Fit to Fight
Fit to Fight was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Handicap Triple Crown in 1984.
Background
Sired by Chieftain, a son of Bold Ruler, in turn a grandson of Nearco, Fit to Fight was out of the mare Hasty Queen II, the 1983 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. His damsire, One Count, won the 1952 Belmont Stakes and shared U.S. Horse of the Year honors. One Count was a son of the 1943 U.S. triple Crown champion, Count Fleet.Racing career
Racing at age three, Fit to Fight won his first major graded stakes race, the 1982 Jerome Handicap. The following year he was second to A Phenomenon in the Vosburgh Stakes but ahead of third-place finisher, Deputy Minister. In the Tom Fool Stakes, Fit to Fight took another second but this time to winner Deputy Minister then the two horses reversed their finishes with Fit to Fight capturing the Stuyvesant Handicap.In 1984, Fit to Fight had his best year. Ridden by Jerry Bailey, the five-year-old became only the fourth horse in history to win the Handicap Triple Crown, joining U.S. Racing Hall of Famers, Whisk Broom II, Tom Fool, and Kelso. Fit to Fight finished behind winner Slew o' Gold in the voting for 1984's Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse.