BY MIKE KANE, COURTESY MARYLAND JOCKEY CLUB PRESS OFFICE (EDITED)
BALTIMORE – Twenty years after winning the 130th Preakness Stakes (Grade 1), Florida-bred Afleet Alex and jockey Jeremy Rose remain the subjects of one of the most memorable moments in the storied history of Middle Jewel of Thoroughbred Racing’s Triple Crown.
In a matter of a remarkable and frightful few seconds on May 21, 2005, Afleet Alex and jockey Jeremy Rose avoided what could have been a horrific spill at the top of the Pimlico stretch. Compounding the drama, less than 20 seconds later they crossed the wire in victory.
The incident happened in full view of 115,318 in attendance and a national television audience that watched to see if Giacomo, winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) two weeks earlier at Churchill Downs at odds of 50-1, could repeat in the Preakness.
Cash is King LLC’s Afleet Alex was made the 3-1 favorite in the Preakness after finishing third in the Kentucky Derby.
During the early stages of the Preakness, Afleet Alex was tenth and more than nine lengths back down the backstretch before Rose prompted him to begin picking up horses with an inside trip around the far turn.
Rose had guided Afleet Alex away from the rail coming off the turn and was aiming to go around the leader, Scrappy T. Without warning, Scrappy T moved out, directly in front of Afleet Alex. Afleet Alex clipped heels with Scrappy T righting himself just before his knees and nose hit the dirt. Rose, a gifted high school wrestler at Bellefonte High School in central Pennsylvania, managed to stay in the saddle.
“The weird thing is, I remember a lot of it pretty well,” Rose said. “When Ramon went left-handed before Scrappy T made his step to the right, I yelled, ‘Oh no!’ And I remember Alex starting to disappear. At this point I said, ‘Well, we’re going to fall. We’re going stay as close to Alex as we can, because he’s going to block me.’ We had the whole field behind us. We were getting run over. It was just a matter how bad it was going to be.’
“Thankfully, he popped right up underneath me, almost like it was planned,” Rose said. “I didn’t realize, how, until after I could see the pictures where his legs were angled and where they’re stepping, how unbelievably athletic he really was.
“At that point, I guess, natural instincts just popped in. Time to win a race now, and that’s what we did.”
Afleet Alex regained his stride as Rose took him inside Scrappy T in the stretch where he excelled to win by four-and-three-quarters lengths ahead of Scrappy T in second with Giacomo third.
Three weeks after becoming the seventh Florida-bred winner of the Preakness, Afleet Alex and Rose won the Belmont Stakes (G1) by seven lengths, running the fastest final two furlongs (:24.40) since Arts and Letters in 1969. He was the 18th horse to lose the Derby and win the Preakness and Belmont.
In late July, Afleet Alex underwent surgery to repair a hairline condylar fracture of his left front leg. After his recovery he resumed training and was on course toward a run in the Breeders’ Cup. He was found to have complications from the injury and was retired from competition in December with earnings of $2,765,800. Eclipse Award voters made him the 3-year-old champion male.
Afleet Alex started his stud career at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky in 2006 and stood there until he was pensioned in January 2022. He sired six Grade 1 winners, including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1)-winner Texas Red, Travers (G1)-winner Afleet Express and four champions in other countries. He is scheduled to remain at Gainesway for the rest of his life.
Rose won the Eclipse Award as the Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in 2001. He retired in 2023 with 2,733 victories, 28 of them in graded stakes including the 2005 Preakness and Belmont (G1).
He currently lives in State College, Pa, and works for United Parcel Service but can’t rule out resuming his riding career. Once a week, he drives the two hours and 45 minutes in the early morning to Delaware Park to work horses.
Return to the May 14 issue of Wire to Wire
