Assault (horse)

Assault
Sire	Bold Venture
Grandsire	St. Germans
Dam	Igual
Damsire	Equipoise
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1943
Country	United States
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	King Ranch
Owner	King Ranch
Trainer	Max Hirsch
Record	42: 18-6-8
Earnings	$675,470
Major wins
Flash Stakes (1945) Wood Memorial (1946) Kentucky Derby (1946) Preakness Stakes (1946) Belmont Stakes (1946) Dwyer Stakes (1946) Westchester Handicap (1946) Pimlico Special (1946) Grey Lag Handicap (1947) Suburban Handicap (1947)
Awards
7th U.S. Triple Crown Champion (1946) U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1946) United States Horse of the Year (1946)
Honours
United States Racing Hall of Fame (1964) #33 - Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century
Horse (Equus ferus caballus)
Last updated on September 16, 2006

Assault (March 26, 1943 – September 2, 1971) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the U.S. Triple Crown in 1946.

Early life

Foaled at King Ranch in Texas, Assault was sired by Bold Venture, who had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and his dam was the unraced Igual, by the Horse of the Year, Equipoise. Assault's third dam was Masda, who was a full sister to Man o' War.

Assault seemed unlikely to amount to anything on the track, much less become a Triple Crown winner. Described as being "on the delicate side" by his later jockey, Eddie Arcaro, he was plagued with injuries and illnesses from the start. As a youngster, he stepped on what is believed to be a surveyor's stake, driving it through his front right hoof. The hoof was permanently deformed, and the colt developed an unattractive limp to accommodate the odd shape of his foot; however, the "Club-footed Comet", as he would later be dubbed, showed no signs of abnormality when he was at a full gallop. Throughout his career, Assault also overcame kidney, splint bone, fetlock, knee and bleeding problems.

Aside from his physical troubles, Assault faced another major hurdle on his quest to the top echelon of horse-racing. He had been foaled and bred at King Ranch, a Texas ranch that primarily raised cattle and Quarter horses for racing. At the time, the vast majority of major stakes-winners were bred and foaled in Kentucky (indeed, Assault remains the only Texas-bred Triple Crown winner).

Racing career

Under Max Hirsch's training, Assault made his racing debut as a two-year-old in 1945, unceremoniously finishing 12th. He had two wins from nine starts that year, surprisingly capturing the Flash Stakes in a four-way photo finish, but nothing to be overly impressed with. Early in his three-year-old season, he was victorious in the Wood Memorial, but his run in the Derby Trial made him somewhat of an outside chance in the Kentucky Derby. With jockey Warren Mehrtens aboard, he raced past rivals to take the first race of the Triple Crown by eight lengths, the longest margin of victory to date. Assault was then made the favorite for the Preakness Stakes a week later. Aggravated by traffic early in the race, Mehrtens decided to push Assault earlier than usual. He was four lengths in front with a furlong to go and tiring, Assault managed and scored a neck victory over Lord Boswell.

The crowds saw this as a stamina issue, and made Lord Boswell the favorite in the 1½-mile Belmont Stakes. After stumbling at the start, Assault trailed the field throughout much of the race. Mehrtens allowed him to take his time and find his bearings instead of rushing him. In the final 200 yards, Assault exploded past the leaders to win the Belmont by three lengths. He was the seventh Triple Crown winner ever, and the third during the 1940s.

Two weeks after his Belmont victory, Assault won the Dwyer Stakes, and the general public opinion finally conceded that he was the best three-year-old in training (but that it was also a poor crop to choose from). However, his embarrassing last-place finish in the Arlington Classic made him "just an average horse" again. After the Arlington Classic, it was discovered he had a kidney infection and needed some rest. Assault returned to the track, but something had changed. He was running well, but not winning. After a string of seconds, thirds, and fourths, trainer Max Hirsch made the decision to change jockeys. Assault's original jockey Mehrtens was replaced by Eddie Arcaro. As if to reward Hirsch's judgment, Assault trounced his competitors in both the Pimlico Special and Westchester Handicap with Arcaro aboard, and was voted 1946 Horse of the Year honors.

Over the winter, Assault developed into a handsome, mature four-year-old. The colt was constantly hungry, charging grooms if he was not fed on time. He paid such close attention to his exercise riders that when it seemed that they were gazing off or not fully attentive, he would leap to the side, leaving them mid-air, and gallop around the track riderless.

As a four-year-old, Assault won five of seven races and never finished worse than third. He was victorious in some of the biggest handicap races in history, including the Brooklyn and Suburban Handicaps, while carrying weights of up to 135 pounds. During 1947, he and his rival Stymie battled for the top money-earner title, swapping it back and forth several times. However, in a $100,000 winner take all match race at Belmont Park on September 27, 1947, Arcaro and Assault were defeated by eight lengths by Calumet Farm's Armed, ridden by Douglas Dodson, who would earn 1947 Horse of the Year honors.

Assault returned to the track as a five-, six-, and seven-year-old, although he never returned to the full winning form he displayed as a three- and four-year-old.

Assault raced 42 times, with 18 victories (15 in stakes races), 6 second-place finishes, and 7 third-place finishes. He earned $675,470. In 1946, he was voted Horse of the Year, the most prestigious honor in American thoroughbred racing, as well as winning Champion 3-Year-Old honors.

Retirement

Assault was originally intended to be retired after his four-year-old season and stand stud alongside his sire at King Ranch. However, none of the mares he was mated with became pregnant; it was apparent that he was sterile. He was returned to racing until the age of seven, where he won a few more races, including one more running of the Brooklyn Handicap. He was then permanently retired to King Ranch. There were some rumors that he was allowed to pasture breed with some of King Ranch's quarter horse mares, but there are no records that any of those foals made it to the track. He did sire two quarter horse foals and they were registered with AQHA. Assault died on September 1, 1971, at age 28, at King Ranch, and the gravesite is on the King Ranch (in Kingsville, Texas).

Honors

Assault was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1964. In The Blood-Horse ranking of the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Assault was ranked #33.

Tabulated pedigree

Pedigree of Assault (USA), chestnut horse, 1943

Sire Bold Venture Ch. 1933	St. Germans B. 1921	Swynford	John o' Gaunt
			Canterbury Pilgrim
		Hamoaze	Torpoint
			Maid of the Mist
	Possible Ch. 1920	Ultimus	Commando
			Running Stream
		Lida Flush	Royal Flush III
			Lida H.
Dam Igual Ch. 1937	Equipoise ch. 1928	Pennant	Peter Pan
			Royal Rose
		Swinging	Broomstick
			Balancoire II
	Incandescent B. 1931	Chicle	Spearmint
			Lady Hamburg II
		Masda	Fair Play
			Mahubah

External links

• Statistics on Assault's Kentucky Derby
• Boyd, Eva Jolene. Assault Eclipse Press (2004) ISBN 978-1581501070
• Assault at Find-A-Grave