Flashback: Afleet Alex wins the Sanford in 'freak' fashion
It’s hard to believe nearly 15 years have passed since that sunny, summer day at Saratoga — July 29, 2004 — when an unchallenged 2-year-old named Afleet Alex dominated the Sanford Stakes (G2) in the manner of a future superstar.
The career of Afleet Alex was filled with brilliant highlights. His unforgettable victory in the 2005 Preakness Stakes was one for the history books. When he clipped heels at the top of the Pimlico stretch, racing fans gasped, expecting the worst. But the athletic Afleet Alex stayed on his feet, re-rallied, and won going away. Three weeks later, he dominated the Belmont Stakes in jaw-dropping fashion, flying through the final quarter-mile in :24.50 to win by seven effortless lengths.
With these eye-catching performances under his belt, Afleet Alex shipped to Saratoga with an eye on contesting the historic six-furlong Sanford Stakes. Ten rivals lined up to oppose him, eight of them last-out winners, but Afleet Alex’s two victories were so impressive that bettors sent him off as the 3-1 favorite.
Ritchey was quietly confident that Afleet Alex would deliver, though he recognized the challenges facing his star colt. “I thought he had a pretty good chance. It was a matter of whether the shipping, different track and the tougher competition would get to him,” Ritchey explained in the July 30, 2004 edition of the Glen Falls, New York The Post-Star.
Regular rider Jeremy Rose came along to guide Afleet Alex in the Sanford, and when the gates opened, he decided to employ a change in tactics. In his first two starts, Afleet Alex had raced right up near the pace, but in the Sanford, Rose allowed the colt to gallop along in mid-pack, about three lengths behind a quick :22.29 opening quarter-mile. While a handful of speed horses dueled for early supremacy, Afleet Alex was relaxed, waiting for his cue.
Then on the turn, Rose asked Afleet Alex to accelerate, and the young colt unleashed a freakish burst of speed. Lengthening his stride, Afleet Alex swallowed the field in a matter of strides, roaring past rivals on the far outside while sprinting the second quarter-mile in approximately :22 4/5.
This powerful move carried Afleet Alex to the front, but he wasn’t done yet. With Rose continuing to urge him on, Afleet Alex threw down a fifth furlong in :11.68 — racehorse time! — and extended his advantage. His rivals, thoroughly unable to keep up, dropped back steadily as Afleet Alex finished with a flourish, his strides still coming strong through a final furlong in :12.06 seconds.
Aflet Alex crossed the wire alone, victorious by 5 ¼ lengths, and the timer revealed he had sprinted six furlongs in 1:09.32, breaking the stakes record of 1:09.40 set by Executioner 34 years prior. Regret, Billy Kelly, Devil Diver, Tom Fool, Secretariat, Affirmed, Forty Niner… they were all champions, and they all won the Sanford Stakes, but none of them ran as fast as Afleet Alex.
“He’s a beast,” Rose marveled in The Post-Star. “He’s just a freak, he really is… You are going to see a lot of this one.”
Ritchey was inclined to agree. “We haven’t gotten to the bottom of this horse,” he said in the July 30, 2004 edition of the Louisville, Kentucky The Courier-Journal. “Two races at Delaware, Jeremy just sat on him. When they run those kinds of races, you’ve got to put him where you can find out what they have. He’s a nice horse. We’ll find out if he’s a very nice horse in the near future.”
With the benefit of hindsight, we can say without fear of contradiction that Afleet Alex was, indeed, a very nice horse. And perhaps we'll see another Saturday when the Sanford Stakes renews at Saratoga.
J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, videographer, handicapper and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. You can follow him on Twitter at @J_Keelerman.