Afleet Alex, 24. who won the 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes, was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age.
Thanks to his performances at three, he won his division's championship.
2005 Preakness, where Alex's talent for tenacity was on display. He nearly went down but recovered to win:
2005 Belmont:
Snip:
Bred in Florida by John Martin Silvertand out of the Hawkster winner Maggy Hawk, Afleet Alex was acquired by trainer Tim Ritchey on behalf of Bob Brittingham and Chuck Zacney for $75,000 during the 2004 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The colt made an immediate impact on the track, winning his debut at Delaware Park by 11 1/4 lengths. He would string together four consecutive victories at 2 that included the Sanford Stakes (G2) by 5 1/4 lengths and the Hopeful Stakes (G1). Afleet Alex wound up his juvenile season with runner-up performances in the Champagne Stakes (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), where he was less than a length behind Wilko.
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Two weeks later, Afleet Alex entered the gate for the Preakness and delivered one of the most iconic performances in Triple Crown history. As he launched his drive at the top of the stretch, Afleet Alex clipped heels with rival Scrappy T, stumbling badly. Despite nearly falling to his knees, Afleet Alex recovered and powered down the Pimlico Race Course stretch to win by 4 3/4 lengths.
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The trainer of top thoroughbreds Zenyatta and Giacomo, John Shirreffs, has died at the age of 80.
Snip:
Born June 1, 1945, in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Shirreffs served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War before obtaining his trainer's license in 1978. He settled at Santa Anita and developed a reputation for a patient, horse-first approach that produced 596 victories from 3,589 career starts.
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He most recently trained top horse Baeza, named for the famed jockey Braulio Baeza.
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