Early Life and Racing Career
Bred in Florida by John Martin Silvertand, Afleet Alex is out of the winning mare Maggy Hawk and counts multiple Grade 2-placed Unforgettable Max as a full brother. Maggy Hawk is by Hawkster, a world record holder on turf at a mile and a half. His maternal granddam is 1983 Demoiselle Stakes (G1) winner Qualique. Qualique was sired by Hawaii, a multiple grade one (G1) winner and marathon turf specialist. Also on his dam's side is Sir Gaylord, half-brother to Secretariat, who sired his fourth dam, Gaylord's Touch. Maggy Hawk has three foals of racing age, two runners, two winners and two stakes horses, including Afleet Alex. He was sired by Northern Afleet, a stakes winner from seven furlongs to nine furlongs, who was the son of the 1987 Canadian Horse of the Year, Afleet. Afleet was by the leading sire Mr. Prospector.
Afleet Alex was foaled May 9, 2002, at John Martin Silvertand's farm in Florida. At the outset, this colt faced adversity: his mother became ill 24 hours after his birth and could no longer nurse him. She did supply him with colustrum (mother's first milk that is rich in anitbodies and nutrients). Silvertrand's daughter Lauren (then nine) fed Afleet Alex from a Coors Light bottle the day after his mother became ill. The farm staff replaced the emergency bottle the next day. He continued bottle feeding for approximately 10 days until a nurse mare could be found. He was originally sold at auction as a yearling for $150,000. A year later the owner sold him in the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May two-year-olds in training sale for $75,000.
As a two-year-old, Afleet Alex won the G1 Hopeful Stakes and G2 Sanford Stakes (in stakes record time) and finished second in the G1 Champagne Stakes and the G1 Breeders Cup Juvenile. He also won maiden and allowance race scores in his first two starts. Afleet Alex started his three-year-old campaign on the Derby Trail, winning the listed Mountain Valley Stakes at Oaklawn Park in very fast time. Suffering from a lung infection, he finished last in the Rebel Stakes under jockey John R. Velazquez, but returned to win the G2 Arkansas Derby by a record eight lengths under his regular jockey, Jeremy Rose. Coming off two strong wins and discarding his Rebel Stakes mishap, Afleet Alex was one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby, run May 7, 2005. In the race, he finished third by less than a length. Jeremy Rose later said that he had not given the horse the best ride of his life.
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