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Affirmed Success: A triple (digit) threat

by Bob Ehalt

Seeing that the opening day featured race at Belmont Park is a $100,000 stakes for New York-breds at six furlongs named the Affirmed Success, it might lead to the mistaken assumption that the race's namesake was bred in the Empire State.

Let it be known, Affirmed Success was bred in Kentucky though born at his owner's farm in Rhinebeck, New York.

Yet if there are horses that embody the true spirit of New York racing, Affirmed Success would surely fit into that mold. The gelding spent seven seasons at New York Racing Association tracks from 1997 through 2003, making 33 of his 42 starts at either Belmont Park, Aqueduct or Saratoga, and in that time his speed, consistency and durability made him one of the New York circuit's best sprinters in recent memory.

 "A horse like him deserves his own stakes," said Rick Schosberg, who trained the son of 1978 Triple Crown champion Affirmed for owner/breeder Albert Fried Jr. "People might think he was a New York-bred because of the conditions of that race, but it's fitting since everyone in New York knew him because he was so dynamic and versatile. He ran every distance from six furlongs to a mile on the turf and won at all of them. He had so much class. He was one of those horses who had intelligence and class along with raw talent. He had the whole package. He was sound. He was fast.  He was smart."

A graded stakes winner on both turf and dirt, victories in races such as the Cigar Mile, Carter, Vosburgh, Forego, General George and Poker (in both 2000 and 2001) are a testament to his class and explain why a NYRA stakes was named in his honor in 2012. In a career that ended at nine, he won 17 times, including three Grade 1 triumphs, was second 10 times and earned $2,285,315.

"I chased him for five years and then I got the chance to ride him for his final two years," said NYRA analyst Richard Migliore, one of New York's leading jockeys during a career that stretched from 1980 until 2010. "And I'm glad I did because he was special."

Two nuggets of information about Affirmed Success add more depth and glitter to his sensational seven-year career.

In those 42 career starts, Affirmed Success recorded a Daily Racing Form Beyer Speed Figure of 100 or more an astonishing 38 times, a remarkable tribute to his speed on both turf and dirt. Though DRF does not keep a record of 100+ figures, few Grade 1 winners race 38 times, much less get a triple-digit figure in all of them.

"I don't believe it's has ever been equaled," Schosberg said about his horse's string of 100-plus Beyer figures. "It's a pretty amazing statistic."

To put those numbers in perspective, two-time Horse of the Year Cigar had 100 figures in 19 of 21 starts in the United States on dirt and fellow two-time HOY Curlin hit that mark in 12 of 14 U.S. starts. Zenyatta, a winner of 19 of 20 starts, reached 100 in 12 of those 20 starts.

 From the opening bell of his career, Affirmed Success put his brilliance on display. In his debut on May 11, 1997 at Aqueduct, he notched a three-length victory while registering a 100 Beyer figure. The speedy 3-year-old topped that figure in his next three starts, including a 101 a few months later when he weakened late and finished third in the Grade 2 mile and an eighth Jim Dandy at Saratoga. An 85 in his subsequent start, when he was seventh in the Grade 1 Travers at a mile and a quarter, ended the streak, but his next 12 figures were all triple-digit figures, topped by a career-best 120 achieved in his eight-length romp in the then-Grade 2 Forego at Saratoga on September 7, 1998.

While 100 speed figures are not unusual for a graded stakes winner, the high volume of them and Affirmed Success' ability to produce them at an advanced age underscore the gelding's race that had the greatest impact on Schosberg. At the grand old age of eight, when Father Time was beginning to catch up with the likes of the great Forego himself, Affirmed Success turned back the clock and won the Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct under Migliore.

"Winning the Carter at eight, it was so emotional for all of us," Schosberg said. "He had won a Grade 1 before, but to do it at eight was just amazing."

A key part of that victory in the Carter was the seven-furlong distance of the race, which was Affirmed Success' preferred distance. In a sense, he was a "tweener" who found six furlongs a tad too short and a mile on the turf a bit too long. With the Breeders' Cup carding only the Sprint at a six furlongs on the dirt and the Mile on turf in those days, Affirmed Success never gained the recognition he deserved on a national stage. Yet the 2002 Carter surely illustrated his brilliance and longevity to his loyal New York fan base.

"He had a tremendous heart and desire to win and he was best at seven furlongs," Migliore said. "His consistency and durability were a credit to Rick for keeping him in top form for so long."

At nine, he opened the year with two wins in his first three starts, capped by a length win in the Grade 3 Toboggan with a 110 Beyer figure. But then he finished fifth in the Carter, and the 14 ¾-length margin of defeat and 83 speed figure told Schosberg everything he needed to know. Affirmed Success was retired from racing in sound condition after that race and headed to the Kentucky Horse Park to live out the remainder of his life. He was later moved to the Old Friends retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, where the still spry 23-year-old has been enjoying his senior years galloping in his paddock at a farm that houses other Grade 1 winners such as War Emblem, Game On Dude, Alphabet Soup, Will's Way and Commentator.

"I've heard he's doing great at Old Friends," Schosberg said. "They tell me if they ever put together a handicap race for horses 20 years-old and older, he'd be ready for it."

Somehow, if that ever happens, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if Affirmed Success gets yet another 100 Beyer speed figure in that race.