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Alysheba dead at 25
Before coming to the Kentucky Horse Park, Alysheba spent the previous eight years of his life in the royal stables of His Majesty King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Bred by Preston Madden at Hamburg Place in Lexington, Alysheba was produced from the Lt. Stevens mare Bel Sheba, and was purchased for $500,000 by the late Dorothy Scharbauer at the 1985 Keeneland July Selected Yearling Sale. Scharbauer, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Turner, who owned 1959 Kentucky Derby winner *Tomy Lee, would campaign Alysheba in partnership with her daughter Pamela. Conditioned by Hall of Fame horseman Jack Van Berg, at the time the world's all-time winningest trainer, Alysheba made a favorable impression during his juvenile season of 1986. Breaking his maiden by eight lengths at Turfway Park in his third start, the bay colt then finished a close second in both the In Memoriam S. at Turfway and the Breeders' Futurity (G2) at Keeneland. Sent to California for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita, Alysheba raced near the back of the field early before closing rapidly to finish third behind eventual champion Capote. Alysheba was again denied an initial stakes triumph in his next start, finishing second by a neck in the Hollywood Futurity (G1). After finishing fourth in an allowance in his three-year-old debut, Alysheba rebounded to finish a close second in the San Felipe H. (G1) at Santa Anita. Found to have an entrapped epiglottis, Alysheba had corrective surgery before resuming his career in the Blue Grass S. (G1) at Keeneland, then contested nine days before the Kentucky Derby (G1). Ridden for the first time by Chris McCarron, who would ride the colt for the remainder of his career, Alysheba bore out into Leo Castelli during the stretch run and was subsequently disqualified from first to third. Despite not having an official stakes victory to his credit, Alysheba still received a fair amount of support at Churchill Downs, starting at 8-1 in the Run for the Roses. Far back early, Alysheba advanced to third approaching the turn for home and had the leading Bet Twice in his sights passing the quarter-pole. In one of the more dramatic stretch runs in the race's history, Alysheba avoided a potentially devastating fall after clipping heels with Bet Twice at the top of the stretch, raced erratically through the lane, but ultimately prevailed over Bet Twice by three parts of a length in a time of 2:03 2/5. In what would be the third of nine meetings with Bet Twice, Alysheba again prevailed over that rival in the Preakness S. (G1) to win by a half-length, thus setting himself up to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, when Affirmed swept the three-race series over Alysheba's sire Alydar. Racing without the benefit of Lasix, which at the time was banned in New York, Alysheba was swamped in the Belmont S. (G1) by Bet Twice, who finished more than 14 lengths ahead while Alysheba struggled home fourth. The two rivals were reunited in the Haskell Invitational (G1), and again Bet Twice got the better of the two to win by a neck in a three-race battle that also included upstart Lost Code. Neither Alysheba nor Bet Twice were a factor in the Travers S. (G1), which was contested over a sloppy track, a condition Alysheba was known not to handle. Defeated by more than 20 lengths when finishing sixth in the Midsummer Derby, Alysheba rebounded to take the Super Derby (G1) at Louisiana Downs in his next start, then narrowly missed catching 1986 Kentucky Derby winner and eventual Horse of the Year Ferdinand in an epic renewal of the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Hollywood Park. Alysheba's late-season heroics following a disappointing summer campaign propelled him to champion three-year-old colt honors. Alysheba had an even better campaign at four, kicking off his season with a three-length triumph in the Charles H. Strub S. (G1), then turning the tables on Ferdinand in both the Santa Anita H. (G1) and San Bernardino H. (G2), which he won by a half-length and a nose, respectively. Alysheba next made his way to Pimlico for the revival of the Pimlico Special H., where he was sent away the odds-on choice under 127 pounds, an impost he would carry three times during the season. However, he could not successfully concede three pounds to arch-nemesis Bet Twice, who stormed home the winner with Alysheba more than four lengths behind in fourth. Returned to California, Alysheba again ran below par in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) when finishing a distant second to Cutlass Reality, but a more mature horse would be reappear two months later in the Philip H. Iselin H. (G1) at Monmouth Park. Shedding the blinkers that had been a staple since his maiden win, Alysheba ran down Bet Twice over that rival's home track to win by three parts of a length. Alysheba next headed to New York for the Woodward H. (G1) at Belmont Park and, showing he was not dependent on Lasix, prevailed by a neck over champion Forty Niner in a track record 1:59 2/5 for 1 1/4 miles. Diverted from the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) after the Belmont Park main track came up sloppy, Alysheba met Bet Twice for the final time under the lights in the Meadowlands Cup (G1). Carrying 127 pounds, Alysheba gutted out a neck victory over the persistent Slew City Slew while Bet Twice finished far back. It was another track-record performance for Alysheba, who got 10 furlongs in a swift 1:58 4/5 and edged Bet Twice in their long rivalry 5-4. The stars seemed to be aligned against Alysheba as post time for the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs approached. Not only had his main rival for Horse of the Year honors, Personal Ensign, prevailed in a memorable finish earlier in the day in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) to retire undefeated, but the track on the cold, dreary afternoon had come up muddy, conditions Alysheba's connections had judiciously avoided running him over since his Travers debacle. Despite the wet track, and facing arguably one of the best fields in the race's history, Alysheba was still sent off as the 3-2 favorite. Run under the cover of darkness, Alysheba settled into fourth early and always appeared to handle the footing, which had a firmer bottom than previous wet tracks he had competed over. Making his usual bid for the lead through the stretch, Alysheba struck the front and dug in gamely when challenged by the top three-year-old Seeking the Gold to pull off a half-length victory. Given the moniker "America's Horse" by track announcer Tom Durkin as he crossed the wire, Alysheba's score pushed his career earnings to a record $6,679,242, surpassing John Henry's previous total of $6,597,947. Alysheba would hold the title until 1996 when dual Horse of the Year Cigar established a new record for North American-based runners with $9,999,815 in earnings. Alysheba, retired with a mark of 26-11-8-2, was voted champion older male of 1988 and edged Personal Ensign in the voting for Horse of the Year. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1993. Retired to stud at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, Alysheba had modest success at stud. His most successful offspring, which included 1994 Canadian Horse of the Year Alywow, fared best on turf. Alysheba gained greater fame as a broodmare sire, with his daughters producing the ill-fated European superstar George Washington (Ire) (Danehill) as well as French highweights Bright Sky (Ire) (Wolfhound) and Vespone (Ire) (Llandaff). Alysheba was purchased by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2000 and was returned to the United States as a gift of the monarch last fall. A memorial service for Alysheba, who was buried next to John Henry at the Kentucky Horse Park, will be announced at a later date. "He stuck out like a diamond in a rock pile," Van Berg once observed of his most successful pupil. "He was so smart he knew what he was doing all the time."
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