At the start of autumn in 1983, All Along was not remotely a candidate for any type of year-end award in North American Thoroughbred racing or her native France. She had not won a race all year.

Everything changed in the span of 42 days.

The previous year, the Targowice filly was unplaced in both the English and French Oaks at 3, but she proved her quality in winning the Group 1 Prix Vermeille in September 1982 in her native France. Three weeks later on soft ground at Longchamp, All Along finished 15^th and beaten by 21 lengths in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.  

Trained by Patrick Biancone for owner Daniel Wildenstein, an international art dealer, All Along had demonstrated an affinity for firmer ground so her connections targeted the Japan Cup, the second edition of the race, to close out her 3-year-old campaign. All Along led in deep stretch of the Japan Cup and held off Arc fourth-place finisher and Eclipse Award champion turf mare April Run but could not fend off the late rally of U.S.-based Half Iced, who edged All Along by a neck.

“It was a long trip and at the time it was not like travelling now,” Biancone recalled, explaining that the trip and quarantine took something out of All Along. “When she came back at 4, she did not want to get in form. She was training really average … I would even say really bad.”

All Along was well-beaten in her first two races in 1983, finishing third in a Group 3 race at Chantilly in June and seventh in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in early July. The fantastic filly flashed little of the explosiveness she had demonstrated the year before.

“We decided to give her the summer in Deauville, go to the beach, and try to get her back in the mood,” Biancone explained.

Biancone targeted the Group 3 Prix Foy in September at Longchamp as a steppingstone to the 1983 Arc de Triomphe, but even that was up in the air as the race drew near.

“The week before I said to my wife, ‘I don’t think she’s going to run because she’s not in form.’ Then after her last work, suddenly she turned around,” Biancone said. “She turned from A to Z.”

Indeed, All Along was back. She was an unlucky second of 11 in the Prix Foy, beaten by three-quarters of a length after a powerful closing rally.

All Along winning the 1983 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. (BloodHorse Library)

Three weeks later in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, All Along was even better.

Breaking from the 24^th stall in a field of 26 with a new rider in 22-year-old Walter Swinburn, All Along received little respect from the betting public at 17-1 odds but she did get her preferred firm footing. Swinburn quickly angled All Along over to save ground in the about 1 ½-mile race and capitalized when a tiring Seymour Hicks left an opening on the rail, bursting through to win by a length from English Oaks winner Sun Princess. Rider and racehorse painted a masterpiece for Wildenstein.

“On Monday I went to Mr. Wildenstein and I said, ‘You know, boss, I think we should try for that million-dollar bonus.’ ” Biancone said, referring to a seven-figure prize insured by Lloyd’s of London being offered to any horse who could sweep the Rothmans International at Woodbine, the Turf Classic at Aqueduct, and the Washington, D. C. International at Laurel Park.

“He said, ‘Patrick, you know no horse has won after winning the Arc.’ I said, ‘Yeah, because nobody runs again because it’s so late in the season, that’s the main reason. But because she came in form so late, she should be able to hold the form of this weekend for a while.’ ”

All Along winning the 1983 Rothmans International. (BloodHorse Library)

Biancone theorized that if the Arc winner went to Canada and won, the connections of U.S.-based runners would not be eager to face her in the Turf Classic. All Along took care of business by two lengths in the Rothmans International and, as Biancone predicted, she was even more dominant at Aqueduct in an 8 ¾-length runaway.

“She had no competition,” Biancone said of the Turf Classic, “it was a public gallop.”

As confident as All Along’s connections were heading into the Turf Classic, there was some concern approaching the Washington, D. C. International – her fourth start in six weeks against males in three different countries.

“It was cold, it was the end of the year, and she was starting the become a little bit tired, but nobody knew about that but me and my owner,” Biancone recalled. “It was the only race in my life I didn’t watch in the stands.”

By this point Swinburn, a baby-faced Irish rider, had developed a rapport with All Along. She typically raced near the back of the field and accelerated powerfully in the late stages of her races, but with a leisurely pace in the 1 ½-mile D.C. International, Swinburn made an early move to take the lead. All Along opened a commanding advantage and coasted to victory by 3 ¼ lengths.

“It was a crazy, crazy period, you know, especially after she won the second leg over here, the Turf Classic, because she was on ESPN every day and it was the sports story of the year at the time,” Biancone said. “To be honest with you, she won the last leg because everybody was thinking they cannot beat her and Walter Swinburn rode an unbelievable race. … It was an unbelievable riding decision and an unbelievable day.”

All Along winning the 1983 Washington, D. C. International. (BloodHorse Library)

All Along, who had not won a race in over a year entering the 1983 Arc de Triomphe, over the next six weeks swept four races at the top level against males to etch her name in the history books as the first female Horse of the Year since the advent of the Eclipse Awards. She became also the first foreign-based Horse of the Year winner, and the first to race solely on turf. Of course, Biancone recalled with a laugh, not everyone agreed with the decision to crown All Along.

“Woody Stephens was very pissed off. Woody said, ‘I cannot believe they named a filly Horse of the Year who cannot win a claiming race on the dirt.’ ”

Speaking of dirt, what became of the $1 million prize for sweeping the international turf triple? Wildenstein used the money to build a dirt surface at his training center in Chantilly, France, to help prepare for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which would launch in 1984 and become a marquee year-end event. It paid significant dividends 10 years later for Wildenstein.

“We had an architect come from Belmont to build it and a few years later he won the Breeders’ Cup with Arcangues,” Biancone said of the 133.60-1 upset winner of the 1993 Classic for Wildenstein and trainer Andre Fabre. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

All Along did not win another race after the D. C. International but remained in training in 1984. The highlights included a third-place finish in her third try in the Arc de Triomphe and a runner-up finish by a neck to Lashkari in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Turf Nov. 10, 1984, at Hollywood Park in her final start. She was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1990.

“Mr. Wildenstein was terrific. After she got Horse of the Year, she was supposed to go to the breeding shed, but the next year was the first Breeders’ Cup and he thought she would be a great advertisement for the Breeders’ Cup, so we came back the next year for the Breeders’ Cup,” Biancone said. “All Along was an amazing horse. As long as the ground was firm, she was really difficult to beat.”

For 42 days in 1983, there was not a racehorse that could touch her.

All Along won the 1983 Turf Classic at Aqueduct. (Coglianese photos)