Twelve horses have won the American Triple Crown – composed of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes – which was patterned after the English Triple Crown that dates to 1809. When Sir Barton won the three races in 1919, it was not considered a Triple Crown feat. The three races were not acknowledged as being tied together as the Triple Crown until the 1930s. The Thoroughbred Racing Associations commissioned Cartier to craft a Triple Crown trophy – with three sides representing the three jewels – in 1950, and the trophy retroactively was awarded to the eight previous winners of the three races. In 1973, Secretariat was the first horse to be awarded the trophy after he accomplished the sweep.   Assault - 1946 Ch. c., 1943, by Bold Venture—Igual, by Equipoise Owner-breeder: King Ranch (Tex.) Trainer: Max Hirsch Jockey: Warren Mehrtens Race record: 42 starts ages 2-7, 18 wins, 6 seconds, 7 thirds, $675,470. At 2: Won Flash. At 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Dwyer, Pimlico Special, Westchester Handicap, Wood Memorial, Experimental H. #1. At 4: Won Suburban H., Brooklyn H., Butler H., Dixie H., Grey Lag H. At 6: Won Brooklyn H. :: View lifetime PPs As a foal, Assault stepped on a surveyor’s stake at the place of his birth, King Ranch, which left him with a malformed right front hoof. When he turned out to be a top racehorse, it earned him the nickname “the Club-Footed Comet.” Trainer Max Hirsch learned the colt was sound, despite his foot, and Assault won 2 of 9 starts at 2. He blossomed in the spring of his sophomore season, and in the Kentucky Derby, at 8-1, Assault blew past the field in the stretch to win by eight lengths. He went postward in the Preakness a week later as the favorite. Jockey Warren Mehrtens sent him to the lead entering the far turn, and he quickly opened up a large lead. From there, he won by a neck over Lord Boswell. Fans thought 1 1/2 miles would be beyond his scope, so in the Belmont, Lord Boswell was the favorite, but Assault was up to the task, rallying in the last 200 yards to win by three lengths. He set a single-season earnings record of $424,195. At 4, Assault won 5 of 7 starts and reigned as the sport’s leading earner for a time, though not at season’s end. When Assault proved sterile, he eventually was put back in training, and though his best was behind him, he did win the 1949 Brooklyn Handicap. He was euthanized in 1971 after fracturing a leg.     :: View a complete list of Triple Crown profiles