HollywoodParkSteward
05-08-2010, 05:20 PM
The upcoming wretched field in the Preakness reminds me of how I miss the days of yesterday!
It seems like ancient history now, but back in 1978 there were many great horses that had legions of fans. In 1978 the blazing fast Darby Creek Road was getting ready for his showdown with Buckaroo and Sensitive Prince at Saratoga. He would win an allowance and set a track record time of 1:20 2/5 for 7 furlongs- chasing him in that race was a fellow three year old named John Henry! For those that may not know- JH would later become a legend- horse of the year in 1981 and 1984!
Another horse with incredible speed- speed that would have crushed the three year olds that are running today was Nasty & Bold! He won the Grade 1 Brooklyn Handicap against older horses in 2:26!!!!!!!! He ran 3rd fastest 1 1/2 M on dirt in American racing history that day.
Nasty & Bold would have been a champion two year old almost any other year! The horses that beat him in the Futurity? Affirmed and Alydar! I won't forget to mention Dave's Friend either! He won 35 races and set 6 track records at distances from 5 fur to 9 fur!
Darby Creek Road is another great horse that in almost any other year would have been champion two year old! He won the Saratoga Special and in the grade 1 Champagne- who did he lose to? Alydar and Affirmed! DCR would later be 4th in the Kentucky Derby in a great effort. DCR would go on and later beat John Henry three times.
I haven't even come to the core of the division that year! Affirmed, Alydar and Sensitive Prince had won 12 straight major and minor stakes races leading up to the Derby. In almost any other year, Believe It would have been going for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, Alydar would have been going for the Triple Crown as well. In almost any other year Sensitive Prince would have won champion sprinter by a huge margin and he would have been 4-5 in the Kentucky Derby and wired the field undefeated. As it was, Sensitive Prince was 9-2 in the Derby and Alydar went off as the favorite.
Alydar- Needs no intro- in almost any other year he would be the Champion 2 year old, as well as the Triple Crown winner.
Sensitive Prince- He was undefeated coming into the Derby-could easily be champion sprinter in almost any year- a speed demon! He was so good that Allen Jerkins said 'I never saw a horse that could beat him at 7 fur'. SP had won the Fountain of Youth S. G3, Hutcheson Stakes and the Lexington G 3. (At 4 he would win the Gulfstream Park Handicap. G1, as well as the Seminole Handicap G2) later on. When he won the Hutcheson he tied the record set by Champion Sprinter Shecky Greene (SG won the Sprint Title in 1973 over Linda?s Chief by 1 vote). Sensitive Prince was so fast that he hooked up with Believe It in the Fountain of Youth and they set the track record as SP won by a head getting 8 pounds. Many writers after the KD made the huge mistake of saying that Laz let SP ?take the lead?- this was 100% false as even Laz said! It wasn't about letting SP do anything- he was going for the lead and if you wanted it- you?d run yourself into the ground getting it from him!
Believe It was another horse of incredible talent! I've witnessed so many crops of three year olds the past 30 years and MANY times I've stated that Believe It would have trounced this Derby etc. I?m sure there are those that don?t even know what I?m talking about, well??.Believe It creamed Alydar in the Remson at Aqueduct late in 1977. Believe It loved NY- just as Alydar loved the Florida tracks. Believe It ran into a blazing fast Sensitive Prince in the Fountain of Youth and was a second by a head giving 8 pounds and fighting every step!
He then faced Alydar in the Florida Derby- but he hadn?t been training so well in Florida after the FOY. Woody would never make any excuses for him- it was simply a fact that he wasn't training as well after the FOY. Believe It still put in a great effort to lose by two lengths against Alydar. He actually took the lead from Alydar at the top of the stretch, but he couldn?t hold it as Alydar would just miss the track record by just 1/5 of a second. Woody Stephens said afterwards; ?We were two lengths off the track record-I?m very proud of my horse (Believe It).? Woody would then take Believe It to Aqueduct- the track where he gave Alydar a good thrashing- true to his NY form Believe It was a heavy favorite in the Wood Memorial and crushed the field. In almost any other year he would have been a heavy favorite.
Esops Foibles- May 1st, 1978- Esops Foibles makes SI and gets an entire page. In almost any other year, EF would have been one of the favored horses in the Run For The Roses. He had plenty of problems as a two year old, yet when he left California he became a different horse. He ran a incredible race to win the Louisiana Derby over Quadratic, and he also cruised home in the Arkansas Derby. Even the DRF stated; ?This Derby field is so good that even a horse that won two major Grade 2 prep races by comfortable margins is 50-1!?
Affirmed- Won the biggest two year old races on both coasts. Were it not for Alydar winning the Great American and Champagne, Affirmed would have won 8 graded stakes races as a two year old- an almost unbelievable feat considering that Seattle Slew was 2 year old champion the year before having won just ONE stakes race- a mdn and an allowance! I don't need to say more about Affirmed- he is a legend.
There you have 1978- in almost any other year afterwards (not all), but most- Alydar and Believe It would have been going for the Triple Crown in the Belmont. I do not think Sensitive Prince could win the Belmont, but I do think he'd take the Preakness most years- he was very talented and super fast out of the gate.
As for Alydar- he ended up killed for the insurance money- one month before it was set to cancel.
It seems like ancient history now, but back in 1978 there were many great horses that had legions of fans. In 1978 the blazing fast Darby Creek Road was getting ready for his showdown with Buckaroo and Sensitive Prince at Saratoga. He would win an allowance and set a track record time of 1:20 2/5 for 7 furlongs- chasing him in that race was a fellow three year old named John Henry! For those that may not know- JH would later become a legend- horse of the year in 1981 and 1984!
Another horse with incredible speed- speed that would have crushed the three year olds that are running today was Nasty & Bold! He won the Grade 1 Brooklyn Handicap against older horses in 2:26!!!!!!!! He ran 3rd fastest 1 1/2 M on dirt in American racing history that day.
Nasty & Bold would have been a champion two year old almost any other year! The horses that beat him in the Futurity? Affirmed and Alydar! I won't forget to mention Dave's Friend either! He won 35 races and set 6 track records at distances from 5 fur to 9 fur!
Darby Creek Road is another great horse that in almost any other year would have been champion two year old! He won the Saratoga Special and in the grade 1 Champagne- who did he lose to? Alydar and Affirmed! DCR would later be 4th in the Kentucky Derby in a great effort. DCR would go on and later beat John Henry three times.
I haven't even come to the core of the division that year! Affirmed, Alydar and Sensitive Prince had won 12 straight major and minor stakes races leading up to the Derby. In almost any other year, Believe It would have been going for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, Alydar would have been going for the Triple Crown as well. In almost any other year Sensitive Prince would have won champion sprinter by a huge margin and he would have been 4-5 in the Kentucky Derby and wired the field undefeated. As it was, Sensitive Prince was 9-2 in the Derby and Alydar went off as the favorite.
Alydar- Needs no intro- in almost any other year he would be the Champion 2 year old, as well as the Triple Crown winner.
Sensitive Prince- He was undefeated coming into the Derby-could easily be champion sprinter in almost any year- a speed demon! He was so good that Allen Jerkins said 'I never saw a horse that could beat him at 7 fur'. SP had won the Fountain of Youth S. G3, Hutcheson Stakes and the Lexington G 3. (At 4 he would win the Gulfstream Park Handicap. G1, as well as the Seminole Handicap G2) later on. When he won the Hutcheson he tied the record set by Champion Sprinter Shecky Greene (SG won the Sprint Title in 1973 over Linda?s Chief by 1 vote). Sensitive Prince was so fast that he hooked up with Believe It in the Fountain of Youth and they set the track record as SP won by a head getting 8 pounds. Many writers after the KD made the huge mistake of saying that Laz let SP ?take the lead?- this was 100% false as even Laz said! It wasn't about letting SP do anything- he was going for the lead and if you wanted it- you?d run yourself into the ground getting it from him!
Believe It was another horse of incredible talent! I've witnessed so many crops of three year olds the past 30 years and MANY times I've stated that Believe It would have trounced this Derby etc. I?m sure there are those that don?t even know what I?m talking about, well??.Believe It creamed Alydar in the Remson at Aqueduct late in 1977. Believe It loved NY- just as Alydar loved the Florida tracks. Believe It ran into a blazing fast Sensitive Prince in the Fountain of Youth and was a second by a head giving 8 pounds and fighting every step!
He then faced Alydar in the Florida Derby- but he hadn?t been training so well in Florida after the FOY. Woody would never make any excuses for him- it was simply a fact that he wasn't training as well after the FOY. Believe It still put in a great effort to lose by two lengths against Alydar. He actually took the lead from Alydar at the top of the stretch, but he couldn?t hold it as Alydar would just miss the track record by just 1/5 of a second. Woody Stephens said afterwards; ?We were two lengths off the track record-I?m very proud of my horse (Believe It).? Woody would then take Believe It to Aqueduct- the track where he gave Alydar a good thrashing- true to his NY form Believe It was a heavy favorite in the Wood Memorial and crushed the field. In almost any other year he would have been a heavy favorite.
Esops Foibles- May 1st, 1978- Esops Foibles makes SI and gets an entire page. In almost any other year, EF would have been one of the favored horses in the Run For The Roses. He had plenty of problems as a two year old, yet when he left California he became a different horse. He ran a incredible race to win the Louisiana Derby over Quadratic, and he also cruised home in the Arkansas Derby. Even the DRF stated; ?This Derby field is so good that even a horse that won two major Grade 2 prep races by comfortable margins is 50-1!?
Affirmed- Won the biggest two year old races on both coasts. Were it not for Alydar winning the Great American and Champagne, Affirmed would have won 8 graded stakes races as a two year old- an almost unbelievable feat considering that Seattle Slew was 2 year old champion the year before having won just ONE stakes race- a mdn and an allowance! I don't need to say more about Affirmed- he is a legend.
There you have 1978- in almost any other year afterwards (not all), but most- Alydar and Believe It would have been going for the Triple Crown in the Belmont. I do not think Sensitive Prince could win the Belmont, but I do think he'd take the Preakness most years- he was very talented and super fast out of the gate.
As for Alydar- he ended up killed for the insurance money- one month before it was set to cancel.