Assault
Assault, (foaled 1943), American racehorse (Thoroughbred) that in 1946 became the seventh winner of the American Triple Crown—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.
Breeding and early years
Assault was foaled on March 26, 1943, on King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas. His sire was Bold Venture, winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in 1936, and his great-grandam was a full sister of Man o’ War. It is remarkable that Assault was ever born. His dam, as a foal on the ranch, was so sickly and unpromising that serious consideration was given to having her destroyed. She was saved by the intercession of the ranch’s veterinarian, who discovered an abscess under one of her stifles, which apparently affected her whole condition. The doctor succeeded in curing her, but she never recovered to racing form. Instead, she was prepared for breeding.
Unlike his dam, Assault displayed a frisky, frolicsome personality, which was almost his undoing. On one of his gambols around the ranch, he stepped on a sharp stake and ran it through the front wall of the hoof of his right foreleg, nearly crippling himself. Once more the skills of the ranch’s veterinarian were tested, and once again the doctor succeeded. However, the foot never did grow to normal size, and that caused the colt to develop a peculiar walk. In fact, the wall of the hoof became so thin that it was difficult to find room enough to anchor a nail for shoeing, a problem that remained with the horse for the rest of his days. Some unsympathetic observers thought Assault was clubfooted, which accounts for his nickname “the Clubfooted Comet.”
The colt made his first start at Belmont Park, on June 4, 1945, and finished 12th in a field of maidens (horses that have yet to win a race). It was not until his fourth start, on July 12, that he notched his first victory. In fact, he ran nine times that year but won only once more. He finished in the money just three additional times and wound up with total winnings of only $17,250. The general appraisal of Assault’s performance for the year was that, despite a rather uninspiring record, he ran well enough to try again.
1946: Triple Crown
The first two starts of 1946 provided some rays of hope. Assault took the six-furlong Experimental Free Handicap Number 1 on April 9 by four and a half lengths. Next, he captured the important 11/16-mile Wood Memorial Stakes on April 20 by two lengths. Assault’s chances for the Kentucky Derby notably dimmed, however, after he followed the Wood with a loss in the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs by a four-and-a-half-length margin. Bandages and a muddy track were blamed for the poor showing.
The explanation failed to allay the apprehension of bettors, and Assault went to the post on Derby Day at long odds: 8–1. There was an extra measure of excitement in the air as the field came out on the track. All of the Triple Crown races in 1946 had a $100,000-added purse, making this the richest Derby to date. With Warren Mehrtens in the saddle, Assault settled into fifth position among the 17 horses at the first turn. In the backstretch, he moved up to third place, but only because some of the other horses had dropped back.
It was at the 1/4 pole that Mehrtens made his run, pushing his colt hard along the rail. Assault responded by gaining the lead by the 1/8 pole and continuing his drive until he crossed the finish line an astonishing eight lengths ahead of Spy Song, even though the slow track had resulted in the unimpressive time of 2:063/5.
The win led to newfound respect that was made clear at the Preakness, where Assault suddenly found himself the favourite at 7–5 odds—the first time in his life that he had been so honoured. It was a startling development because through most of the spring he had been going off at long odds. Consequently, both the new odds and the $100,000-added purse appeared to be sufficient motivation for Mehrtens to push for greater efforts from the Texas Thoroughbred.
The colt’s performance, however, gave his backers fits. He was hampered through the first 1/16 of a mile, when Natchez veered in toward the rail. Mehrtens pushed his horse for a run earlier than he had done at the Derby, which resulted in a four-lengths lead at the 1/8 pole that was just enough to hold off a late charge from Lord Boswell to win by a neck. The race was exciting even though the time was not very good (2:012/5).
According to many observers, the Preakness showed a chink in Assault’s armour. They discounted his spectacular showing in the Derby and suggested that the slow times in both races established the colt’s inability to finish well at a distance. Therefore, mindful of the grueling 11/2-mile grind that faced the horses in the Belmont Stakes, oddsmakers dropped Assault out of the favourite’s spot, although not by much, and rated him at 7–5, just behind Lord Boswell.
Seven starters went to the post at Belmont, and Assault promptly made all of his competitors look good as he stumbled at the bell. He righted himself quickly, but Mehrtens still held the horse back. Down the backstretch, they held fourth position some five lengths behind the front-running Hampden. At the 1/8 pole, Mehrtens called on the colt to show his mettle, and once more the Thoroughbred responded in stirring fashion. Between the furlong pole and the finish line, Assault closed the gap behind new leader Natchez and tacked on a three-length lead. It was another exciting race, but again the time was unspectacular: 2:304/5.
Nevertheless, Assault was the new Triple Crown champion and the first from Texas. He had run his total winnings from the three races of the Triple Crown to $268,420, an astronomical figure when compared with the $57,275 earned by Sir Barton in the same races 27 years earlier.
Final years
Assault won five races in 1947 and one more in 1948 before he was retired and sent to stud. He was found to be sterile, however, and he came out of retirement in 1949 and again in 1950, winning two total races during those comebacks. The end for Assault came in September 1971 when the 28-year-old stallion stumbled and fractured his left front leg near the shoulder, which led to his being euthanized. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1964.
Marvin Drager