Colonial Affair (April 19, 1990 – April 23, 2013) was an American
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
. He was best known for winning the
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...
in 1993.
Background
He was sired by 1981
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
and
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...
winner
Pleasant Colony
Pleasant Colony (May 4, 1978 – December 31, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was named the 1981 American Champion Three-Year-Old.
Background
A big, gangly horse stan ...
, out of the
Rutledge Farm
Historic Rutledge Farm'is a Grand Prix and hunter/jumper facility, in Middleburg, Virginia, owned by Rutledge Farm, LLC (Aleco Bravo-Greenberg and Mrs. Hermen Greenberg).
Built in 1740, it was most recently owned by Aleco's late step-father, M ...
mare Snuggle.
Purchased for $100,000 at the 1991
Fasig-Tipton
The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an American auction house for Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses. Founded in 1898, it is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky, Elkton, Maryla ...
Saratoga select yearling sale, Colonial Affair was raced by Centennial Farms. He was trained by the 1992
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee
Scotty Schulhofer
Racing career
Colonial Affair won the
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...
under jockey
Julie Krone
Julieann Louise Krone (born July 24, 1963), is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first (and so far only) female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. In 2000, she became the ...
as the 13-1 longshot. His 1993 Belmont triumph is also in the record books, because it was the first time that a woman jockey won any of the three races of the
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...
.
At age four, Colonial Affair was only three votes shy (out of a possible 247 votes) of winning the 1994
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse.
An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...
for
American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...
(
The Wicked North voted the award winner) after winning the
Whitney Handicap
The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1 ...
and
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the sp ...
that year.
Colonial Affair was the favorite for the 1994 $3 million
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...
until he broke a bone in his leg, thereby ending his racing career.
Retirement
Colonial Affair was originally retired in 1995 to
Gainesway Farm. He was then supposed to be sent to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in 1998 but was instead sent to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and stood privately at stud at Haras El Paraiso in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Colonial Affair died in his stall on April 23, 2013, at Haras El Paraiso in Capitan Sarmiento, Argentina. He was 23.
External links
1993 Belmont(3:51)
1993 Peter Pan Stakes(1:49)
1994 Whitney Handicap(7:13)
1994 Jockey Club Gold Cup(4:14)
1994 Excelsior Breeders' Cup Handicap(2:17)
Pedigree
References
1990 racehorse births
2013 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Virginia
Racehorses trained in the United States
Belmont Stakes winners
Thoroughbred family 13-b
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