Aikenite & Caracortado: Triple crown winners

At the start of 1978, there had never been back-to-back Triple Crown winners and no horse had ever had to beat the same rival in all three races to earn the Triple Crown title. All that changed during the course of 1978, when Affirmed and Alydar provided the racing world with equal amounts of thrills and pathos. By the time the Belmont Stakes (G1) had been run, Affirmed was a Triple Crown winner, but Alydar emerged a heroic, sympathetic figure.

But the Affirmed-Alydar rivalry was launched long before the Triple Crown. It started on June 15, 1977, at Belmont Park. The occasion was the Youthful Stakes. It was Alydar's career debut, Affirmed's second start. Affirmed was the winner that day while Alydar finished fourth. It would be the one and only time, in ten career meetings, that either horse would finish worse than second.

Affirmed was born on February 21, 1975 at Harbor View Farm in Florida. Harbor View owner Louis Wolfson and his wife, Patrice Jacobs Wolfson, had both sent runners out in past Kentucky Derbys, but had never had tremendous success. All that would change with Affirmed.

Affirmed made his career debut on May 24, 1977, at Belmont Park, winning a 5-1/2-furlong maiden race by 4-1/2 lengths. Three weeks later, Affirmed won the Youthful, stalking the early pace, taking the lead in the stretch, and handing on to win by a neck. From that point on, Affirmed and Alydar were practically inseparable, slugging it out in race after race in a rivalry rarely seen among two-year-olds.

Alydar evened the score in the Great American Stakes on July 6, winning by 3-1/2 lengths. Trainer Lazaro Barrera than shipped Affirmed out to Hollywood Park, where he won the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (G2) on July 23. It was the first of four straight victories, including wins in the Sanford Stakes (G2), Hopeful Stakes (G1), and Belmont Futurity (G1). The Hopeful and Futurity wins came at the expense of Alydar, but only by a nose and half-length, respectively. On October 15, Alydar flew past Affirmed in deep stretch to win the Champagne Stakes (G1) by 1-1/4 lengths and put him in a position to wrap up divisional honors.

But there was one more race left for the two, the Laurel Futurity (G1) on October 29, and Affirmed this time showed more resolve down the stretch, hanging on to win by a neck. Affirmed finished the year with a 7-2-0 record in nine starts and earnings of $343,477. More importantly, he had a 4-to-2 edge on Alydar. That was enough to earn Affirmed the two-year-old championship.
Source:Triple Crown Winners

Aikenite: Tenth in Preakness S. (G1) on May 15 at Pimlico Race Course

Caracortado: Seventh in Preakness S. (G1) on May 15 at Pimlico Race Course

Dublin: Fifth in Preakness S. (G1) on May 15 at Pimlico Race Course

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