2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes Winner
I'll Have Another was the chestnut Cinderella who came within one race of the Triple Crown in 2012, only to have his bid stopped by injury the morning of the final leg. He was foaled in 2009 and trained by Doug O'Neill for owner J. Paul Reddam. His sire was Flower Alley, the 2005 Travers Stakes winner, and his dam was Arch's Gal Edith, a daughter of Arch. He was bought as a yearling for just 11,000 dollars and later resold for 35,000 dollars, a bargain that became one of the great steals in racing history.
His three year old season started with a flourish on the West Coast. I'll Have Another, ridden by the unknown jockey Mario Gutierrez, won the 2012 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and the 2012 Santa Anita Derby, beating top rivals on the way to the Kentucky Derby. He shipped to Churchill Downs and faced the speedy Bodemeister, who had set blistering fractions. The 2012 Kentucky Derby turned into a thrilling stretch duel, with I'll Have Another running down Bodemeister in the final yards to win by a length and a half. The dream was on.
Two weeks later in the 2012 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, the same script played out. Bodemeister set the pace, and I'll Have Another caught him near the wire to win again. The Triple Crown bid was alive, and the country was buzzing. Tens of thousands of fans bought tickets to the 2012 Belmont Stakes, hoping to see the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
Then came the heartbreak. The morning before the Belmont, Doug O'Neill announced that I'll Have Another had been diagnosed with tendinitis in his left front leg and would be scratched. The colt was retired the next day, having never lost as a three year old in the Triple Crown races. He finished his career with 5 wins from 7 starts and earnings of nearly 2.7 million dollars. He went to stud in Japan and was later sold back to the United States. I'll Have Another is remembered as the bargain colt who almost made history, a gritty fighter who gave J. Paul Reddam, Doug O'Neill, and Mario Gutierrez the rides of their lives.
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