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  #1  
Old 09-28-2008, 12:30 AM
RollerDoc RollerDoc is offline
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Default Swale....Winning Two Legs of The Triple Crown

I am intrigued about horses that won two legs of the triple crown. The most popular is of course those who won the first two but then lost the Belmont like Smarty Jones, Big Brown, etc. etc.

Then there is the non winner of the Kentucky Derby that comes back and wins the Preakness and Belmont like Afleet Alex in 2005.

I am kind of inquisitive about the other combination. Winning the Kentucky Derby and then losing the Preakness but winning the Belmont. This happened to Swale in 1983. Can somebody who followed Swale offer some history on his races that year? What happened in the Preakness to him? It seems odd to me he would get beat so badly in the Preakness yet win the longer track Belmont so easily.

Also Swale died of a heart attack eight days after winning the Belmont. Heard he was a hell of a horse. Glad he won the top 3yr old, even though his season was over after the Belmont.
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Old 09-28-2008, 12:38 AM
blackthroatedwind blackthroatedwind is offline
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He walked on the lead in the Belmont.

He was a very good horse but was lost in the shadow of his stablemate Devil's Bag. As a 2YO he had a terrific rivalry with a Fred Hooper horse named Shuttle Jet. He won two Grade 1s as a 2YO and the Florida Derby prior to the Triple Crown.

He would have drowned Big Brown.
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Old 09-28-2008, 01:22 AM
westcoastinvader westcoastinvader is offline
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Also Swale died of a heart attack eight days after winning the Belmont. Heard he was a hell of a horse. Glad he won the top 3yr old, even though his season was over after the Belmont.



And if you really like the history of it, it's very important to note he was the middle of the five in a row wins of The Belmont by trainer Woody Stephens.

Whenever the question comes up, "which sports record will be the toughest to break," I normally note the five consecutive Belmont's won by Woody Stephens.

I also note the number of consecutive MLB no hitters.....two.....held by Johnny Vander Meer.
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Old 09-28-2008, 08:47 AM
Danzig Danzig is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollerDoc
I am intrigued about horses that won two legs of the triple crown. The most popular is of course those who won the first two but then lost the Belmont like Smarty Jones, Big Brown, etc. etc.

Then there is the non winner of the Kentucky Derby that comes back and wins the Preakness and Belmont like Afleet Alex in 2005.

I am kind of inquisitive about the other combination. Winning the Kentucky Derby and then losing the Preakness but winning the Belmont. This happened to Swale in 1983. Can somebody who followed Swale offer some history on his races that year? What happened in the Preakness to him? It seems odd to me he would get beat so badly in the Preakness yet win the longer track Belmont so easily.

Also Swale died of a heart attack eight days after winning the Belmont. Heard he was a hell of a horse. Glad he won the top 3yr old, even though his season was over after the Belmont.
swale had a really fast workout a few days before the preakness-many think he ran his race that day and had nothing in the tank for the real racing. i think he finished eighth that day.

swale was claibornes first derby winner btw.
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Old 09-28-2008, 10:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig
swale had a really fast workout a few days before the preakness-many think he ran his race that day and had nothing in the tank for the real racing. i think he finished eighth that day.

swale was claibornes first derby winner btw.
Isn't that a very basic mistake by the trainer to workout like that so close to a big race?
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Old 09-28-2008, 11:01 AM
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Riva Ridge won the Derby and Belmont, but bombed in the Preakness. Mainly because he detested an off track, and Pimlico was sloppy that day.

Thunder Gulch is another. He was 3rd in the Preakness to his own stablemate, but basically had no excuses. His Belmont was a pretty weak affair.

Little Current won both the Preakness and the Belmont by 7 lengths each, coming from way out of it. I'm pretty sure he was in the Derby, too, but obviously his late kick wasn't enough.

Hansel also took the last 2 legs (at generous odds each time, despite being Derby favorite). Not sure what happened in the Derby (he was 10th), although his last two preps (the Jim Beam and Lexington) were monstrous efforts, so perhaps he was over-the-top. That doesn't make much sense though when he comes right back 2 weeks later and beats the same horses by 7 lengths.
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Old 09-28-2008, 11:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind
He walked on the lead in the Belmont.

He was a very good horse but was lost in the shadow of his stablemate Devil's Bag. As a 2YO he had a terrific rivalry with a Fred Hooper horse named Shuttle Jet. He won two Grade 1s as a 2YO and the Florida Derby prior to the Triple Crown.

He would have drowned Big Brown.
Perhaps if Big Brown would have had a horse or stablemate to push him as a two year old and 3 yr. old, then maybe he would be more impressive to his doubters. On paper, in TCs I might give the slight edge to Swale since the Belmont is a more grueling race than the Preakness. Other than that, their accomplishments kind of mirror each other. I don't know how you can accurately say a horse from 25 years ago would have definitely "drowned" Big Brown. Maybe but it cannot be proven.
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Old 09-28-2008, 11:43 AM
Danzig Danzig is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollerDoc
Isn't that a very basic mistake by the trainer to workout like that so close to a big race?
when a thousand pound horse takes it into his head to run his ass off in a work, there's not much the rider or trainer can do about it. woody stephens was one of the best trainers ever in this sport, i think he knew a bit about what he was doing.
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Old 09-28-2008, 11:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RolloTomasi
Riva Ridge won the Derby and Belmont, but bombed in the Preakness. Mainly because he detested an off track, and Pimlico was sloppy that day.

Thunder Gulch is another. He was 3rd in the Preakness to his own stablemate, but basically had no excuses. His Belmont was a pretty weak affair.

Little Current won both the Preakness and the Belmont by 7 lengths each, coming from way out of it. I'm pretty sure he was in the Derby, too, but obviously his late kick wasn't enough.

Hansel also took the last 2 legs (at generous odds each time, despite being Derby favorite). Not sure what happened in the Derby (he was 10th), although his last two preps (the Jim Beam and Lexington) were monstrous efforts, so perhaps he was over-the-top. That doesn't make much sense though when he comes right back 2 weeks later and beats the same horses by 7 lengths.

Little Current finished 5th... in a 23 HORSE FIELD!!

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2005/de...ears/1974.html
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Old 09-28-2008, 11:53 AM
Danzig Danzig is offline
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and i was incorrect in memory, swale finished seventh in the preakness. and imo would hold more than a 'slight' edge over big brown.
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Old 09-28-2008, 12:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zippyneedsawin
Little Current finished 5th... in a 23 HORSE FIELD!!

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2005/de...ears/1974.html

Wow there was horse in that Derby that finished 17th named Triple Crown. Yikes. I see that was Canonade's Derby. What happened to him the rest of his 3 year old career?
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Old 09-28-2008, 12:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig
and i was incorrect in memory, swale finished seventh in the preakness. and imo would hold more than a 'slight' edge over big brown.
How do you figure more than slight. They both won the FL Derby, they both won two legs of the TC. Swale raced more as a two year old. Swale was not alive to race post post Belmont. Please show me a compelling stat that shows he has more than slight edge.
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Old 09-28-2008, 12:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollerDoc
How do you figure more than slight. They both won the FL Derby, they both won two legs of the TC. Swale raced more as a two year old. Swale was not alive to race post post Belmont. Please show me a compelling stat that shows he has more than slight edge.
perhaps you answered your own question-altho to say only that 'swale raced more as a two year old' doesn't really give him much credit. he did far more than just race more at two. swale won in how many stakes at two? how many before the fla derby? btw that was big browns first stakes score. how many did he win pre-kentucky deby?- i believe big brown won one. believe it or not roller, there's far, far more to racing then the kentucky derby. and swale won the belmont, remind me how big brown did in that race again?

swale wasn't a great horse either, his life was cut short so we'll never know, and he could be inconsistent. but i'd give him more than a 'slight' edge over big brown, just as i'd give swales peers more than a slight edge over BBs competition.
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Old 09-28-2008, 12:39 PM
RollerDoc RollerDoc is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig
perhaps you answered your own question-altho to say only that 'swale raced more as a two year old' doesn't really give him much credit. he did far more than just race more at two. swale won in how many stakes at two? how many before the fla derby? btw that was big browns first stakes score. how many did he win pre-kentucky deby?- i believe big brown won one. believe it or not roller, there's far, far more to racing then the kentucky derby. and swale won the belmont, remind me how big brown did in that race again?

swale wasn't a great horse either, his life was cut short so we'll never know, and he could be inconsistent. but i'd give him more than a 'slight' edge over big brown, just as i'd give swales peers more than a slight edge over BBs competition.
To refresh your memory about the Belmont, Big Brown didn't fully race. It was speculated there was a myriad of problems. So I guess we will never know. I do know that he lef Da'Tara two zip codes away in the FL Derby so there is no reason to think in a month and half that Da'Tara completely turned the tables on Big Brown. Of course in the Derby and Preakness Big Brown was very impressive.

You may very well be right about Swale being more than slight. At the same time, I see many arguments on here about comparing horses who have never run against each other, from different eras, and how they compare. So I guess I will continue to question an argument like this when there is a real way to make that comparison seem credible.

But your experience in this field makes me take notice of your posts and I respect what you offer so I can learn from it. I appreciate that you take time to respond to my posts.
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Old 09-28-2008, 01:06 PM
Danzig Danzig is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollerDoc
To refresh your memory about the Belmont, Big Brown didn't fully race. It was speculated there was a myriad of problems. So I guess we will never know. I do know that he lef Da'Tara two zip codes away in the FL Derby so there is no reason to think in a month and half that Da'Tara completely turned the tables on Big Brown. Of course in the Derby and Preakness Big Brown was very impressive.

You may very well be right about Swale being more than slight. At the same time, I see many arguments on here about comparing horses who have never run against each other, from different eras, and how they compare. So I guess I will continue to question an argument like this when there is a real way to make that comparison seem credible.

But your experience in this field makes me take notice of your posts and I respect what you offer so I can learn from it. I appreciate that you take time to respond to my posts.
i know what happened in the belmont this year. and i've said before that i can't help but wonder what may have happened had kent ridden the horse in new york rather than freak out when the horse didn't take off like he felt was usual. they went over that horse with a fine toothed comb, and found nothing-other than the hoof of course, which everyone knew of beforehand, and that they assured everyone was not a problem. if the horse had any other problems, they'd have found them. his races subsequent to the belmont also showed that he didn't have issues, other than not being head and shoulders the best like some thought he was after fla and ky. maybe just a head better-but still better.
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Old 09-28-2008, 01:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zippyneedsawin
Little Current finished 5th... in a 23 HORSE FIELD!!

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2005/de...ears/1974.html
That Derby is the reason there is a 20 horse limit now.
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Old 09-28-2008, 01:11 PM
blackthroatedwind blackthroatedwind is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollerDoc
Perhaps if Big Brown would have had a horse or stablemate to push him as a two year old and 3 yr. old, then maybe he would be more impressive to his doubters. On paper, in TCs I might give the slight edge to Swale since the Belmont is a more grueling race than the Preakness. Other than that, their accomplishments kind of mirror each other. I don't know how you can accurately say a horse from 25 years ago would have definitely "drowned" Big Brown. Maybe but it cannot be proven.

I can say it because I was around for all the good and great horses that have raced in the last 35 years. I spend my life trying to fairly, and accurately, judge racehorses' relative talents. Some are better than me....and many are worse.....but regardless of that I feel I am more than qualified to make these kinds of comparisons.

Take this for what it's worth, but if instead of being so defensive about any comment that doesn't imply that Big Brown is the second coming of Hindoo, you took the time to really research some top horses from the past ( buy the book Champions from DRF ) you might be surprised at what you discover.
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Old 09-28-2008, 01:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollerDoc
Isn't that a very basic mistake by the trainer to workout like that so close to a big race?
Risen Star worked a 33 and change either the Thursday or Friday before the Belmont. People said it was too fast and he'd left his race on the track. He won by 14 in one of the fastest Belmont's ever.
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Old 09-28-2008, 02:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollerDoc
Wow there was horse in that Derby that finished 17th named Triple Crown. Yikes. I see that was Canonade's Derby. What happened to him the rest of his 3 year old career?
I remember Triple Crown - I think I have a photo of him in the paddock at Santa Anita somewhere in the basement. He was a big golden chestnut by Hawaii who raced in California early on in his classic preparation. Won the San Vicente (G3, 7f) and the San Jacinto (G2, 8f) and was third in the San Felipe H (G2- 8.5f) to Aloha Mood, then went East to finish second a division of in the Wood Memorial (G1-9f) to Flip Sal (who broke down in the Derby). I don't remember seeing him again after the Derby; he went to stud in 1975, according to my Stallion Registers, but had little success.

1974 was a very confused year for 3yos, with lots of different prep winners, and even double classic winner Little Current didn't appear to be anything special. The top 10 3yos in the Blood-Horse Handicap for 3yos were: Little Current, Agitate, Stonewalk, Cannonade, Holding Pattern (the Travers winner; the filly Chris Evert was third), Lightning Mandate, Judger, Within Hail (a turfer), Bushongo, and Stardust Mel. Some good, solid racehorses in there, but no immortals.

Triple Crown was the last foal of a mare called Belle Jeep, a daughter of War Jeep (he by War Admiral). Among her earlier foals were champion 2yo Jewel's Reward, Ky Jockey Club S winner Evasive Action, SW Lord Jeep, and SP Guillemot, who ran third in the Irish Derby (G1).
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Old 09-28-2008, 04:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pedigree Ann
I remember Triple Crown - I think I have a photo of him in the paddock at Santa Anita somewhere in the basement. He was a big golden chestnut by Hawaii who raced in California early on in his classic preparation. Won the San Vicente (G3, 7f) and the San Jacinto (G2, 8f) and was third in the San Felipe H (G2- 8.5f) to Aloha Mood, then went East to finish second a division of in the Wood Memorial (G1-9f) to Flip Sal (who broke down in the Derby). I don't remember seeing him again after the Derby; he went to stud in 1975, according to my Stallion Registers, but had little success.

1974 was a very confused year for 3yos, with lots of different prep winners, and even double classic winner Little Current didn't appear to be anything special. The top 10 3yos in the Blood-Horse Handicap for 3yos were: Little Current, Agitate, Stonewalk, Cannonade, Holding Pattern (the Travers winner; the filly Chris Evert was third), Lightning Mandate, Judger, Within Hail (a turfer), Bushongo, and Stardust Mel. Some good, solid racehorses in there, but no immortals.

Triple Crown was the last foal of a mare called Belle Jeep, a daughter of War Jeep (he by War Admiral). Among her earlier foals were champion 2yo Jewel's Reward, Ky Jockey Club S winner Evasive Action, SW Lord Jeep, and SP Guillemot, who ran third in the Irish Derby (G1).
Thank you! When I read this, I kind of wish I had been around in the 70s. There were three TC winners? A 23 horse field in the Preakness? Just wish I could have seen what it was like back then compared to now.
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