Word: alydar
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...himself. "At a certain level, does it make much difference?" Conner asks. "Mario Andretti or A.J. Foyt? Or is it the car?" One of the shapeless peaked caps he rotates in endless supply bears the emblem of Calumet Farm. If Kentucky had bred Conner, would he have trained horses? Alydar was a Calumet colt the year Affirmed beat him by an inch in all of the Triple Crown races. Romantics tended to credit that inch to Affirmed's young jockey, Steve Cauthen. "Maybe if it comes to that," Conner says softly...
...length of a football field-the Belmont Stakes, that was forgotten. Racing had gone 25 years between Triple Crowns, making the feat seem mystical. Then, at a gallop, came Triple Crown Winners Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978), and other demonstrably splendid horses of the '70s: Spectacular Bid, Alydar, Ruffian...
...thrilling races in the history of the sport. They measured up to the demanding 1½-mile Belmont Stakes-"test of the champions" -and moved into the most select circle of racing royalty. Affirmed's honor was made grander still by the rousing challenge of his gallant rival, Alydar, who shadowed Harbor View Farm's chestnut in lockstep around the graceful, sweeping turns and down the long, open straightaways of New York's Belmont Park. At the wire, Affirmed won this race of matchless drama by a head...
...five-horse field got away cleanly, Cauthen steering Affirmed into an immediate, if slow-paced lead. Alydar's trainer, John Veitch, had feared a repeat of Affirmed's easy gallop on the lead at the Preakness and planned to up the pace if Cauthen tried to lope off with the race once more. Said Veitch: "Alydar will be Affirmed's shadow...
...second turn, with slightly less than a mile to run, Jockey Jorge Velasquez moved Alydar up on the outside and parked his big, handsome colt on Affirmed's right shoulder. Down the long backstretch the two colts ran stride for stride, coats glistening in the big move to the finish. The field was already left far behind. Affirmed and Alydar flew out of the final turn and into the home stretch, driving for the wire, joined in desperate struggle. With 3/16 of a mile to go, Alydar pushed in front by a nose, but Affirmed, running now on heart...