Harder Than The Triple Crown? It Makes Sense

 

We are all in agreement that the Triple Crown is the most difficult three-race series to win, with only 13 horses having swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont since 1919, and the gaps of 25 years between Citation and Secretariat and 37 years between Affirmed and American Pharoah. But are there actually three races that are more difficult to win and require a more diverse assortment of qualities than winning the three classic races in a five-week period?

Well, there is one for which you can definitely make a case, considering a sweep of these races has been accomplished only once in 45 years, and it requires a horse to be at the very top of his form in the fall of his 2-year-old campaign and in the spring and late summer of his 3-year-old campaign, covering a period of almost 10 months.

Why then does it seem as if we have all but forgotten the feat of Street Sense, the only horse ever to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Kentucky Derby, and Travers. In fact, there have been only four horses who have swept the Kentucky Derby and Travers in the past 32 years, with a gap of 30 years between Thunder Gulch in 1995 and Sovereignty in 2025. And before Sea Hero accomplished it in 1993 you have to go 51 years to One Count in 1942 to find the previous winner of both races. Street Sense also became the first horse ever to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby, ending the “jinx” label that had been given to the Juvenile. In the 23 years since the inception of the Breeders’ Cup, only four Derby winners had even run in the Juvenile.

To maintain your top form for almost a year and be at your best against the top 2-year-olds in the country going 1 1/16 miles and be at your best once again at 3 on the first Saturday in May and the last Saturday in August at America’s classic distance of 1 1/4 miles requires a very special horse.

One of the reasons why we hold Street Sense’s crop mate and rival Curlin in higher esteem is because his career lasted much longer, enabling him to build a more impressive resume at 4, and also his tremendous success as a sire. There is no arguing with anyone who claims Curlin was the more accomplished and arguably the more talented of the two over the course of their careers, having defeated Street Sense by a head in the Preakness after finishing a well-beaten third to him in the Derby. In the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Street Sense seemed to be floundering down on the rail over the sloppy track, finishing fourth, while Curlin was just skipping over it. There was little separating them on the racetrack, but Curlin’s success at stud has kept his name in the headlines.

Before we tell the behind-the-scenes stories of Street Sense’s three big victories, especially the Kentucky Derby and Travers, and what he accomplished in all three, let’s take a quick look at his influence as a stallion.

Street Sense sired four daughters (Aubby K, Wedding Toast, Sweet Reason, and Callback) from his first four crops who won a total of seven Grade 1 stakes from 2009 to 2012. He shuttled to Australia for five years from 2008 to 2012 before going from Australia to Darley Stud in Japan in 2013, but stayed only one season before before returning to Darley at Jonabell Stud in Kentucky. By 2011, his stud fee had been reduced from $75,000 to $40,000.

John Nerud, one of the greatest breeders America has ever known, once said you have to give a stallion six or seven years before you can assess his success or failure. And sure enough, it took Street Sreet Sense six years to make a major impact, siring the brilliant McKinzie, winner of the Grade 1 Whitney, Pennsylvania Derby, Malibu, and Los Alamitos Futurity and Grade 2 Alysheba and Triple Bend Stakes, and runner-up in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Met Mile, Santa Anita Handicap, and Awesome Again Stakes.

Two years later, Street Sense’s son Maxfield won seven stakes, including the Grade 1 Clark Stakes and Breeders’ Futurity, as well as the grade 2 Stephen Foster and Alysheba Stakes, while finishing second in the Whitney, Woodward, and Santa Anita Handicap. Needless to say his stud fee returned to $75,000.

The impact of both colts as stallions can be felt today, with McKinzie in 2022 siring Baeza, winner of the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, and placing in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. Belmont Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, and most recently running second in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster, finally finishing ahead of 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty. McKinzie, in 2022, also sired Chancer McPatrick, winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful and Champagne Stakes, and placed in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Tampa Bay Derby; and Scottish Lassie, winner of the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and Frizette Stakes.

Maxfield, in his first crop of 3-year-olds this year, demonstrated his ability to sire horses with stamina as well as blazing speed. His son Englishman established himself as one of the best sprinters in the country, annihilating his field in the Grade 1 Wood Stephens Stakes by almost six lengths, covering the seven furlongs in 1:20 2/5, equaling Saratoga’s 48-year-old track record and earning a whopping 115 Beyer speed figure. He also is the sire of the brilliant filly Mashallah, who earned a 106 Beyer in her career debut going six furlongs at Keeneland, winning by almost four lengths in 1:09 2/5. In her other sprint victory, going 6 1/2 furlongs, she romped by seven lengths in a Saratoga allowance race.

It is pure speculation, but one could only imagine what Maxfield’s son, the undefeated and unchallenged Japanese-trained Danon Bourbon, would have done in this year’s Kentucky Derby if he didn’t suffer a chip fracture in his knee during the race, in which he pressed a testing pace that eliminated all those close to it him and set it up for deep closers to finish first, second, and third. But Danon Bourbon, after putting all the speed away, opened a two-length lead at the eighth pole before his injury and the pace likely took their toll. He still hung tough, however, and was just nipped for fourth in the final strides, while getting beat only three lengths. Many felt he was the best horse in the race.

Street Sense also made his presence felt in 2025 when his daughter La Cara captured the Grade 1 Acorn and Ashland Stakes. It took a while, but Street Sense’s influence finally is being felt, from sprints to classic distances. He had also left his mark in Australia, where his son Hallowed Crown won the Group 1 Randwick Guineas and Golden Rose Stakes in 2011, and his son Sense of Occasion captured the Group 1 Dommben Cup at 1 1/4 miles.

It is only fitting that a horse who accomplished what Street Sense did as a racehorse and who won the Kentucky Derby with Queen Elizabeth II in atterndance for the first time should finally have his blood being passed along in major stakes at all distances.

So let’s go back to 2006 and 2007 and relive a special time in racing and the victories of a horse who accomplished a feat no other horse has been able to achieve in more than four decades.

A Juggernaut in the Juvenile

Steeet Sense, a son of Street Cry owned and bred by James Tafel and trained by Carl Nafzger, began his career showing excellent promise, with a win, a second, and then back-to-back third-place finishes in the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity at Arlington Park and Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface. In his maiden score going 6 1/2 furlongs at Arlington, he had demonstrated extraordinary speed, pressing the pace through blazing fractions of :21 3/5 and :44 1/5 before drawing clear to win by 1 1/4 lengths in a swift 1:15 4/5. But in the Breeders’ Futurity, where he went off at odds of 11-1, he came from seventh, some 10 lengths off the lead, to open a length lead at the eighth pole only to tire slightly and get caught late.

Sent off at 15-1 and wearing front wraps for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, he was taken way back to 13th by jockey Calvin Borel, about a dozen lengths off the lead, and was still ninth midway around the far turn. But in a flash, he unleashed a devastating move along the rail and just blew his field away, opening up by four lengths at the eighth pole and drawing off to win by 10 lengths, the biggest margin in the history of the race. So dominant was his victory, in which earned a sensational 108 Beyer speed figure, crushing the two horses (Circular Quay and Great Hunter) who had finished ahead of him in the Breeders’ Futurity, he was named Champion 2-Year-Old male and became the solid favorite for the Kentucky Derby.

As to be expected, lucrative offers to buy the colt came pouring in after the Juvenile. “I know we could have taken some big money off the table, but Mr. Tafel insisted the horse was not for sale,” Nafzger said that winter while preparing Street Sense at Florida’s Palm Meadows training center. “In the past, he’s had to retire horses who have gotten beat in order not to devalue them. But this time, he said, ‘I think I’m just going to enjoy this one.’”

Nafzger thought back to when the colt was at Drew Nardiello’s Chesapeake Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. “The first time Mr. Tafel and I went to see the babies at Chesapeake Farm, Drew said, ‘There’s only one thing wrong with this colt.’ Mr. Tafel asked, ‘What’s that?’ and Drew said, ‘He’s perfect. He’s got only one way to go—down.’ We put him in training at Ocala Stud and he did everything right.”

At Mike O’Farrell’s Ocala Stud at the same time, there was another colt named Nobiz Like Shobiz, a grand-looking son of Albert the Great who was the star of the group. “He was a standout,” said Ocala Stud farm manager Bob Noble. “All the owners and trainers who came to look at their horses would look at him and ask, ‘Who’s that?’ Street Sense was a nice colt, but he wasn’t the type who turned heads. He was just one of the group.”

The last thing Street Sense would be in the Juvenile was just one of the group. In fact, he was the group. Everyone else were merely followers.

Ony Two Starts before the Derby?

Street Sense didn’t show up again until the March 17 Tampa Bay Derby. Nafzger felt he wouldn’t need more than two starts before the Kentucky Derby. Having only two preps was pretty rare back then. In fact, the last horse to win the Derby off only two preps was Sunny’s Halo in 1983, and the last horse before him to accomplish it was Jet Pilot in 1947. (That move would pioneer a new way of thinking in how to train a horse up to the Derby; a move that has become more common each year).

Nafzger and his assistant Ian Wilkes, who handled a good deal of the daily training, knew he would need at least one good stiff race to give him a solid foundation and toughen him up for the Derby. That is exactly what he got when he engaged in an all-out slugfest down the stretch with the Todd Pletcher-trained Any Given Saturday, the impressive winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa and winner of three of his four career starts, with his only defeat a close second in the previous year’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs. With Any Given Saturday, on the inside, and Street Sense shoving each other through the final furlong, it was the latter who eked out a gutsy nose victory.

It was decided to give Street Sense his final prep in the Blue Grass Stakes, but like in the Breeders’ Futurity he showed that Polytrack was not his favorite surface, as he was beaten a nose in a three-horse photo at even-money after losing focus in the upper stretch, gawking at the crowd and drifting out. Nafzger was undeterred, and felt the race was another step forward in getting the colt to peak on Derby Day.

The 2007 Kentucky Derby was unlike any other, as most of the Derby horses headed to Keeneland to train over the Polytrack surface, with many of the media members car pooling from Louisville to Lexington. Only Nafzger and Street Sense remained at Churchill Downs to train in the traditional manner. As a result, Churchill, normally a hotbed of activity in the weeks leading up to the race, was eerily silent and devoid of activity or Derby buzz. Only a handful of reporters and TV camera crews gathered at Barn 26 to seek out Nafzger’s ever-flowing words of wisdom.

As the Derby neared, Nafzger attempted to keep jockey Calvin Borel, who had finished eighth, 12th, 12th, and 17th in his previous four Derby attempts, focused on the race and remove any pressure he might be feeling. He told Borel to “keep everything in perspective and have fun.” He added, “How many times have I been to the Derby in 17 years? Three, so if you don’t enjoy it, why the hell are you here? You love ridin’ races, so ride to have fun, because if you go to worrying about it, you’ll screw up for sure.”

Nafzger, who won the Derby in 1990 with Unbridled, continued to be philosophical, his comments sounding like passages from his book Traits of a Winner. “When I’m watching a race I’m not watching to see if I’m gonna win,” he said several days before the race. “I’m watching the horse. I’m watching the jockey. I’m watching me. If the horse makes a mistake, is it the horse, is it the jockey, or did I screw up? I’m thinking, what can I do to correct any mistakes? You can get into ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ your whole life, but it don’t mean a thing.”

To Nafzger, who gave a percentage of the purses to the help, it’s all about the horse, regardless of the level of competition. “If you can’t enjoy watching a $5,000 claimer give you 110% you shouldn’t be in this business,” he said. As for Street Sense, the horse is the one who calls the shots, not the trainer. “He wants to do what he’s doing; he set the program,” Nafzger said. “He brought us here, and now we’re going to go with him all the way. If he gets us there, he gets us there. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. That’s horse racing.”

Those who were at Churchill Downs for Street Sense’s sensational five-furlong breeze in a bullet :59 flat with Borel aboard 11 days before the Derby couldn’t help but think that the one big horse at Churchill Downs was the only one that mattered, especially the way he shifted gears and accelerated at will down the stretch.

In the days to come, one by one, Derby horses began trickling into Churchill Downs, while trainers Todd Pletcher, with five Derby horses, and Doug O’Neill, with three (one of whom would be withdrawn), remained at Keeneland.

Once several of the Keeneland horses had shipped to Churchill Downs the buzz horse was the brilliant Hard Spun. His trainer, the quick-witted “good ‘ol boy” Larry Jones had not been familiar with the Polytrack surface and worked Hard Spun a full mile, looking to build up his stamina. It wasn’t until the colt worked in a pedestrian 1:42 2/5 and came back blowing hard that Jones was told by local horsemen that working that far on the Polytrack was extremely taxing on a horse. To make up for it he gave the colt a stiff five-furlong drill at Churchill Downs a week later and that also backfired, as he worked in a sizzling :57 3/5, which sent up huge flares in the media. But Hard Spun did it all on his own and bounced out of the work on the muscle and looking for more action. When asked how he thought the fans and handicappers would react to the work, Jones said with a big grin on his face, “They’re gonna say, ‘the cowboy blew it. The cowboy absolutely had Derby pressure and he went out and worked him way too fast.'”

Jones became an instant favorite with the media, with his wit and charm and quick one-liners. Like Nafzger, who grew up in Olton, Texas and rode bulls because “it beat picking cotton,” Jones was raised in Herndon, Kentucky, which basically was, as Jones put it, “a post office and a four-way stop sign, with a population of 150 if you count the dogs.”

Jones, knowing that Street Sense was the horse to beat, and aware of how he had won his previous races, did his best to make sure jockey Mario Pino did not let Borel get through on his inside if the situation arose. “If you’re on the inside turning for home and you let Street Sense through on the rail I’ll have you shot by the sixteenth pole,” he told Pino with a twinkle in his eye. Although he said it kiddingly, he got his point across.

This looked to be one of the deepest and most wide-open Derby fields in years, with Street Sense the lukewarm favorite at 4.90-1 over the brilliant Arkansas Derby winner Curlin, who had won his three races by an average margin of a staggering 9 1/2 lengths, including his 10 1/2-length romp in the Arkansas Derby. At 7-1 was the Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth winner Scat Daddy, who would gain fame years later as the sire of Triple Crown winner Justify. Next at 10-1 were Wood Memorial winner Nobiz Like Shobiz, the scene stealer back at Ocala Stud, and the swift Hard Spun, easy winner of the Grade 2 Lane’s End Stakes and LeComte Stakes. In addition to Scat Daddy, Todd Petcher had 11-1 Circular Quay, coming off a spectacular last-to-first dominating victory in the Louisiana Derby, and the Tampa Derby runner-up Any Given Saturday, who still was given a good chance at 13-1 following a third in the Wood Memorial. Representing California was Santa Anita Derby winner Tiago, at 14-1, who was a half-brother to the 2005 Derby winner Giacomo, like Tiago trained by John Shirreffs.

Another colt who attracted a good deal of media attention was Curlin, who many insisted was racing’s next superstar after winning all three of his starts by huge margins. Trainer Steve Asmussen, who took over Curlin’s training after majority interest in the son of Smart Strike was sold following his maiden victory, was confident in the colt’s chances even though he was trying to become the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Derby without having raced at 2, and the first since Regret in 1915 to win off only three career starts.

The predicted rain for Derby Day never materialized, as the area’s thunderstorms passed to the south. Nafzger was relaxed and in great spirits Derby morning, clowning around with Nobiz Like Shobiz’ trainer Barclay Tagg, and promising to bring Starbucks coffee and donuts to the barn for visitors the morning after the race if Street Sense won. With the track still in bad shape after two days of rain, Nafzger decided to have Street Sense walk the shed instead of gallop.

“For six months, this colt has taken us on a perfect trip,” Nafzger said. “Why should I make a decision that could screw him up on the last day? It’s sticky out there. What if he pulls a shoe off and takes off a hunk of his quarter?”

In the Derby, the start was a good one, as Hard Spun went for the lead, followed closely by the speedy Teuflesberg, Cowtown Cat, and Stormello. Street Sense broke well from post 7, and Borel immediately had his mind on getting to the rail. He waited for Zanjero to clear him on the inside, and then steered Street Sense sharply to the rail, slipping between Zanjero and Imawildandcrazyguy. Here he was once again on his favorite part of his favorite track. But this time the other jockeys would be looking out for him. Or so one would have thought.

Hard Spun continued to lead through swift early fractions of :22 4/5 and :46 1/5, while edging clear by a length. Street Sense, meanwhile, had only one horse beat in the 20-horse field, but Borel was where he wanted to be. “I knew the pace was quick, so I backed him up a little bit and let two horses go by me,” he said.

Down the backstretch, there wasn’t much change in position, as Hard Spun was able to slow the pace down a bit, getting the six furlongs in 1:11. Pino took advantage of Hard Spun’s superior cruising speed and let him open up by two lengths, with Street Sense still back in 17th. The stalkers were under pressure trying to keep up and were already in retreat. Around the turn, Borel finally kicked into gear on Street Sense, while still hugging the rail, and the colt rapidly began picking off horses one by one. It was amazing that with Borel’s and Street Sense’s reputation for riding the rail to victory, there was no one blocking their path.

No one except the Doug O’Neill-trained Liquidity, who also was down on the rail, posing a major obstacle for the pair around the far turn. But, just as Street Sense came rolling up behind him, David Flores, on Liquidity, came off the rail, allowing Street Sense through.

Now it was just a matter of finding a seam to ease out. Pino and Hard Spun had opened a three-length lead at the quarter pole, all but cooking everyone near them. It became obvious that Street Sense, who had made up 16 lengths in a half-mile, was the only horse who had a chance to catch the game and fleet Hard Spun.

Nearing the head of the stretch, Hard Spun came three wide, but Pino, heeding Jones’ words, quickly steered him back to the rail. Street Sense’s good luck continued when Borel found a perfect seam and was able to ease Street Sense outside Sedgefield and inside Nobiz Like Shobiz and Any Given Saturday. Now, here he was charging up outside Hard Spun, as the pair drew off from the others.

The lightly raced Curlin, who had been sucked back into the body of the field, found room late, but the top two were long gone. Despite Hard Spun’s tenacity, Street Sense was simply too much for him. He collared Hard Spun at the three-sixteenths pole and immediately ducked to the rail after drawing clear. With his final two quarters in :24 2/5 and :24 1/5, Street Sense crossed the wire 2 1/4 lengths in front, covering the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02 flat on a fast track that earlier in the day was listed as muddy. Hard Spun finished 5 3/4 lengths ahead of Curlin.

Nafzger had been known to evoke emotion before, and will always be remembered for his passionate and inspiring call of the 1990 Kentucky Derby on national TV, in which he described the running of the race in detail to Unbridled’s owner, 92-year-old Frances Genter, and his touching “Oh, Mrs. Genter, I love you,” immediately following the race. He didn’t have to resort to that for the 83-year-old James Tafel, but emotions were nearly as strong, as the two embraced in celebration of their longtime relationship.

For Nafzger, who had handed over the majority of his stable to longtime assistant Ian Wilkes and was in semi-retirement, there was still plenty of glory left for him at age 65. “I got about 10 minutes before the adrenaline goes down and that’ll be it,” he said walking through the tunnel following the race.

As he made his way through the paddock, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, winner of four Kentucky Derbys, came over and put his arms around Nafzger’s shoulders. “I told them before they started it’s a game of experience, and the guy that’s got the most experience is going to saddle the winner,” Lukas said. “That’s just wonderful. Great job. Soak it up now; you know, you’ve been there.”

Nafzger couldn’t wait to call his friend and mentor, John Nerud, who had turned 93 earlier in the year. “Nerud, you should be here,” he said. “I just had to give you a quick call. It’s been a great relationship just knowing you, and all the things you taught me about a horse and about breeding. I want to tell you something. Thank you, and I mean that. Thank you for everything. Now, I’m gonna go in the Derby Museum and tell everybody how smart I am.”

As Nafzger headed to the party at the Kentucky Derby Museum, he stopped, bent down, and picked up a five-dollar bill. “How you gonna top that?” he said, putting a new twist on Richard Dreyfuss’ understated words in the movie Let It Ride: “I’m having a very good day.”

Over at Jones’ barn, everyone was proud of the colt’s effort, but realized the Derby victory could have been theirs had Street Sense not had the perfect trip. When Pino came by, Jones gave him words of encouragement.

“Don’t feel bad about this, Mario, you did a wonderful job,” Jones said. “We got beat by a very good horse. I watched Street Sense work and he scared the living bejeebers out of me. If anyone other than you had made Calvin come around them, we’re home free. You damn near pulled it off. Yep, the rookies damn near got it.” Looking back at that :57 3/5, for which he had been criticized, Jones said with a smile on his face, “I think maybe I worked him too slow.”

The following morning, Nafzger, as promised, arrived with two pourable boxes of Starbucks coffee and several boxes of donuts.

Street Sense’s herbalist, Cathy McGlory, fed the colt carrots and commented that he only lost 10 pounds in the race. Nafzger brought Street Sense out for a jog, and the colt looked amazing, pausing, as he usually does, with his head and ears up. “Look how bright-eyed that sonofabitch. is,” Nafzger commented. “He’s a monster.”

This was a time for Nafzger to give thanks, to Tafel, Borel, and Wilkes, who trained 45 of their 55 horses. “The first time I ever saw Ian was when he came from Australia,” Nafzger recalled. “When he galloped by me at Keeneland one morning, I told my assistant at the time, Sharon Peters, ‘Don’t let that boy out of my sight.’ We’ve grown up 16 years together, and we think alike and see horses alike. He could have trained this horse just as well as I have in a minute.”

As Wilkes said, “I want to keep the old fella around. I don’t want him to retire. I enjoy being around him.”

But Nafzger admitted he no longer had the energy to train more than the 10 horses he has. “I love horse racing and I love what we’re doing, but one day I’m just gonna disappear.”

As Nafzger leaned against the rail watching Street Sense jog the morning after the Derby, Wayne Lukas came by on his pony. “It’s a perfect world this morning, isn’t it?” Lukas said to Nafzger, who replied, “Perfect world, my friend.” One fit for a Queen,

A Historic Triple That Still Stands Alone

The 2007b Preakness was another story that one day we will tell. But for now let’s jump ahead through Street Sense’s victory in the Jim Dandy Stakes to the Travers. He was already in the record books with his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile — Kentucky Derby double. Now he was looking to make even more history by adding the Travers, giving him a record that could very well be untouchable, considering how difficult it has become for horses to keep their top form over a long period of time.

And in racing, you never know what new challenges and late-developing newcomers you’re going to face. In the Travers, Street Sense would face both. Following his narrow defeat to Curlin in the Preakness, Nafzger decided to skip the Belmont and point for a summer campaign at Saratoga, with the Breeders’ Cup Classic his ultimate goal. His main rivals from the Triple Crown, Any Given Saturday, Hard Spun, and Curlin, all ran in the Haskell Invitational, finishing 1,2,3 in that order, and they all passed the Travers, with Hard Spun going instead in the Grade 1 seven-furlong King’s Bishop Stakes the race before the Travers, which he won by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:22 1/5.

That left a new set of opponents for Street Sense in the Jim Dandy and Travers, headed by the Peter Pan winner and Wood Memorial runner-up Sightseeing, who was third in the Jim Dandy, and the Jim Dandy runner-up C P West, who was fourth in the Preakness. The unknown horse was William Farish’s late-developing Grasshopper, who had suffered a fractured tibia over the winter, but was coming off an impressive six-length romp in a 1 1/8-mile allowance race at Saratoga, earning a strong 104 Beyer speed figure, the same as Street Sense got in the Jim Dandy. After that allowance race Calvin Borel told his fiance that Grasshopper was the horse to beat in the Travers. Even Farish said they didn’t know how good Grasshopper was, but with such a brilliant effort over the track this was the time to find out.

The heat index on Travers day soared well over 100 degrees and was a major concern. After a half-mile in :48, Grasshopper led by a length over C P West, with Borel moving Steet Sense up into third just 1 1/2 lengths off the pace. By the time they hit the quarter pole, Grasshopper and Street Sense began to draw clear of the field, with Grasshopper clinging to a head lead and hanging tough. Nafzger said to Tafel, “Uh oh, this is gonna be a fight to the wire.” And that is exactly what it was.

Both colts were dead-game in the sweltering heat and humidity, battling head and head, pulling eight lengths clear of the field. Finally, Street Sense’s class won out, as he crossed the wire a half-length in front, with Grasshopper finishing 10 1/2 lengths ahead of longshot Helsinki and Sightseeing in 2:02 3/5.

But Street Sense’s battle was far from over. As he returned, the outrider yelled to the colt’s hotwalker Paul Rutherford to come quick with a water bucket.

Street Sense was in danger of suffering heat stroke. Borel, normally jubilant after a big win, was more concerned about his colt, who he immediately sponged off vigorously over his head and neck. Rutherford, his suit soaking wet, ran over to get a second bucket of water, and he and Borel sponged Street Sense down from his head back to his rump. Ian Wilkes could tell he was not in good shape in the winner’s circle and hurried the proceedings. As soon as Borel dismounted, Nafzger hosed him down for a good minute.

“He was really hot in the winner’s circle and I wanted to get him out of there quick,” Wilkes said “He just wasn’t right; he wasn’t normal.”

But Street Sense quickly bounced out of it, walking calmly back to the barn, and later polished off hs feed. The following morning he was out on the track for his typical day-after jog and was bright and alert.

It had been a historic day all around. With Street Sense winning the Travers and Hard Spun winning the King’s Bishop, it marked the first time ever the first two finishers of the Kentucky Derby went on to win Grade 1 stakes on the same day, at the same track, and in back-to-back races. For Nafzger, he not only had completed the coveted Travers-Alabama double, having won the latter with Lady Joanne the week before, he was scoring his second victory in both races. And of course, Street Sense had become the first horse in history to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Kentucky Derby, and Travers…sneaking the Jim Dandy in there as well.

Any chance of adding the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic faded when a torrential two-day downpour left Monmouth Park a sea of slop. Street Sense tried to rally, moving on the turn with eventual winner Curlin, but he was unable to sustain his run stuck down on the deep rail and faded to fourth.

After the race, Street Sense was retired to stud at Darley at Jonabell Farm. Following his years shuttling, he finally returned home for good, where he would be joined in late 2021 by his son Maxfield. The year before, his son McKinzie had joined the stallion band at Gainesway Farm. Street Sense finally had his legacy, one which he had richly deserved before he ever set foot in a stallion barn. All you have to do to find it is go to the record books, where in the annals of the Breeders’ Cup, Kentucky Derby, and Travers, his name stands alone.