stamina issue and made Lord Boswell the favorite in the 1½-mile Belmont Stakes. After stumbling at the start, Assault trailed the field throughout much of the race. In the final 200 yards, he moved past the leaders to win the Belmont by three lengths. He was the seventh Triple Crown winner ever, and the third during the 1940s. Two weeks after his Belmont victory, Assault won the Dwyer Stakes, and the general public opinion finally conceded that he was the best three-year-old in training (but that it was also a poor crop to choose from). However, his last-place finish in the Arlington Classic made him "just an average horse" again. After the Arlington Classic, it was discovered he had a kidney infection and needed some rest. Assault returned to the track, where he compiled a string of seconds, thirds, and fourths. Trainer Max Hirsch decided to change jockeys. Assault's original rider, Mehrtens, was replaced by Eddie Arcaro. Assault then won the Pimlico Special and Westchester Handicap with Arcaro aboard and was voted 1946 Horse of the Year. Over the winter, Assault developed into a mature four-year-old. The colt was constantly hungry, charging grooms if he was not fed on time. He paid such close attention to his exercise riders that when it seemed that they were gazing off or not fully attentive, he would leap to the side, leaving them mid-air, and gallop around the track riderless. As a four-year-old, Assault won five of seven races and never finished worse than third. He was victorious in some of the biggest handicap races in history, including the Brooklyn and Suburban Handicaps, while carrying weights of up to 135 pounds. During 1947, he and his rival Stymie battled for the top money-earner title, swapping it several times. However, in a $100,000 winner take all match race at Belmont Park on September 27, 1947, Arcaro and Assault lost by eight lengths to Calumet Farm's Armed, ridden by Douglas Dodson, who earned 1947 Horse of the Year honors. Assault returned to the track as a five-, six-, and seven-year-old, although he did not display the same sort of winning form he showed as a three- and four-year-old. Assault raced 42 times, with 18 victories (15 in stakes races), 6 second-place finishes, and 7 third-place finishes. He earned $675,470. In 1946, he was voted Horse of the Year, the most prestigious honor in American thoroughbred