In the spring of 1985, the winning mare Tom Rolfe File of Claiborne Ranch delivered a chestnut-strapped foal from Mr. Pros Inspector. In keeping with the potential male theme, the ranch sent the Jockey Club the name Forty Niner.
In the 2nd minute Forty Niner fell into the hands of coach Woody Stephens, who took the rapidly developing youngster from green to yellow in the space of a monthlong junior campaign 7 (his first win at Belmont) to October, a three-month growing season that had already yielded a harvest. out of five wins from six starts.
Forty Nine’s 2-year-old season is nothing short of sensational. After losing the game at Saratoga Special (G2), his second warm-up, he recorded long-term wins at Sanford (G2) at Saratoga and Futurity (G1) and Champagne (G1) at Belmont .
Brought home to Kentucky to start his final game, Forty Niner delivered a spearhead ruling in Breeders’ Futurity (G2) at Keeneland, his narrowest win percentage yet.
After killing all the pretenders in those starts, the king of the underage won the Eclipse Award as the 2-year-old male 1987 champion.
At the age of 3, Niner and Stephens set out on a potential adventure of their own: gold found in the classics. He won the Fountain of Youth (G2) but lost to Brian’s Time in the Florida Derby (G1). Back in Keeneland, dark horse Claiborne and racehorse Pat Day beat Lafayette five times but lost to Louisiana Derby winner Risen Star (G3) at Lexington (G2), their final prep for the Kentucky Derby. (G1) coming.
During the Derby Forty, Niner avenged the Risen Star’s defeat by finishing ahead of the son of the Dark Gulf Secretariat. The only problem was the dirty gray of D. Wayne Lukas, the Victory Color, who led the way for 1 1/4 miles and overcame Forty Niner’s final shot for the commission by the neck.
Preakness (G1) are both Resurrection Stars who gave the verdict for Brian’s victorious Time and Color. Alas, Forty Niner had one of those days. After deciding on a tempo during the first six stretches, he tapered down to seventh out of nine.
Forty Niner skipped 14 3/4 of Risen Star’s impressive tour de force in Belmont (G1). The Color of Victory is present in the body but not in the spirit. Risen Star never races again.
The Forty Nines reappeared after a break imposed by Stephens to reassert his position as the top of his class. Julie Krone led him on a seven-stage older horse race in a race that allowed Monmouth to last a mile. Tight wins at Haskell (G1) and Travers (G1) put him on the field for a second time against his elders: Belmont’s Woodward Handicap (G1). A respectable loss of neck to Alysheba’s Horse of the Year earned him the right to run first in Aqueduct’s new race, the NYRA Mile Handicap.
A jockey attack for better wallet rates and safer conditions greeted racing fans at the Aqueduct on the afternoon of October 22. With William Fox Jr. replacing veteran Laffit Pincay racer, Forty Niner, hit 121 pounds against the heaviest Precisionist at 124 pounds and for the rest of the field from 6 to 8 pounds, trailing the 1985 champion sprinter. Precisionist in the first three quarters. Two tunics from home, Forty Niner put the Claiborne colors in tension and soon had the advantage in length. In the dying yard, Shadwell’s 5-year-old Mawsuff took the lead, but Forty Niner scored no points, winning by neck and reminding voters he was still fighting for the championship.
Fourth place behind Alysheba and his 3-year-old companion Seeking the Gold in Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) has sunk Forty Niner’s championship hopes, the Eclipse Prize will go to Risen Star.
