spectacular Bid faded to third behind Coastal and Golden Act , horses he had defeated in other major races. Franklin was then replaced as Spectacular Bid's jockey.”
How a horse’s hoof can be impaled on a safety pin is beyond me. But Spectacular Bid went on to one of the great careers in the history of horse racing. After taking time off to heal, he raced 13 more times, losing only once- to Affirmed- and then went undefeated in 9 races as a four year old, winning horse of the year honors. In 30 races he had a record of 26-2-1. He then had a spectacular career as a stud horse, producing offspring that won another 253 races. Blood Horse magazine made a list of the top horses of the 20th century and rated Spectacular Bid #10.
Had it not been for that safety pin, he would be the last Triple Crown winner and the subsequent horses would be trying to match his achievements.
A brief documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3rIIl9IPO4
The Derby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNufEXG7fYs
(U-Tube doesn’t have the Preakness)
The Belmont:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqGCNehxJ2Y
PLEASANT COLONY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqEWAL3kEUk
Another disappointing name for a great horse. He was a grandson of Ribot, the great Italian horse who had dominated European racing in the mid-50’s. He was bred by Thomas Mellon Evans at Buckland Farm in Virginia, trained by John P. Campo, ridden by Jorge Velasquez. He won the 1981 Kentucky Derby by ¾ of a length and then the Preakness by a length but was not dominant the way Spectacular Bid had been. He came up short in the Belmont, finishing third. His career record was 6-3-1 in 14 races. Perhaps if he had a more impressive-sounding name…
ALYSHEBA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dP24B9NkRA
Alysheba was going to be Alydar’s revenge. His Daddy had finished second to Affirmed in all three Triple Crown races but Alysheba won the 1987 Kentucky Derby after being “nearly knocked to the ground” by a horse named Bet Twice, (can you do that?). He then won the Preakness. He’d been taking lasix, a drug that prevents horses from bleeding through the nose during races. It had been made illegal in New York and he ran 4th in the Belmont, which was won by Bet Twice by 6 lengths. He was owned by Preston Madden and Hamburg Place farm in Kentucky, trained by Jack Van Berg and ridden by Chris McCarron and had an 11-8-2 record in 26 races.
SUNDAY SILENCE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpYUYpRty1M
There was no silence when Sunday Silence ran: “in his career, he had three losses by margins of a head or a neck, two wins by a nose and a neck, and a win and a loss by less than a length.” (Wikipedia) He had a great rival in Easy Goer. They met four times and Sunday Silence won 3, two by a nose and neck. He was owned by H-W-G Partners, LTD, the initials standing for Arthur Hancock III, who owned Stone Farm near Paris, Kentucky, Charlie Whittingham, his trainer, and Dr. Ernest Gallaird. Pat Valenzuela was the jockey.
Easy Goer was the 2 year old champion in 1988 and was the favorite in each of the Triple Crown races. On a muddy track, Sunday Silence beat him by 2 ½ lengths in the Derby, then by a nose on a dry track in the Preakness. But Easy Goer finally came through in the Belmont, running the second fastest time ever, (to guess who?) and won by 8 lengths. But Sunday Silence later held on to beat Easy Goer by a neck in the Breeder’s Cup and won horse of the year. His career record was 9-5-0 in 14 races. Easy Goer, (another son of Alydar) was 14-5-1 in 20 races, so neither horse was ever out of the money. Essentially, we had two Triple Crown quality horses that happened to have been born in the same year so neither of them won it.
SILVER CHARM
If you are going to end a drought, why not with a horse that has “charm” in his name? A grandson of Buckpasser, he was owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis of California, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens. The Charmer won the 1997 Derby by a neck and Preakness in a photo finish but finished second to Touch Gold, (another good name), by half a length in the Belmont. Taken together, these may have been the closest Triple Crown races ever. He went on to a 12-7-2 record in 24 races and an successful career at stud.
The Derby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBoZTsHbk3E
The Preakness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoUmFarSYwU
(dig the on-board camera!)
The Belmont:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Auvs7LD5I
REAL QUIET
Bob Baffert was back in 1998 with Real Quiet, a Florida horse bought from a Columbian owner by Michael Pegram. Kent Desormeaux was the jockey. He was an upset winner of the Derby and won the Preakness by a convincing margin, then lost the Belmont by a nose to the well-named Victory Gallop. Many people thought Desormeaux had taken him out too early so he didn’t have quite enough down the stretch. Real Quiet won only 6 of 20 races but placed 18 times with a 6-5-6 record.
The Derby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AJDyKofHxQ
The Preakness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEXNf_4x4DE
The Belmont:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLV7xZPwvM0&feature=related
I really thought Real Quiet had done it live but Victory Gallop lunged forward at just the right time.
CHARISMATIC
Owner Bob Lewis, who had barely missed a Triple Crown with Silver Charm, tried again two years alter with Charismatic. But instead of Bob Baffert, the trainer was his great rival D. Wayne Lucas. Chris Antley was the jockey. The horse was a 31-1 shot for the 1999 Derby but won it over Menifee by a neck. He beat Menifee by 1½ lengths in the Preakness, setting up a third straight Belmont with the Triple Crown on the line. It was a memorable one, with the greatest drama coming after the race.
It looked like Charismatic would become the first TC winner in 21 years but he faded badly down the stretch, finishing third. As his horse crossed the finish line, Chris Antley jumped off of and grabbed Charismatic’s left front leg, holding it in place until help could come. He was credited with saving the horse‘s life, as his leg was broken. They were able to operate and save Charismatic’s leg and life and he’s alive today, merrily making more race horses in Japan. In 17 races he was 5-2-4.
ESPN did a documentary on Charismatic and his tragic jockey, Chris Antley, who could save his horse but not himself. Here is Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH_yuKTj61Q
