2 out fo 3: First and Third (from Chateaugay)

[SWC75]

CHATEAUGAY

Chateaugay was a son of Swaps. He was bred in Kentucky, owned by John W. Galbraith’s Darby Dan Farm, trained by James P. Conway and ridden by Braulio Baeza. He won two races as a two year old but was not highly thought of entering the 1963 Kentucky Derby. There was a lot of excitement over the three main contenders: Candy Spots, No Robbery and Never Bend, (oh, those horsy names!). Eddie Arcaro said he couldn’t remember a Derby creating so much excitement.
Per Wikipedia: “When the gate opened, Never Bend quickly took the lead and by the ¼ mile mark No Robbery had moved into second place along the inside rail with Candy Spots sitting a well-positioned third. After running in sixth place through the first three-quarters of a mile, coming out of the backstretch Chateaugay moved to the far outside and raced into fourth place behind the three leaders. As they turned for home, jockey Braulio Baeza spotted an opening between the second-and-third-place horses. He raced through it to pull alongside Never Bend and then moved ahead to win the race by 1¼ lengths.”

At the Preakness, Chateaugay “got away from his exercise rider and set a course record in practice. In the actual race: “As they had in the Derby, Never Bend charged out to an early lead with Candy Spots comfortably sitting in third. Once again, Chateaugay was far back, running seventh in the eight-horse field. As they turned onto the homestretch Chateaugay made his move and soon caught and passed Never Bend who had fallen behind the now front-running Candy Spots. This time, Chateaugay could not catch the leader and finished second, 3½ lengths back.”
At the Belmont, (aced at Aqueduct because Belmont Park was being renovated), “Chateaugay repeated his running style from the previous two Classics and was well back of the leaders. Once again, while other horses began to tire during the 1½ mile race, in the stretch, Chateaugay stormed past Candy Spots and pulled away to win by a widening 2½ lengths.” He was named the Champion 3 year old Colt of the year, (it was the Kelso era for Horse of the Year). His racing record was 11-4-2 in 24 races. He became the first Kentucky derby winner sold to Japan for stud.

Here is a silent look at the 1963 Derby as well as some color home movies of the event:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckYiWRtal7Q

They didn’t have the Preakness but here is the Belmont:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAZfr_QE2sQ


RIVA RIDGE
Riva Ridge kind of
scouted the terrain for his stablemate Secretariat. Both were owned by The Chenery family’s Meadows Stables and trained by Lucian Lauren and ridden by Ron Turcotte. He was named after a battle in World War II that Penny Chenery Tweedy’s husband had fought in. He was the champion 2 year old horse in 1971 and won the Derby. His weakness is that he did not run well on the muddy track and that was a factor in the Preakness where he finished fourth. He then blew away the field in the Belmont by 7 lengths. Riva Ridge went on to be the champion “older horse” as a four year old and retired with a record of 17-3-1 in 30 races. It must have been very frustrating to the Chenery’s that so much rain fell at the Preakness. After all, how often do you get a chance at a Triple Crown???
A visit with Riva Ridge:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03_5-CkAISQ

The Derby:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItlAMVUlo4M

The Belmont:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsedrw1x1TU


Riva Ridge takes on Secretariat:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huOmZH3G-Dc

Well they say Avis tried harder.
　
BOLD FORBES
A Kentucky horse born the day Secretariat won the Belmont. Owned by Lee Eaton and trained by Laz Berrera, he raced as a two year old in Puerto Rico, where he won the 1975 championship. He got off to a strong start in 1976 winning three races and then the Kentucky Derby under Angel Cordero Jr. He lost the Preakness by three lengths after leading most of the race but easily won the Belmont and won the 3 year old championship. He retired to a highly successful stud career, (30 stakes champions), with a fine record of 13-1-4 in 18 races.
The Derby:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deLOQQvVcYo

The Preakness:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh2vatwnvuw&feature=related

The Belmont:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8v06RpJdTw&feature=related


SWALE
Swale was a product of Claiborne Farm in the Kentucky. He was also a product of Seattle Slew. Seth Hancock was the owner, Woody Stephens was the trainer and Laffit Pincay Jr. the jockey. He won five racers as a two year old and two more as a three year old before winning the 1984 Kentucky Derby. He finished “an uncharacteristic 7th” in the Preakness before coming back to win the Belmont. Eight days later, he collapsed and died while returning to his stall after a bath. An autopsy showed all his internal organs to be completely healthy. To this day, nobody knows the cause of death.
Here is a Sports Illustrated story on the death of Swale:



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122220/index.htm

This guy has a book on Swale:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-J6uwxmgvs


The Derby:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyS3lnSNZ-o&feature=related

The Belmont:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv_8Tv5bhFA

　
THUNDER GULCH

Michael Tabor made millions running English betting shops and used his fortune to buy thoroughbred races horses, including Thunder Gulch, who won the 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont. D. Wayne Lucas was his trainer and Gary Stevens his jockey. Thunder Gulch has won only race as a two year old and was a 25-1 shot in the Derby but won it anyway, one of three Lukas horses in the race. He finished third to one of them. Timber Country in the Preakness, then became the Belmont favorite when Timber Country had to bow out with a fever. He didn’t disappoint, wining by two lengths to give Lukas his 5th straight Belmont win. He won three more races that year but finished fifth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup to Cigar, who became horse of the year, (and was one of the greatest racehorses ever). It was supposed to be a big confrontation but it was found that Thunder Gulch had fractured his left front “cannon bone” and he was retired to stud with a record of 9-2-2 in 16 races.
The Derby:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEk4h_yYYNE

The Belmont:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcCpfrH6O6Y


The life of a retired race horse:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1v-ibQ3ngw


The horses that won two out of the three Triple Crown Races failed to win the TC for various reasons, many of them not directly related to the horse’s capabilities. As long as it’s been since the last TC winner, the next one could come at any time. He either needs to be a superhorse like Secretariat, who could overcome all odds, or simply a very good horse that got more breaks, (or fewer bad breaks), than the horses that won 2 of 3.
　

 

[br801]

Great stuff as always, SWC75.

Just a few comments on this group of horses.

In that recent Disney movie about Secretariat and Penny Chenery, the filmmakers chose to write Riva Ridge out of the story. Shame on them. Riva Ridge was an exceptional horse, and as you've noted, save for a muddy track on Preakness day, he might well have broken the Triple Crown drought a year before his more famous stablemate Secretariat.

Bold Forbes did not win the Belmont easily. Rather, it took an outstanding training job by the great Laz Barrera and one of Angel Cordero's greatest rides to get this horse to last the 1 and 1/2 miles of the Belmont. Bold Forbes and Cordero simply refused to be beaten that day. That race is a textbook example of a rider "carrying" a horse to victory.

Swale was a powerful and impressive looking racehorse. Based on his performance on the track and his pedigree, he very likely would have become an important stallion.

 

[SWC75]

Great stuff as always, SWC75.

Just a few comments on this group of horses.

In that recent Disney movie about Secretariat and Penny Chenery, the filmmakers chose to write Riva Ridge out of the story. Shame on them. Riva Ridge was an exceptional horse, and as you've noted, save for a muddy track on Preakness day, he might well have broken the Triple Crown drought a year before his more famous stablemate Secretariat.

Bold Forbes did not win the Belmont easily. Rather, it took an outstanding training job by the great Laz Barrera and one of Angel Cordero's greatest rides to get this horse to last the 1 and 1/2 miles of the Belmont. Bold Forbes and Cordero simply refused to be beaten that day. That race is a textbook example of a rider "carrying" a horse to victory.

Swale was a powerful and impressive looking racehorse. Based on his performance on the track and his pedigree, he very likely would have become an important stallion.

Maybe "easily" is the wrong term. He led wire to wire, by multiple lengths much of the race and held on to win at the end. Maybe "impressively'?

 

[br801]

Maybe "easily" is the wrong term. He led wire to wire, by multiple lengths much of the race and held on to win at the end. Maybe "impressively'?

Sorry, didn't mean to nitpick. "Easily" usually suggests a horse that wins going away at the finish, or with energy in reserve or with the rider not asking the horse for much effort in the stretch. Bold Forbes was out of gas by upper stretch yet still was able to defeat top class horses at a distance far beyond what he preferred. Absolutely impressive job by horse, rider and trainer.