Belmont Stakes 2012: Will I'll Have Another Become a Racing Legend?

I'll Have Another will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest racehorses of all time should he win the Belmont Stakes on June 9th.  

He'll be a member of a select group of animals that have accomplished, perhaps, the greatest feat in sport.  

Would he climb into the ranks of horse racing legends with a win? Let's compare.

Man O' War

Man O' War is considered, by most, the greatest racehorse of all time.  

He was so unique and so dominant that comparisons are often meaningless.  

Foaled in 1917 in Lexington, KY, Man O' war quickly grew into an absolute brute.  He regularly raced carrying 130+ pounds and made a habit of beating his opponents by more than five lengths.  

Man O' War came extremely close to perfection, only losing one race in his 21-race career.  It was such a monumental feat when he lost, that our sports term "upset" is derived from the race (the winning horse's name was Upset).

So how does I'll Have Another compare?

He doesn't.

I'll Have Another will probably run nowhere close to 21 races in his career and will surely never carry 130 pounds.  

Man O' War was much larger (16 hands 2 inches) than the Triple Crown hopeful who only measures a reported 15 hands 3 inches.  

Man O' War skipped the Kentucky Derby during his three-year-old campaign, but by the time he entered the Belmont Stakes in 1920, he had raced 12 times.  

I'll Have Another enters Saturday having raced only six times.

Most legendary horses can't stack up to Man O' War's dominant race record, his imposing size or his lasting influence.  That said, I'll Have Another won't come close to comparison, even with a Triple Crown win.

Secretariat

Secretariat was often called "The Horse That God Built".  

Owned by the notorious Chenery family, Secretariat would run into horse racing history with a Triple Crown sweep in 1973.  Big Red is often cited as being the greatest Triple Crown winner in horse racing, due in large part to his performance in the 1973 Belmont Stakes where he set the track record that still stands to this day.

I'll Have Another might be able to hold a candle to Secretariat if he captures the Crown.

For one, Secretariat was favored, but only cautiously, in the Belmont.  His rival Sham was always considered equally, if not more, talented.  A comparison can be made to the relationship between I'll Have Another and Bodemeister in 2012.

Secretariat had a very unique running style and one that I'll Have Another does not share.

He had a very quick backstretch move where he'd lag behind going into the clubhouse turn and be near-lead by the time he went into the final turn.  I'll Have Another prefers to be at least mid-pack down the backstretch and runs this way for most of the race.

If I'll Have Another wins the Triple Crown, he'll be a legitimate candidate for the best Triple Crown winner ever.  This is because modern racing is viewed as being exponentially harder than pre-Lasix racing.  

Not only has Lasix made horses more equal, but horses are so lightly raced that a Triple Crown sweep is often easily spoiled.  If I'll Have Another can overcome these odds and race to victory, he'll be ranked near Secretariat on most lists.

Citation

Citation is a champion horse usually forgotten by casual racing fans.  As the eighth horse to capture the Triple Crown, he was a superb competitor and a legend to this day.  

Trained by the famous Ben and Jimmy Jones, Citation impressed as a two-year-old by beating the older and more accomplished (1947 Horse of the Year) Armed.  By the time his long career ended, Citation would have his own Horse of the Year title and many more reputable accomplishments that made him a legend.

Citation's accomplishments are founded on his career rather than his Triple Crown year.  His longevity is often unmatched, starting 45 career races and winning over 70 percent of the time.  

I'll Have Another, like most of his peers will be lucky to race 20 times in his career.  It is this longevity that glaringly sets Citation apart from I'll Have Another

I'll Have Another will, most likely, never have a chance to match Citation on another feat: a win streak.  

For 48 years, Citation's win streak of 16 races stood as the record.  Cigar would later match it in 1996 and Zenyatta would beat it, winning her 19th race in row in 2010.  

Only time will tell if I'll Have Another can race long enough and win often enough to match Citation's streak.  For now, Citation outmatches I'll have Another.

Count Fleet

Count Fleet is more regarded as an outstanding sire than as a racehorse.  

His owner John Hertz even was rumored to have contemplated selling him at one point until jockey Johnny Longden convinced otherwise.  He only raced 21 times in an injury riddled career, but posted an impressive 16-4-1 record in that time.

Count Fleet used his relatively early retirement to produce an outstanding crop of foals that include 38 stakes winners and two Horse of the Year champions (Counterpoint and One Count).

Count Fleet became the sixth Triple Crown champion in 1943 and did it while recovering from a leg injury that would eventually stunt his career.

I'll Have Another would essentially match his career success with a win at the Belmont Stakes.  To be ranked ahead of Count Fleet though, I'll Have Another would need success as a sire.  It is entirely plausible, as any champion thoroughbred has a potential to pass on good genes.

It will be far into the future before we can tell if I'll Have Another was a better racehorse than Count Fleet.  For now, we'll have to rank him below.  

With a Belmont victory, I'll Have Another could at least be ranked equal.

Native Dancer

Native Dancer's impact on horse racing is almost second-to-none.  He was a champion racehorse, posting a career record of 21-1-0 in two years of racing.  Once retired to stud, the big white colt sired 43 stakes winners.  

If one studies pedigrees of Triple Crown starters in the last decade, Native Dancer will more than likely appear in some past generation.

Native Dancer is on par with one of our previous legends, Man O' War, in terms of record.

However Native Dancer never won the Triple Crown due to an upset at the hands of Dark Star in the 1953 Kentucky Derby.  He completed an equally difficult feat after that, though, winning the Preakness, Belmont and Travers Stakes in the same year.

If I'll Have Another wins the Triple Crown, he would at least be ranked equal with Native Dancer on career accomplishments.  A horse that completes the American Classic sweep is at least as good as one that didn't, right?

Seattle Slew

Seattle Slew holds one accomplishment that I'll Have Another will never be able to match: he is the only horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated.

After winning his Crown-clinching Belmont race, Slew ran fourth in the 1977 Swaps Stakes.  He raced seven times after that and posted a four-year-old record of 5-2-0.  

Slew remains an influential part of many champion bloodlines.  

Many regard the line of a Slew colt and a Secretariat daughter as being one of the greatest crosses in thoroughbred breeding.

Because Seattle Slew raced in a relatively modern era, I'll Have Another has a good chance at being ranked ahead of him should he win a Triple Crown.  

Slew was fairly lightly raced, only running in 17 races—a career that I'll Have Another could match.  His win total will be hard to catch, though, as racehorses tend to deteriorate much younger in today's sport.  

If I'll Have Another is able to come close to Slew's win total, he should be ranked ahead of him as being a greater champion.

Affirmed

The Affirmed-Alydar rivalry is the stuff of racing legend.  

Neither horse was bigger than the competition between the two.  Of course, Affirmed will always be named the superior horse because he was the one to cross the wire first in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.  

Still, whenever Affirmed crossed the finish line first, Alydar was there to cross it second.  It is this reason that each horse is legendary.

Affirmed raced 29 times in his career, winning 22 of his races and only running out of the money on one occasion.  I'll Have Another only has one finish out of the money thus far, so he could match Affirmed's accomplishment with a successful career henceforth.  

Again, I doubt I'll Have Another will race anywhere near 29 times, but finishing in the money consistently would help his case to rank with Affirmed.

The obvious comparison in ranking I'll Have Another with Affirmed is the fact that I'll Have Another will steal one title with a win at the Belmont Stakes: the most recent Triple Crown winner.  It is because of this title and accomplishment only, that I'll Have Another would rank equal with Affirmed with a win on Saturday.

I'll Have Another

Ah, I'll Have Another. So young. So surprising. So magnificent.  The season this colt has had is one most horses and trainers would be envious of.  

An undefeated three-year-old season, winner of two of the biggest races of the year, a shot to win racing's most coveted title.  These accomplishments, however, are certainly not enough to cement I'll Have Another as a horse racing legend.  

Smarty Jones, Funny Cide, Big Brown and many others are just as deserving of legend status as I'll Have Another.  

All have accomplished as much as he has.  The reason most modern Triple Crown near-missing horses are not included in the discussion is because of their overall careers.

Today, Triple Crown-contending horses are lucky to have a four-year-old season.

Four of the past five near-missers all went on to race less than 20 times in their careers: Big Brown had 8, Smarty Jones had nine, War Emblem had 13 and Charismatic had 17.  The exception is Funny Cide who went on to race 38 times and win 11 races by the time he retired.

Only time will tell if I'll Have Another can race his way into horse racing lore.  Until then, he can only hope he lives up to the lofty legacy left by horse racing legends.