THE GREATEST EVER ?????????

THE GREATEST EVER ?????????

The topic for this article is, who is the greatest race horse in the last 100 years ??? This answer can be debated forever without being correctly answered as there is no correct answer. The variables are many, opinions rage, facts can narrow it down but at the end of the day the answer will depend on who you ask. Some of the behind the scenes stories are quite remarkable. Timeform lays claim to trying to answer this perplexing question using a rating number system. This can also be debated. For the sake of this article I will mark my top 3 selections and place the rest in alphabetical order. I would love to hear our community’s thoughts on their top 3 horses in the last century, please reply on the post if interested.  

NO 1. Secretariat – Secretariat was the Muhammad Ali of racehorses, a brash and charismatic champ who was the breakaway winner of the 1973 Triple Crown. In 21 career starts, the big chestnut stallion finished first 16 times and earned a total of $1,316,808. He set a track record of 1:59 2/5 in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, and won the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, by an astonishing 31 lengths. After his three-year-old season he was retired to stud at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Secretariat died at the young age of 19; he was euthanized when a chronic foot disease called laminitis became too painful for him to bear. Think about this….ONE HORSE…I repeat ONE HORSE…owns ALL 3 North American TC racing records. That covers over 140 years, 420+ races and some 4,500 horses!!! The distances have remained basically the same, and considering the technical strides in training/conditioning and track surface enhancements the past half century, it is virtually unfathomable to think that ALL 3 records could continue to stand the test of time.

NO 2. Man O’ War – Arguably the best racehorse ever to set foot on a track, Man O’ War broke many records, defeated many high-class horses, and entertained thousands in the process. From his maiden through his last race with Sir Barton, Man o’ War stunned America with his speed, heart and courage. Three things that are critical to a racehorses character. Very few times do you get a horse that has all three. Man O’ War did, and that is what made him great. Man O’ War had 21 starts and 20 wins. The single loss on his record came from the Sanford Stakes, where he was turned sideways when the marsh barrier went up, causing him to place second in the race. By winning 20 of his 21 career starts, Man o’ War was as revered as any athlete in the world. He was to horse racing what Babe Ruth was to baseball and Jack Dempsey was to boxing. In his remarkable career, Man o’ War set three world records, two American records, two track records, and equaled another track standard. He won one race by an incredible 100 lengths and triumphed in another while carrying 138 pounds.

NO 3. Citation – Citation was one of the preeminent thoroughbred racehorses of all time. Blood-Horse magazine ranks him 3rd in the “Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century”; surpassed only by Secretariat at number two and Man o’ War at the top of the list, respectively. Citation won his first race as a two-year-old and when his career ended in 1951, he had become the first horse in history to earn winnings of over $1 million. In 45 career races he posted 32 firsts, 10 seconds, and two thirds.  1948 Triple Crown Champion. Rated “best three year old ever” by Eddie Arcaro. Won 27 of 29 at three and could have won the other two but was held back. Defeated the two horses he lost to above in later races. Won 16 in a row. Could run on any kind of track.

ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Abernant – Abernant is the highest rated sprinter on Timeform ratings, and joint fifth on the list overall. Abernant was reportedly described at the sales as ‘a little rat’ by none other than Fred Darling. However the colt was a great mover, which persuaded connections, including trainer Noel Murless, to purchase him. Abernant repaid them by winning fourteen of his seventeen starts, including five of six races as a two year old. Abernant’s superlative performances saw him end the season top weighted two year old in the Free Handicap. Abernant’s main weapon was his devastating speed: he pushed other horses as soon as the race began and broke many long before the finish. He ended his 3 year old season the top rated three year old on 138lbs, and joint highest overall along with brilliant stayer Alycidon. Abernant retired at the end of his four year old season with ‘nothing more to win’. He was outright champion of 1950, rated at a lofty 142lbs, the same rating as undefeated dual Arc winner Ribot. Further praise came from Richards, who described him as the fastest horse he ever rode, quite some compliment considering the champions he was associated with.

Affirmed – His lineage hints of racing royalty. He is the great-great-grandson of War Admiral, the 1937 Triple Crown winner, and great-great-great grandson of Man o’War. He had 22 wins from 29 starts, but he is best remembered for his neck-and-neck battles against Alydar — especially the 1978 Belmont Stakes in which the two horses changed leads throughout the race, with Affirmed edging his competitor by just a nose’s length in the end. He beat Spectacular Bid in the 1979 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont, but lost to Seattle Slew by three lengths in the 1978 Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap.

All Along – All Along was one of the greatest female thoroughbreds of all time. Bred in France, she won her only start at two. At three she won, among other prestigious Stakes, the classic Prix Vermeille and was runner up in the Japan Cup! But at four she amply demonstrated her uniqueness. In a 41-day period she won the Arc, the Canadian International, Aqueduct’s Turf Classic and the Washington DC International – for which she was named Horse of the Year in both the U.S. and France, and U.S. Champion Female Turf Horse. Her four starts at five included a third in the Arc and a close second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. She retired as the highest earning female in thoroughbred history ($3,018,420).

Alysheba – He was Champion Three-Year-Old Colt of 1987 and Champion Older Male and Horse of the Year in 1988. He also retired as the richest racehorse to that time with earnings of $6,679,242 and he set track records for 10f at both Belmont and The Meadowlands. His win in the KY Derby was indeed extraordinary, but don’t forget that with just two weeks to recover from that gut-buster he raced three-wide all the way through the last turn to win the Preakness. And in the BC Classic as a three-year-old he covered more ground than Lewis and Clark to go down to Ferdinand by a nostril. Yet he bounced back better than ever as a four-year-old to win six G1s, ending his career by taking the BC Classic in the slop at Churchill. His failure in the Belmont, not withstanding, Alysheba was a remarkable racehorse.

Arkle – He was the greatest steeplechaser ever to jump fences. He carried huge weights and nearly always gave 35 pounds of weight to the other horses he raced against and still beat them. He never fell and was very rarely beaten. No other steeplechaser can be compared to Arkle ,he was,quite simply ,the best there has ever been. We will never see another chaser to compare wih Arkle, he was one of a kind, a freak of nature.

Bayardo – More than a century since he raced, Bayardo still rates as one of the all-time greats. He beat the best of his generation in England in an undefeated seven-race campaign as a two-year-old in 1908. An injury-interrupted preparation contributed to his defeat in the 2,000 Guineas (4th) and the fall of another horse hampered him in the Derby (5th). He had 11 more starts at three and won them all, including the St. Leger, and he beat older horses in the Eclipse and Champion Stakes. Highlight of his 5 – 4-1-0 campaign at four was a dominating four-length victory over French champion Sea Sick II in the Ascot Gold Cup. He retired with a record of 25 – 22-1-0, having won at the highest levels of competition from 5f to 20f. The National Horse racing Museum’s website rates Bayardo as “without doubt one of the best horses of the 20th century.”

Black Caviar – Undefeated in 25 races, a success record not equaled for over 100 years. She was named WTRR World Champion Sprinter in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.  On 31 March 2011 Black Caviar was rated one of the top Thoroughbred racehorses in the world (with a 136 rating). On 3 May 2013 Black Caviar was officially listed as the world’s best horse for the period between November 1, 2012 and April 28, 2013 by the International Federation of Horse racing Authorities ( IFHA) who compile the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings. Overall Black Caviar is rated as the equal 76th best flat racing horse in Timeform’s limited history and the equal highest Timeform rated filly or mare ever.

Bold Ruler – Midway through his first season at 2, Bold Ruler was being hailed as a successor to Nashua. Both were sired by Nasrullah, trained by Fitzsimmons, and ridden by Eddie Arcaro, clearly a winning mixture. Bold Ruler began his 3-year-old campaign by breaking a track record in the Flamingo. He then captured the Preakness, set 7 furlong and 1 1/8 mile records in New York, and won four other stakes with 130 pounds or more. Bold Ruler was named Champion 3-Year-Old, Champion Sprinter, and Horse of the Year for 1957. In the Suburban at 4, Bold Ruler conceded 25 pounds to runner-up Clem and won the 1 1/4 mile race. He gave a similar performance in the 1 1/4 mile Monmouth, his final victory before injury forced his retirement.

 

Brigadier Gerard – In a racing career which lasted from June 1970 until October 1972 he won seventeen of his eighteen races and has been rated the best racehorse trained in Britain in the 20th century. He was unbeaten as a two-year-old in 1970 when his most important win came in the Middle Park Stakes. At three he was again unbeaten, defeating Mill Reef in a famous race for the 2000 Guineas and going on to win the St. James Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes, Goodwood Mile and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile, before moving up in distance to win the Champion Stakes over ten furlongs. As a four-year-old he won the Lockinge Stakes, Prince of Wales Stakes and Eclipse Stakes before moving up in distance to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over one and a half miles. Brigadier Gerard sustained his first and only defeat when beaten by Roberto in the inaugural running of the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup.

Buckpasser – Buckpasser ruled racing in 1965-1967. In 1965 he was Champion Two Year Old. In 1966 he was Horse of the Year, emulating his sire, Tom Fool, and in 1967 Best Older Horse. He ran in the money 30 of 31 times, 25 times 1st. Buckpasser, known for blazing speed in the stretch, set the World’s Record for the mile at Arlington Park in 1966. He was leading money winner for 2 straight years (1965, 1966) and was syndicated for stud for a then record $4,800,000.

Carbine– His success as racehorse and as an international sire has become history. He was much revered in his life time. He was so successful on and off the track that his skeleton has been displayed at the museum in Australia and New Zealand. Carbine had a remarkable racing career scoring 33 wins out of 43 starts including six seconds and three thirds. He failed only once in his career and that was due to his split hoof. He was popular among punters and commentators eulogize him for his stamina, speed, weight carrying ability and remarkable gameness. He was fondly nicknamed Old Jack by his fans. At the age of two, Carbine was invincible in five starts in top class races in New Zealand. He went to Australia where he was the winner of 13 starts at the age of three. At that time he won the AJC Sydney Cup of two miles carrying about 5 kg over weight for his age. Carbine won by a head in 3 min 31 seconds in spite of the fact that he suffered interference and pushed back to last place. That era was different in terms of horse racing. Race times were slower, tracks used were very rough and jockeys rode their mount in an upright posture. Carbine’s owner cum trainer Dan O’Brien sold him for 3,000 guineas at the end of age 3. He was taken to Australia to face racing in Melbourne and Sydney. Carbine’s new trainer Walter Hickenbotham trained him to break the records when he was four. As a four year old he won two races on a single day. Carbine’s most prominent victory was the Melbourne Cup in 1890. He broke the weight record with 66 kg. Carbine defeated Highborn having 24 kg weight advantage. He was kept out of the 1891 Melbourne Cup due to a heel injury. Finally, Carbine was retired to Wallace’s stud.

Colin – Colin was in the hands of the best trainer in the United States and under his diligent care became one of the greatest horses of the Twentieth century.  Colin began his career at Belmont Park on May 29, 1907.  Sent off the betting favorite as he would be in all 15 career starts Colin bested 22 rivals.  Three days later he broke the track record for 5 furlongs at Belmont Park in the National Stakes.  Four days later Colin dueled from start to finish over a muddy track to win the Eclipse Stakes. After a three week break Colin returned to the track to win the Great Trial Stakes defeating 13 rivals without exerting much effort.  Next up was the Brighton Junior Stakes in which Colin just missed breaking the track record.  At Saratoga Colin won the Saratoga Special and Grand Union Hotel Stakes then at Sheapshead Bay he won the Futurity and Flatbush (tying the track record).  Colin finished the year with three more easy wins in the Produce Stakes, Matron and Champagne in which he set an American record for 7 furlongs on a straightaway at Belmont Park. Colin was voted Horse of the Year for 1907. Colin returned to the track for his three year old debut in the Withers Stakes and won for the 13th time in 13 tries.  Rowe pointed Colin for the Belmont Stakes a week later but after a workout he was found to have bowed a tendon.  Against the trainers wishes Colin was sent to the starting gate by is owner.  In a terrible rainstorm Colin went to the lead and held on by a desperate head.  Three weeks later Colin made his final start winning the Tidal Stakes. Colin, like is his sire and grand sire, was inducted into the Hall of Fame but the greatest compliment paid to him was by his trainer.  Rowe trained 34 champions during his Hall of Fame career but he considered Colin to be the best of them all and was quoted as saying that on his tombstone he wanted only these words: “He Trained Colin.”

Count Fleet – He was a “freak” before the label was coined. He crushed his opponents by huge margins, galloping ahead of the pack, daring someone to catch him, and knowing no one could. In his racing debut on June 1, 1942, Count Fleet was left in the gate trailing the field by 50 yards, but still managed to rally for a second-place showing. It all came together in the Champagne where he set a track record when he ran beyond 6 1/2 furlongs for the first time and was timed for the mile in 1:34 4/5, a record for a 2-year-old that stood for 23 years. Count Fleet equaled the track record in the Pimlico Futurity and romped in the Walden by 30 lengths. After a blistering workout (1:08 1/5) a few days before the Belmont Futurity, Count Fleet ran a disappointing third. He never lost again. As per jockey Johnny Longden “I rode every one of his 21 races, carried a whip but never dared use it,” “He might have taken off so fast he’d have left me behind. The key was to get him out on top, give him the racetrack, and let him run. It was what he loved to do more than anything else.” 

Dahlia – Rarely has one horse had an impact in international horse racing comparable to this great mare. Before the Breeders’ Cup, the Dubai World Cup and the Japan Cup made multi-hemispheric horse traveling a reality, Dahlia was a one-horse road show. And what a show! She won G1s in five countries (France, Ireland, England, Canada and the US); the first horse to do so. She was the first mare to top $1 million in earnings. She won down the 5f straight course at Deauville and won multiple G1s from 10f to 12f, racing clockwise and anti-clockwise, defeating Derby winners and Arc winners. She was the UK Horse of the Year at three and four and earned divisional champion honors in Europe, Ireland and the US. There have been few greater female thoroughbreds than Dahlia at her best!

Damascus – Damascus’ career record speaks for itself. He won at distances of six furlongs, seven furlongs, one mile, a mile and 70 yards, 1 1/16 miles, 1 1/8 miles, 1 3/16 miles, 1 1/4 miles, 1 1/2 miles, and two miles. In all, he won stakes at eight different distances. He ran seven furlongs in 1:21 1/5 (Malibu Stakes), 1 1/8 miles in a track-record 1:46 4/5 (American Derby), and 1 1/4 miles in a track-record 1:59 1/5 under 130 pounds (Brooklyn Handicap). He also equaled the track record for 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga in the Travers, coming from 16 lengths back in the slop to win eased up by 22 lengths. And only two horses – Kelso and Prove Out – have won the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup in faster time. In the Woodward, billed as the Race of the Century, he demolished Horses of the Year and future Hall of Famers Buckpasser and Dr. Fager by 10 lengths. Twice at 4 he carried 134 pounds to victory. In one of those, the Aqueduct Stakes, he gave major stakes winner More Scents 20 pounds.

Dr. Fager – It wasn’t just his 18 wins from 22 starts that allowed Dr. Fager to leave his mark on U.S. horse racing. As of 2013, he remains the only horse to hold four titles in one year. He did it in 1968 when he was named horse of the year, champion handicap horse, champion sprinter and co-champion grass horse. That same year, he set a still-standing dirt track record for the one mile length in his run in the Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park while carrying 134 pounds.

Easy Goer – Superbly bred horse with a race record to match. Never finished out of a place, 20—14-5-1. Won at G1 level each year he raced (2, 3 and 4). And won at the elite level from 7f to 12f. Possessed exceptional speed and stamina. At 2 won his maiden over 7f at Saratoga in 1:22 3/5 followed by an Allowance win over 6.5f at Belmont in 1:15 2/5 (1/5 off the track record) – performances described by the NY Times as “extraordinarily quick.” Then won the G1 Cowdin in a manner causing the NYT to describe him as “something special” and won the G1 Champagne (8f) in the “brilliant time” (NYT) of 1:34 4/5 – only three Champagne winners have gone faster. The next year he cruised to a 13-length victory in the Gotham, then over 8f at Aqueduct, in 1:32 2/5 – the fastest mile ever by a 3yo, shattering Secretariat’s stakes record (by a full second) and missing Dr. Fager’s world record, “the most hallowed standard of time in American racing” (NYT), by just one-fifth of a second. After easily accounting for the Wood Memorial, EG was upset by Sunday Silence in both the KY Derby and the Preakness but got his revenge by annihilating his nemesis in the Belmont in 2:26, a time surpassed only by Secretariat’s incomparable Belmont. Sunday Silence beat him again in the BC Classic but not before EG went on a unique G1 spree winning the Travers and beating the best older horses in the Whitney, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. At 4 he won the G1 Suburban, giving his opponents 12 to 19 lbs., before injury forced his retirement.

Equipoise – “Ranked by many as a greater race horse than Man O’ War.” – George Kirksey, United Press correspondent, reporting on Equipoise’s win in the Arlington Hcp on 22 July 1933, as published in the Pittsburgh Press (and elsewhere) on 23 July 1933. In reference to Equipoise’s world record mile, the official chart of the race said he “went to the front easily and had something to spare.” John Hervey, the famous racing historian of that era, wrote that not only had Equipoise won “without having been asked for his best” but that “non-official watches [showed] even faster time than that announced.” It sounds like a much easier win than Queally showing Frankel the whip over most of the last 3f of the Guineas and whipping him at least four times. Re the post immediately below: Equipoise’s world record mile was run on a one-turn dirt track where he spent 2f negotiating a U-turn. Frankel did his down a straight one-mile turf track. Big advantage going straight versus going around an oval’s turn. Equipoise’s world record mile of 1:34 2/5 or, converting it to tenths of seconds, 1:34.4, was 2.9 seconds faster than Frankel’s fastest mile of 1:37.3. That’s a margin of 14.5 lengths! And Equipoise ran his fastest mile 79 years earlier than Frankel ran his! He was named both Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year that year, 1932, was given the same two honors again in 1933 and was named Champion Older Horse yet again in 1934. Heck of a racehorse!

Exterminator  The Binghamton Press, reporting the death of Exterminator on Wed., Sep. 26, 1945: “It was comparatively recently that Colonel [Matt J.] Winn, head of Churchill Downs and an acknowledged authority on horseflesh, ranked Exterminator as ‘the greatest all-around American thoroughbred I ever saw.’ He said he based his choice on ‘speed, courage, stamina, intelligence and perhaps more important, durability’.” Grand old horse who exhibited rare durability and longevity. Won as a two-year-old and as a nine-year-old, and every year in between! Won the KY Derby at three and was U.S. Horse of the Year at seven! Was U.S. Champion Older Male Horse at five, six and seven. Won the then prestigious Saratoga Cup a unique four straight years. The Hall of Fame website, and other sources, suggest his 33 Stakes wins remains a record to this day. Long after Exterminator finally retired, Hall of Fame jockey Willie Knapp, who rode him in his early years and later trained him, said: “When he was at his best Exterminator could have beaten Man o’ War or Citation or Kelso or any other horse that ever lived …” Knapp had a unique credibility in making that comparison to Man o’ War: he was the only jockey to have beaten Man o’ War when he rode Upset to victory in the 1919 Sanford at Saratoga.

Forego – Born on 30 April 1970, Forego was an incredibly successful thoroughbred racehorse in America. During the course of his career, the bay gelding won the Woodward Stakes four times, the Brooklyn Handicap three times, the Widener Handicap and the Metropolitan Handicap twice in a row and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Carter Handicap, the Suburban Handicap and the Marlboro Cup once. He also ran and won a number of other, less prestigious races. He was owned and bred by Mrs. Martha Gerry’s Lazy F Ranch, trained by three different trainers over the years and raced by two main jockeys. Forego was born in the same year as racing great Secretariat, and while Secretariat was a comfortable and fast three-year-old, Forego was still growing into his immense body. This meant that many of his early races were not all that successful. His size and unruly behavior also led to him being gelded so that he could be raced more successfully. Thus, his three-year-old year was dismal but he soon started to shine as a four-year-old. During his time spent on the racetrack, Forego started 57 times and won 34 races. He also placed in nine races and came in third seven times. By the time his racing career ended he had earned a massive $1,938,957. He was also noted for his versatility, winning anything from 7 furlongs to 2 miles. He was also often weighted with as much as 130 pounds because of his immense size but still he became a champion handicap horse. Some of the racing awards he received are US Champion Sprint Horse (1974), US Champion Older Male (1974–1977) and US Horse of the Year (1974-1976). He was inducted into the US Racing Hall of Fame in 1979 and is ranked as 8th on the list of Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th

Frankel – Frankel was unbeaten in his fourteen-race career and was the highest-rated racehorse in the world from May 2011. In 2010 he won on debut before winning the Royal Lodge Stakes by ten lengths and the Dewhurst Stakes. As a three-year-old, he won the 2000 Guineas by six lengths, won the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. Frankel extended his unbeaten record in 2012 by winning the Lockinge Stakes, the Queen Anne Stakes and the Sussex Stakes for a second time. In August he was moved up to a mile and a quarter for the first time and won the International Stakes at York. In October he won the Champion Stakes at Ascot, again over a mile and a quarter, following which his retirement from racing was announced. After his win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October 2011, Frankel was given a rating of 143 by Timeform, the highest mark awarded by the organization in over forty years and their fourth highest of all time behind Sea Bird, Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstral.  In June 2012, following his win in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, Timeform raised his provisional rating to 147, making him the highest-rated horse in the organization’s history. In January 2013 Timeform announced that his final rating at the end of his racing career was also 147.The World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings Committee rank Frankel as the best racehorse they have assessed since their ratings were introduced in 1977, by a margin of two points. In January 2013 they announced that their ratings had been re calibrated, since it was believed that in the early years of the scheme horses had been treated more generously than more recently. Frankel’s rating was confirmed at 140. Since 1900, of British-bred racehorses only Ribot has won more races and finished his career unbeaten. Frankel’s record of nine consecutive Group 1 wins is unsurpassed and has been equaled only by the U.S.A. filly Zenyatta. Frankel’s performance in the 2000 Guineas has been described as “one of the greatest displays on a British racecourse”. British bloodstock agency McKeever Bloodstock and Banstead Manor Stud Manager Philip Mitchell have suggested that Frankel has a valuation of £100 million, an estimate which may be “conservative”.

Gallant Fox – As Gallant Fox left the racetrack and headed for stud, where he would become the only Triple Crown winner to sire a Triple Crown winner (Omaha), The Blood-Horse wrote of him: “Since the retirement of Man o’ War no horse has captured the imagination of the American public as has Gallant Fox. After a relatively light campaign as a two-year-old, he swept like a meteor across the racing sky of 1930 and when he was retired for all times after his bloodless triumph in the Jockey Club Gold Cup he was more than a racehorse – he was an institution.” Gallant Fox not only won the Triple Crown in 1930, he won every important sophomore Stakes race except the Travers in which, famously, he was runner-up to 100-to-1 shot Jim Dandy. His 10 – 9-1-0 season saw him sweep the Wood Memorial, Preakness, KY Derby, Belmont, Arlington Classic, Dwyer and Lawrence Realization before conquering older foes in the Saratoga Cup and Jockey Club Gold Cup. He retired as a three-year-old with the highest earnings of any thoroughbred to that time, $328,165. In 17 career starts he thus had average earnings per start of $19,303 … a stunning statistic for that time.

Isinglass – Britain’s top juvenile of 1892, Isinglass went on to win the Triple Crown the following year. But coming back in distance from the 12f of the St. Leger, he ended his three-year-old campaign with the only defeat of his career when runner-up in the 8f Lancashire Plate. At 4 he won the Princess of Wales’s, Eclipse and Jockey Club Stakes. And he won the Ascot Gold Cup at 5. He retired 12 – 11-1-0, winning at distances from 5f to 20f, winning what are now G1s each year he raced (2, 3, 4 and 5), and earning 58,655 pounds which stood as the world record for 28 years (surpassed by Zev in 1923) and the UK record for 57 years (surpassed by Tulyar in 1952). This was a great racehorse!

Invasor – Bred in Argentina, he initially raced in Uruguay where he was unbeaten in five starts including that country’s three-year-old Triple Crown. Bought by Sheikh Hamdan he was whisked off Dubai where he suffered his only defeat in the UAE Derby. As a four-year-old he rattled off five straight G1 wins in the US culminating with his triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Then he won a sixth straight G1 in the Dubai World Cup. His career comprised: 12 races, on seven different tracks, on three continents, 11 wins (nine G1) over distances from 5.5f to 12.5f, earnings of US$7.8 million, and US Horse of the Year honors.

John Henry  – After a very inauspicious start, John Henry’s career spiraled in high gear for 4 years with wins in important races like the Santa Anita Handicap (twice) and the Arlington Million (twice plus a second place finish) with success at the highest levels of competition on both dirt and turf. He went out a winner in 1984 at age 9 with four straight stakes wins. The plan was for him to race in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Turf, but an injury forced his retirement only a month before that race. A brief attempt was made at a comeback when he was 10 years old, but the injury flared up again and his retirement was made permanent.John Henry’s final record was 83 starts, 39 wins, 15 seconds, and 9 thirds with $6,497,947 in earnings. He won seven Eclipse Awards from 1980 through 1984 including Horse of the Year twice. At the time of his retirement, he was the highest money earning thoroughbred of all time.

Kelso –  1960-1964 Horse of the Year, five time Jockey Club Gold Cup winner for 2 miles against the best horses in the world. Still holds the record for 2 miles and also holds the record for 1 1/2 miles on turf at 2:23 4/5 faster than Secretariat’s Belmont, carried over 130 lbs 24 times. Handicap Triple Crown winner, won 39 of 63, placing in the money 54 times. Ranked best horse of any age by Eddie Arcaro who rode two Triple Crown winners, Citation and Whirlaway. Not to take away from other greats, Kelso proved himself for six years against the 60,000 thoroughbred’s in the world by becoming the highest money winner. No other horse in history duplicates Kelso’s record.

Kingston Town – He is the only horse to win the Cox Plate three times. Kingston Town won 30 races from 41 starts and retired with prize money totaling in excess of $1.6 in the 1980’s. An inaugural inductee into horse racing’s Hall Of Fame Kingston Town had serious leg injuries for much of his career, and only raced during the spring in Melbourne during his last three years of racing. Any talk of Australasia’s greatest racehorses will always see the wonderful black horse, Kingston Town at the forefront of any discussion. One of the original five inductees into Australian Horse Racing’s Hall Of Fame, Kingston Town won 30 races, including 14 Group 1 events, and was the first million dollar earner of the Australian turf.

Ksar – Ksar was the first horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice – in 1921, as a three-year-old, and again in 1922. He won what became G1 races each year he raced (2, 3 and 4), including the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) and the Prix Royal-Oak (St. Leger). He retired with career stats of 15 – 11-3-0. Some reports say he surpassed Isinglass’s world record earnings but other reports dispute that. It is indisputable, however, that Ksar was one of Europe’s greatest racehorses in the period between the World Wars.

Miesque – A dual G1 winner as a juvenile in France, she was that country’s Champion Two-Year-Old-Filly in 1986. At three she won the English 1,000 Guineas and the French equivalent, the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, before devastating a field of mostly older males in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Hollywood Park in a track record 1:32 4/5. At four she continued to win at the highest level in France before returning to the US to score another devastating victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs – the first horse to win two BC races. She never finished off the board (16 – 12-3-1) with 10 of her 12 wins being G1s. In her three seasons of racing she won nine end-of-year Champion awards on two continents.

Mill Reef – Mill Reef remains the only racehorse ever to win the Derby, Eclipse, King George and Prix de L`Arc de Triomphe. He won 12 of his 14 races. His record of six consecutive Group One victories lasted for thirty years until Rock of Gibraltar equaled and then bettered it in 2002. Although Mill Reef`s first race was a five furlong event at Salisbury in May 1970, he showed some of genius to come by slamming the 2-9 Lester Piggott ridden favorite Fireside Chat by four lengths. Stepped up in class Mill Reef then won the six furlong Coventry Stakes at Ascot by eight lengths. His next race was the Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Lafitte and there Mill Reef suffered one of the only two defeats of his career when beaten a short head by My Swallow, ridden by Lester Piggott. Back in England, Mill Reef then proceeded to win three of the most prestigious two year old races on the calendar – the six furlong Gimcrack Stakes at York, the six furlong Imperial Stakes at Kempton and, in his last race of the season, the seven furlong Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. His 10 length win in the Gimcrack was widely regarded as the outstanding performance by a two year old all season and Mill Reef was given 9 stone 6 pounds in the Free Handicap, one pound behind My Swallow and one pound ahead of Brigadier Gerard. He was one of the winter favorites for both the 2000 Guineas and the Derby. By the end of 1970 Mill Reef, sporting his distinctive white nose-band, had made Mr Mellon`s colors of black with a gold cross at the front and back a familiar sight in the winners enclosures following the leading two year old races. The British racing public had enjoyed a special year with Nijinsky winning the Triple Crown. 1971 was to be Mill Reef`s year. This was a vintage time in English horse racing. Mill Reef started favorite at 6/4 with My Swallow at 2-1 and Brigadier Gerard at 11/2. Others in the six horse field included Minsky, the much touted brother of Nijinsky. At the time Brigadier Gerard`s three length victory over Mill Reef may have been seen as a bit of an upset but Brigadier Gerard is now regarded, with Tudor Minstrel, as one of the top milers in Britain since the Second World War. Mill Reef was never beaten again, going on to win six Group One races in a row.

Nashua – He won his first race, a maiden, and his last race, the Jockey Club Gold Cup – his second successive victory in that prestigious event. He won from 5f to 16f. He equaled the 6f track record at Belmont, set a new 9.5f track record at Pimlico in the Preakness and broke the track and North American record for 16f in his second JCGC at Belmont. Nashua was the second thoroughbred to reach $1 million in earnings (after Citation) and retired in 1956 as the breed’s richest performer to that time with a career bank of $1,288,565. He was also the first thoroughbred sold for a seven-figure amount when a breeding syndicate bought him, while still racing, for $1,251,200. His 8 – 6-2-0 juvenile campaign saw him voted US Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. He dominated US racing at three, setting a new sophomore earnings record ($752,550), shattering the Preakness record, winning the Belmont by 9 lengths, beating some of the best older horses in the first of his two Jockey Club Gold Cup victories, and – most notably – reversing his loss to Swaps in the KY Derby by thrashing the Derby winner in their famous match race in Chicago. He was voted US Champion Three-Year-Old Colt and Horse of the Year.

Native Dancer – In his three-year career spanning 1952 through 1954, Native Dancer lost only one race: The 1953 Kentucky Derby, thus costing him the Triple Crown. He had 21 wins from 22 starts in his nearly perfect career, which was cut short by a foot injury. Despite the 1953 Derby loss, he was named that year’s Champion Three Year Old Colt by the thoroughbred racing association. T.V. Guide gave his second place to Ed Sullivan as the biggest attraction on television. Horse racing legend dictates his ghost still haunts Churchill Downs — the home of the Kentucky Derby.

Nearco – Although his impact on the breed as a pre-potent sire is beyond measure, Nearco certainly deserves consideration among the “Best Racehorses of All Times.” Bred by the legendary thoroughbred geneticist Federico Tesio, this colt was the dominant two- and three-year-old on the continent in 1937 and ’38. He won all 14 of his starts, including Italy’s premier contest for juveniles and its equivalent of the 2,000 Guineas and Derby at three. Nearco concluded his career by winning his only race outside Italy, the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. He won at distances from 5f to 15f.

Nijinsky – In 2000, British racing aficionados voted Nijinsky as their Horse of the Millennium. It was a tremendous honor considering that so many great horses have made their mark on the British horse racing scene over the last century. But the 2000 poll conducted by the Sun newspaper spoke loud and clear — Nijinsky was the horse the people loved the most. Greatness was stamped on Nijinsky II almost from the time the colt took his first unsteady steps. He was a son of Northern Dancer and Flaming Page, both winners of The Queen’s Plate. He was bred by E. P. Taylor, owned by Charles Englehard, who purchased him for $84,000, a record price for a domestic yearling at the 1968 CTHS sales at Woodbine, and trained by Vincent O’Brien. During a brilliant 13-race career he became the first English Triple Crown winner (St. Leger, Two Thousand Guineas, Epsom Derby) in 35 years; set a European earnings’s record of $677,177; was Europe’s Horse of the Year in 1970 and was syndicated for a then world-record $5.4 million.

Northern Dancer –  Northern Dancer’s win in the ’64 KY Derby (2:00.00) was the fastest Run for the Roses to that time. His record was not surpassed until Secretariat’s incomparable 1:59.4, nine years later. Even now, 50 years on, Northern Dancer’s is still the third fastest winning time in KY Derby history. Horse was tough as nails, Canada’s greatest ever

Ormonde – Was there ever a better racehorse, anywhere, than Ormonde? The English-bred colt won at the highest level in his homeland every year he raced (2, 3 and 4) and retired having won all 16 of his starts including the 1886 English Triple Crown. He beat the best horses of his age group and his era, at distances from 6f to 16f, often giving his high-class opponents significant weight advantages.

Phar Lap – Decades after his death, Phar Lap remains Australia’s most famous racehorse: an ungainly chestnut gelding whose great stamina helped him win 37 of his 51 races between 1929 and 1932. Phar Lap was born in New Zealand and purchased for the bargain price of 160 pounds by trainer Harry Telford and American owner David Davis in 1927. The horse repaid them by winning over 66,000 pounds in purse money during his career. Phar Lap was the favorite in the prestigious Melbourne Cup race three times, winning in 1930 and becoming a national hero in the process. After the 1931 Cup he was shipped to America to face new competition for bigger stakes. He won his first race, at Agua Calienti in Mexico, but never raced again: in April of 1932 he died suddenly at a ranch in California. An autopsy indicated gastric trouble, but the precise cause has never been perfectly clear; many Australians believed the rumour that Phar Lap had been poisoned by enemies in the American racing industry. A scientific study in 2008 indicated that Phar Lap had indeed died of arsenic poison, though it was unclear whether the overdose had been malicious or accidental. After Phar Lap’s death, his heart was found to weigh 6.2 kilograms (about 14 pounds) — roughly 50% larger than a typical racehorse’s heart. The champion’s hide was stuffed and returned to the National Museum in Melbourne, where he has remained a popular exhibit for decades.

Pretty Polly – Irish-bred Pretty Polly was one of the great mares of all time. Her 24 – 22-2-0 record included an undefeated nine-race juvenile season in England when she twice beat top colt St. Amant (who would win the 2,000 Guineas and Derby the next year). At three she won the 1,000 Guineas in record time, the Epsom Oaks and then deprived St. Amant of the Triple Crown by beating him in the St. Leger in record time. Her 15-race win streak ended with a harrowing trip to Paris and a second in the Prix du Conseil Municipal while giving weight to older males. At four she won the Coronation Cup, in record time that stood for 23 years. At five she won the Coronation again but suffered her second defeat when runner up in the Ascot Gold Cup, her last race.

Regret – In a short but sensationally successful career, Regret proved to be one of America’s greatest female racehorses. She was unbeaten at two, still the only filly to have won Saratoga’s storied trio of juvenile stakes: the Saratoga Special, Sanford and Hopeful. She beat colts in all three races including that year’s top juvenile male Pebbles. In her first start at three she beat Pebbles again, this time in the Kentucky Derby – the first filly to win the Run for the Roses. In her only other start at three she beat Belmont Stakes winner and champion colt of that year, The Finn, in the Saranac. Thus she was unbeaten at two and three, beat colts in all five starts and defeated the champion colt of each year. She suffered her first defeat, and only off-the-board finish, at four. But she came back to win three of her four starts at five, her only loss being by a nose in the Brooklyn – a race that featured three KY Derby winners and two Horses of the Year, and was run in US record time. No female ever finished in front of her.

Ribot – The bay thoroughbred known as Ribot, born in Great Britain in 1952, was one of the most dominant racehorses of his era, winning all 16 races he participated in. During his first three years, Ribot rules the racecourses of Italy, where he was a champion as a two-year-old, three-year-old and four-year-old. When Ribot turned four, he would extend his reign overseas as well, becoming the Older Horse champion in both his native England and France. Ribot won the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe two years in a row, 1955 and 1956, as well as the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1956.Among his other impressive victories are wins at the Gran Criterium (1954), the Gran Premio del Jockey Club (1955), and the Gran Premio di Milano (1956). Ribot also received a host of honors, including a number three ranking in the Top 100 Horses in the World list compiled by Timeform. Ribot was also named as the fourth greatest athlete — not just horse, but athlete — in Italy in the 20th century, according to a poll conducted by La Gazzetta dello Sport among sports fans. In addition, the annual Premio Ribot race at the Capannelle Racecourse in Italy was named in his honor.

Round Table – He won at the highest level every year he raced (2 thru 5) compiling a 66 – 43-8-5 record, became only the third American thoroughbred to top $1 million in earnings ($1.75 million), set or equaled 14 track records and was US Champion Turf Horse in three consecutive years and Champion Turf Horse, Champion Male Handicap Horse and Horse of the Year in 1958. This is the record of a genuine champion! Retired in 1959 as the richest thoroughbred of all time with earnings of $1,749,869 and although best remembered for his dominance on grass (US Champion Turf Horse in three successive years) he also won at the highest level, in record times, on dirt. Had he better handled off tracks he would have been in the Top 10 of all time.

Ruffian – Ruffian is considered by many to be the greatest female thoroughbred racehorse of all time. Ruffian was bred and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Janney on their Locust Hill Farm. She was born at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky from some breeding stock which the Janneys kept there. A dark bay or brown filly, Ruffian was sired by the Bold Ruler stallion Reviewer and out of the Native Dancer mare Shenanigans and was trained by Frank Whitely. Nicknamed “Queen of the Fillies” after being named Two-Year-Old Filly of the Year in 1974 and winning the Filly Triple Crown in 1975 Ruffian was undefeated in her first ten races, covering distances from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/2 miles. Her eleventh and final race, run at Belmont Park in 1975, was a match race between Ruffian and that year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure. This heavily anticipated race was attended by more than 50,000 spectators, with an estimated 18 million watching on television. Unwilling to give up the race, Ruffian was in front by half a length when both sesamoid bones in her right foreleg snapped. During surgery Ruffian was euthanized. Ruffian is buried near the finish line in the infield at Belmont Park. It is often said, “she died on the lead.”

Seabiscuit  – He was shipped fifty thousand railroad miles to compete at twenty-three tracks in nearly every major handicap race. … Seabiscuit ran eighty-nine times at sixteen different distances … regularly conceding twenty to thirty-five pounds to his foes. … Even with those handicaps, he set a stunning fifteen track records, equaled another, and amassed world record earnings. He whipped virtually every elite horse of his era, including the mighty Triple Crown winner War Admiral.” He usually carried more weight than any other horse he was racing against, Seabiscuit had a true racing heart. A smallish horse with an ungainly stride, Seabiscuit became a public favorite while winning 33 of his 89 career starts and amassing a then-record $437,730 in career prize money. His stirring match race victory over Triple Crown winner War Admiral, on November 1, 1938, was one of the great sporting events of its day and made Seabiscuit a popular hero: according to Laura Hillenbrand‘s 2001 book Seabiscuit, the horse received the most newspaper coverage of any public figure in 1938. Hillenbrand’s book was a huge hit and gave fresh life to the Seabiscuit legend, prompting a 2003 movie starring Tobey Maguire as hard-luck jockey Red Pollard and Jeff Bridges as owner Charles Howard. Seabiscuit was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1958.

Sea Bird II – Sea Bird was given a rating of 145, the highest rating ever given to a colt by Timeform and thus was officially the greatest racehorse of the last century. Sea Bird has strong claims for being rated the greatest horse of the last century. Those present at Longchamp the day he won the  Prix del’Arc de Triomphe thought it was the greatest performance ever by a racehorse. They simply couldn’t believe that such a performance could be surpassed. At the end of the race, he received the greatest ovation ever given to a racehorse in France resembling the reception given to Napoleon after gaining a famous victory. Enough said.

Seattle Slew – Seattle Slew will always be remembered as a great racehorse. He was the first and only undefeated Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner. His victories included the Champagne, Flamingo, Wood Memorial, Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Marlboro Cup (over Affirmed), and Woodward. He retired after his four year old season with 14 wins in 17 starts and earnings of $1,208,726, winning championships in each season including Horse of the Year in 1977. Not bad for a $17,500 purchase! “Every time he ran he was an odds-on favorite, and the response to his presence on the racetrack, either for a morning workout or a major race, was electric. ‘Slewmania’ was a virulent and widespread condition.”

Spectacular Bid – He was named American Horse of the Year in 1980 when, as a four-year-old, he ran nine races undefeated. He won the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 1979, but faltered in the Belmont Stakes due to a hoof injury caused the morning of the race when the horse stepped on a safety pin. In 1980, he ran California’s Santa Anita Park Grub Stakes mile and quarter in 1:57.8 — a new world record for dirt track horse racing.

Spectre –  No list of the best ever racehorses is complete without the filly Spectre very high up. She is still the only three-year-old to win four English classics outright: the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks and St. Leger. [Formosa won the same four classics in 1868 but dead-heated in the 2,000 Guineas]. Spectre finished fourth in the 1902 Derby after being left at the start. Several times she competed in major events one and two days apart, such as the two Guineas, the Derby and Oaks and the Coronation Stakes and St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. A dual Stakes winner at two and a four-time Classic winner at three, she went on to win the Hardwicke, Jockey Club, Duke of York and Champion Stakes at four.

Sunday Silence – In 1989 he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Crown when he was defeated in the Belmont Stakes. Later in the same year he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and was voted American Champion 3 Year Old Colt and American Horse of the Year.

Swaps – A powerfully built yet gracefully gaited galloper whose seemingly effortless skimming-the-surface style of going no doubt contributed to his phenomenal world record speed. When injury forced his retirement as a four-year-old , Swaps had set five world records and equaled another – from 8f to 13f – a feat still unique in thoroughbred history. Looking at it another way: in six of his 19 career wins (31.5%), he set or equaled world records. It has to be said that these records were on historically fast dirt tracks – five at Hollywood Park in California and one at Gulfstream Park in Florida. But at three, in the American Derby at Arlington Park in Illinois, Swaps also equaled the U.S. grass record for 9.5f. And in at least two other starts he set track records. Thus in nine of his 19 career wins (a mind-boggling 47%) he set or equaled world, U.S. or track records. Astonishing!

Sysonby –  Sysonby was America’s first “great horse” of the 20th century. He was the Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1904, winning five of six starts. It is widely recorded that after his one defeat – third in the Futurity Stakes – his groom admitted drugging him. In his first start at three he took on older horses in the Metropolitan and dead-heated with a five-year-old to whom he gave 10 lbs. He was never headed in his remaining eight starts of 1905. He didn’t race in what subsequently became coveted as the Triple Crown races, but he beat the KY Derby winner of that year both times they met (each time by five lengths) and the Belmont winner (also by five lengths). He was named Champion Three-Year-Old Colt of 1905 and Horse of the Year. He died before he could resume racing in 1906. His skeleton is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in NY. A panel assembled by Sports Illustrated in 1992 to determine “the greatest [U.S.] horses in racing history” ranked Sysonby #6.

 

Tom Fool – Tom Fool was America’s dominant juvenile of 1951, his five wins and two seconds from seven starts earning him Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors. At three he had the monumental misfortune to fall sick at the wrong time and miss the Triple Crown. It took him until September to regain full health when he won the Jerome Hcp by seven lengths. At four he was untouchable, winning all 10 of his starts, from 5.5f to 10f, including the New York Handicap Triple Crown (Metropolitan, Suburban and Brooklyn). This earned him three year-end honors in 1953: Champion Sprinter, Champion Older Horse, and Horse of the Year.

Tulloch – Foaled in 1954, Tulloch was a hero to the nation renowned for its love of punting. He broke many records, and established a legacy that only a few Thoroughbred horses have equaled or surpassed. Tulloch was trained by the legendary Tommy Smith, he compiled a career racing record of 36 wins, 12 seconds, and 4 third place finishes. Only once in his fifty-three starts did he fail to place. The most remarkable aspect of this record is that Tulloch did this despite almost dying from an undiagnosed digestive disorder that caused severe weight loss and constant recurring infections. This illness caused him to miss two years during what could reasonably be considered prime racing age.

War Admiral – In a sport where long legs mean covering more ground in each stride, his smaller than usual stature was no impairment for War Admiral. He was a mere 15.3 hands, significantly shorter than his champion father Man o’War at 16.2. While he didn’t get height from his father, War Admiral did inherit Man o’War’s fighting spirit and talent for running. He won 21 of his 26 starts, including the 1937 Triple Crown.

Whirlaway – Joe Palmer wrote of Whirlaway in The Blood-Horse: “He carries in his armament the deadliest weapon a thoroughbred can have – an annihilating burst of speed which he can apparently turn on at any stage of a race.” First horse to earn half-a-million dollars and retired in 1943 as the highest earning racehorse to that time with $561,161 in his career bank. Whirlaway broke the KY Derby record which had stood for 10 years and his record, 2:01 2/5, stood for 21 years. Of the 11 U.S. Triple Crown winners, only three of them were awarded the ultimate accolade, Horse of the Year, twice: Affirmed at 3 and 4; Secretariat at 2 and 3; and Whirlaway at 3 and 4.

Zarkava – Undefeated champion whose wins included the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. As of November 2008, Zarkava was the world’s #2 ranked horse by the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (www.IFHAonline.org) and #1 in the world by RaceHorseOwner.com The UK’s Daily Mail reported that in addition to being the first filly to win the Arc in 15 years, she was the first three-year-old filly to win since 1982 and the first of either sex to win the great race from her post position since 1964.

Zenyatta – The mighty 17-hand Zenyatta, re-wrote racing history in 2009 by beating an all-male field to become the first filly ever to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Indomitable on the track, this “super filly” won 19 consecutive races in her 20 race career, outperforming former consecutive win record holders Cigar and Citation and equaling the record of the great Eclipse, for whom racing’s highest honors are named. Despite a superior effort, Zenyatta was bested by a head in her final race in the 2010 Breeder’s Cup Classic. For her achievements, she was named the 2010 Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards, in addition to picking up her third Eclipse Award for Top Older Female.

Well, there we are. Each and every horse here is worthy of being on the list and there are others that will also lay claim to be among them. All of these great animals have their own amazing tales not really touched on here, well worth reading for those interested. I hope the community enjoyed a small stroll down memory lane and maybe get a better feel for their breeding options with future prospects.

          Greg (gcliffo)