Afleet Alex won!

[Lex]

He was amazing.

He ran almost dead last for a long time, then roared up the middle at the end and won by 7 lengths or so. Made the other horses look like they were standing still.


Fleet Alex!




After the win!

[GOPisEvil]

1. AFLEET Alex.

;)

[TheCentepedeShoes]

2. Thank you

Been under TV tornado warning since post parade. Didn't see any of the race. Who was second ?

[GOPisEvil]

3. Andromeda's Hero.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

7. Where did

Giacamo (spelling may be off, gotta watch for tornados) finish??

[GOPisEvil]

9. Goodness...5th, 6th, I think.

He looked good at the top of the stretch and then...pffft...

[Justpat]

12. Mike Smith said he displaced his soft palate.

He was making a lot of noise when he came back to be unsaddled.

[GOPisEvil]

14. Oh, that would explain it.

He was looking pretty good there, and then nothing. Makes sense now.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

15. Thanks !

Still watching out for 'nados.

[Lex]

25. Oh yes--sorry. "Afleet" (which makes waaay more sense).

[u4ic]

4. He ran an amazing race

Breathtaking, he is. He ran the second fastest last quarter in Belmont history.

[GOPisEvil]

5. He blew by the other horses like they were running in molasses.

That was impressive.

[u4ic]

6. Very much so

He has a great ability to relax, and produce that burst of acceleration when asked. He listens so well... this horse's mind has to be just as impressive as his athletic ability.

The final time was 2:28.2. But it's that last quarter of 24.2 that leaves me gobsmacked!

[GOPisEvil]

8. Considering the opening quarter was about the same?

Yeah, slightly impressive. ;)

He is a very, very relaxed horse. I wish he'd run a better race at Churchill Downs, but that was a strange race overall.

[u4ic]

11. Giacomo flipped his palate today

but I don't think he would have stood a chance anyway. He was pretty hyped in the post parade.

Did you go to the Breeder's Cup last year?

[GOPisEvil]

13. I didn't, even though it was at Lone Star.

The last time I went to the BC was when it was at Arlington Park.

I'd LOVE to go this year, isn't it at Belmont?

[Justpat]

16. Yes, it is at Belmont.

[GOPisEvil]

17. I wanna go this year.

I've never been to New York, much less Belmont.

*starts planning in brain*

[Justpat]

21. I am stabled at Belmont

Let me know if you decide to come. We'll have you come to the barn
in the am if you'd like.

I think it should be at Belmont every year. It is really made for it.

[GOPisEvil]

22. Wow! That would be fantastic!

I need to make a mental note to start arranging for time off.

Thanks for the offer. I'll keep you posted.

[Justpat]

24. OK.

[u4ic]

18. Yep, it's at Belmont this year

and :spank: for not going last year!

I'm happy when it's at Belmont, or Arlington...the Euros won't avoid it like the hot spots, and the turf races are usually much better.

[GOPisEvil]

19. Are you going this year?

DU gathering at the races?! :bounce:

[u4ic]

23. No, unfortunately not

I'm monetarily challenged. x( That sounds like a great idea, though!

I hope to some day. May be if they ever bring it back up to Woodbine (ha!)again. I've got family I could stay with there, and I won't be detained for weeks at the border.

Then again...I could just bring my extensive Ginsu knife collection and be waved through immediately.:think:

[GOPisEvil]

26. *pout*

Maybe we can start having bake sales and car washes to raise money. :)

[u4ic]

33. What sort of delicacies

will you be serving? :9

[GOPisEvil]

37. Hmmm...I'm not the world's best baker, but I can whip something up.

I've made brownies and cookies before. They've always come out ok. I'm a better cook, though. Maybe we can have a huge pasta dinner with my homemade tomato sauce and my vodka cream sauce.

[u4ic]

42. Wow, does that sound good!

I'm having pasta tonight...I make a pretty mean sauce myself, but not as fancy as yours. Ground bison, every veggie under the sun and of course, the obligatory dozen cloves of garlic. All over kamut rotini, with mozza, cheddar and goat feta into the mix.

:bounce:

[GOPisEvil]

43. Ooooooh...that sounds good!

Ground bison is so delicious. Veggies and garlic sounds good, too. :9

Give me a few hours and I'll be there for a late dinner. :bounce:

[u4ic]

44. I set an extra place for you

[GOPisEvil]

52. LOVE that smiley!

:D Thanks!

[u4ic]

56. And thanks for the extra helping

I've never been stood up before :spank:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

28. "Flipped his palate"?

Is that something that happens to horses a lot?

Sounds weird--and painful.

[Justpat]

29. Some horses displace their soft palate.

It temporarily decreases their air intake. If a horse does not
have an anatomical problem, it can be helped by using a tongue
tie ( a piece of soft cloth that goes around the tongue and prevents
them from pulling it back or over the bit)and/or a straight mouthed
bit.

Some horses have an anatomical problem where the soft palate will
displace and get "stuck" and the horse will not be able to move it
back in place and that disrupts the breathing rhythm. There are
a couple of surgeries that can be done to correct it. I had a filly
with this problem and she had laser surgery on it. She missed about
two weeks of training and then she went back to work and greatly
impoved.

There are also some bloodlines, Storm Cat's for instance, where
a great percentage of them have this problem. They are very talented
though and so people go to the trouble to correct it.

[u4ic]

50. Don't the Storm Cats have bleeding problems as well?

I thought the Storm Bird line seemed to pass it on?

[Justpat]

51. The Storm Bird line is noted for producing bleeders

but I can't say the Storm Cats do.

They just have that anatomical problem with their palates that
requires some attention.

[u4ic]

54. Thanks for clearing that up

[GalleryGod]

10. Did you see Jeremy "Sitting on him" ?

What a horse!
Two years in a row now!

Jeremy sez: "I had to hit the gas, because everyone else seemed to be hitting the brakes!":woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[GOPisEvil]

20. Good for his owners. A great story.

:hi:

[MuseRider]

27. That was one amazing race

by a horse that is all heart and mind. Damn. You just have to love a horse like that. I cried all the way through the last quarter as he made his way to the front and then just blew past them. Great story, amazing horse. I just love horses with heart like that. *snif*

[aaronbees]

30. Breathtaking...

I cried too seeing him motor past the field like he was having a Saturday stroll. He made that look effortless. Been a long time since I've seen a horse with such a push-button roaring move like that. Beautiful.

[On Par]

31. There Was So Much BS Before The Race...

..I fell asleep before the event of 1 minute 46 seconds occured.

I've seen Ali fights that have lasted a bit longer.

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. This is who he won for:

http://www.alexslemonade.com/

They did a spot on this little girl, her lemonade stand, and how the owner said the AFleet Alex was going to race for her. And he did...both races. They said something kept him from falling when he stumbled. I had tears in my eyes watching the race today. :hi:

[bigwillq]

34. That's why I was rooting for Afleet Alex!

I saw that segment when the jockey said something kept him from falling at the Preakness. I cried when he said that.
I'm such a baby!:hug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

36. You and me both. She was such a beautiful little girl with such a simple

dream.

[bigwillq]

38. I think they were trying to raise

$1 million today. I hope they made their goal.

[Justpat]

40. They had the lemonade stands at 30 tracks today.

So I don't know if they made a million, but it had to be the
biggest amount yet.

[u4ic]

47. The floodgates open for me

when I watch Northern Dancer's Derby...I'll have tears in my eyes for the rest of the day.

[benny05]

35. My mom said he would win again

and she was right..! :bounce: :kick:

[Catherine Vincent]

39. This is a very inspiring story.

I heard about it on the news. Bless that little girl.

[Sandpiper]

41. ...Sigh... Another 2/3 Triple Crown winner

The difference with this one was, all of the drama was gone after the Preakness.

[Awsi Dooger]

46. Meaning you'll appreciate the real thing even more

Triple Crown winners are revealed no later than November of their 2-year-old campaign. If it gets to February or March and the racing world is still trying to decipher the crop among several possibilities, there will be no legendary Tripler. For a couple decades I was glad the bids were failing, because I thought great horses like Slew and Affirmed were being taken somewhat for granted after 3 Triple Crowns in 6 tries from '73 to '78. Now their place in history is secure and I'm eager for another superstar. But I'll still root against pretenders like Funny Cide or Smarty Jones. I just wish a regal superstar would show up in early fall and dominate 3 or 4 races for 2-year olds like Secretariat, Slew, Affirmed/Alydar and even Spectacular Bid managed in the '70s.

[u4ic]

48. Amen to that!

though I think mainstream racing coverage has become too focused on the TC, and the Breeder's Cup, and seems to forget the rest of the year. They're both highlights, for sure, but there's so much more to racing.

[Justpat]

53. There have been the annual calls to abolish the Triple Crown

in the papers lately. It happens every year after the TC series
finishes with no winner.

We do not need to abolish the series. We need to breed better horses.
We have bred so much unsoundness and breathing problems into the
breed that they are difficult to train.

During the Northern Dancer craze at the sales in the 70's, people
found that they could sell a horse for millions of dollars because
it was by ND. Sorry to disagree with all of you who like ND, but
he contributed nothing but unsoundness to the breed. He produced
horses there were grass specialists in a country where dirt racing
dominates. So his offspring were bought by Europeans who paid a
fortune for them. He had lots of champions in Europe, but nothing
here. Name me one horse that was a champion here in this country.

And most of his offspring were very bad behind - that is most likely
why they preferred the turf. It was easier on them.

[blue neen]

45. Oh, that horse is so AWESOME!

I just sat there with my mouth hanging open as he went into overdrive...unbelievable. It looked like he could've gone on for TWO miles. What an athlete.

I was impressed after the Preakness, but this race really did it. I haven't seen a horse as exciting as Afleet Alex since Secretariat.

[u4ic]

49. We also discuss racing in the Sports forum

FYI

[mvd]

55. That was great!

I hope the Philly curse is ending now, with the Phantoms' hockey championship (minor league is the highest level going,) and Afleet Alex coming from behind to beat a horse this time. I like this horse even more than Smarty Jones.