The Triple Crown is the hardest prize in flat racing to win, so hard that no colt has managed it for more than half a century. It asks one horse to be champion at three very different challenges in a single season, and it is the reason the Classics hang together as a set.
The three races
The British (or English) Triple Crown is completed by a three-year-old colt who wins all of:
- The 2000 Guineas, one mile, at Newmarket in early May.
- The Epsom Derby, one mile four furlongs, at Epsom in early June.
- The St Leger, one mile six furlongs, at Doncaster in September.
The genius and the difficulty lie in that spread of distances. A horse must have the speed to win a championship mile in May and still have the stamina to win over nearly a mile further in September, at the very end of a long campaign.
The fillies' Triple Crown
There is a parallel prize for fillies, made up of the 1000 Guineas, the Oaks and the St Leger. The last filly to complete it was Oh So Sharp, in 1985.
Why it is now so rare
The Triple Crown was won several times in racing's earlier history, but the last colt to do it was Nijinsky, ridden by Lester Piggott, in 1970. The drought since is not an accident. Modern breeding increasingly prizes speed over extreme stamina, which makes the St Leger trip unfashionable for the very best colts; and the commercial value of a Derby winner means connections are often reluctant to risk that reputation over an extended distance late in the year.
That is exactly why a Triple Crown bid, on the rare occasions one is even attempted, captures the imagination of the whole sport. For the races that make it up, see our guide to the British Classics and our flat racing hubs.