{"id":2745,"date":"2006-07-21T17:57:48","date_gmt":"2006-07-21T17:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=2745"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=2745","title":{"rendered":"The Fastest Horse In The (Sim) World"},"content":{"rendered":"

One day in the summer of 2003, I was watching \u201cThoroughbred Action\u201d on Fox Sports New York, a program that shows the day\u2019s NYRA races in 30 minutes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>One of the races at Belmont<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> was an allowance race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I picked out a name from the post position list that I liked, and rooted for him.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He stormed home victorious by a fair margin.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I decided that I liked this horse, so I would follow him using Equibase\u2019s Virtual Stable.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He won his next race too.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He soon became my favorite all-time race horse (although I\u2019ve only been following horseracing for the past 5 years or so), edging out Medaglia D\u2019Oro and Commentator (who has a similar backstory as to how I came to like him).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His name was Ghostzapper<\/B>.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

I give this backstory so that it doesn\u2019t seem like I was just jumping on the bandwagon after he won the Breeders Cup Classic.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I was pulling hard for him then.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I was pulling hard for him in the Woodward.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Heck, I was pulling hard for him in the Tom Fool.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Granted, he was not one of my favorite horses until after that win, and he did not become my favorite<\/I> horse until the Iselin<\/st1:place> BC Handicap.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But after that race, I made sure I got a chance to see him.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I couldn\u2019t go to the 2004 Breeders Cup (although I would end up going to the 2005 one\u2026an amazing experience in the bitter-cold air of late October New York).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But I made sure to show up at his return race in 2005, the Met Mile.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I had my usual spot on the finish line rail, and had my camera ready.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unfortunately, my photo of him winning the race came out awful; partly due to the fact that the camera was zoomed in (for no real reason), partly because he was running so fast, and partly because I was shaking from the fact that he was blowing away this field in an amazing spectacle, which could only be understood in person.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Luckily, I took about a thousand photos of him before, during, and after the race, and got a great shot of him during the Post Parade (which has gone on to be my desktop background since May 2005).<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

The background information about Ghostzapper and I is important so that you understand my point of view.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I will say that Ghostzapper was arguably the best racehorse of my generation.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>You can make a case for Cigar, Azeri, Point Given, or any number of horses who went on to be a great.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But my belief will always be that Ghostzapper would beat them all.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Some may agree, and some may disagree, but I have proof.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

There is a magic set of numbers in Horse Racing.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There is a number that separates the good from the great.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Another one separates the great from the amazing. \u00a0<\/SPAN>The largest of all separates the amazing from the all-time legend.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I will only focus on that last group.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The magic number is 120.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>What is this number, you ask?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It is a Beyer Speed Figure.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Some people will argue with the validity of these, and some will swear by them.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I fall into neither category.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It is merely a gauge of how well a horse ran, taking all effects into consideration.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It is an amazing feat for a horse to break the 120 speed figure barrier.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In fact, at the time of this publication, no horse had done it in 2006.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The closest was Deputy Minister in the Bluegrass Stakes, earning a 116 (which is probably a number he didn\u2019t deserve, as Keeneland always favors speed).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In 2005, only the cream of the crop did it; Saint Liam, Lava Man, Commentator, Bellamy Road<\/st1:address><\/st1:Street>.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Oh yeah\u2026and Ghostzapper.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But his 121 in the Met Mile wasn\u2019t just one amazing feat.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A horse can run a career race and show legendary signs.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But one race does not make a legend.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>No; what makes Ghostzapper so special is that he did it more than once.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In fact, he did it 4 times.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In 5 races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Let that sink in for a minute.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Once you reach this plateau you\u2019re in elite company.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>No one can touch you.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>You can\u2019t lose.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Everyone expects you to bounce.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>You can\u2019t do it again.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>And yet he did.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>And again.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>And again.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>And again.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

The Sim has a similar system to Beyer Speed Figures, although the nuances of the real system do not necessarily factor into the sim system.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Here, we call them \u201cSpeed Figures\u201d, and abbreviate them SP or SF.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But the idea behind them is the same; they are a way to compare two horses, from two different tracks, at two different distances.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Even the barriers still hold.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A 100 in the real world is high allowance-low stakes level.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Same as the sim.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So when Mike realized that horses in the sim were breaking this sacred 120 barrier all the time, he decided to tone down the speed figures.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It makes sense, as they were no longer realistic.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Nowadays, they are.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So it begs the question: Who are the all-time greats in the sim?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Who are the fastest of the fast; the ones who broke the 120 SP barrier, even in today\u2019s sim?<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

In fact, while many had speed figures in the 120s back then, most were highly inflated.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So, I translated all of the old speed figures into today\u2019s standards.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It is much the same process as an Economist uses when determining the value of money in earlier years\u2013 they translate it to the current value.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After doing this, only 4<\/I> horses ever broke the 120 SP barrier.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Each one has its own story.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Now they get a chance to have their story told, going from the 4th<\/SUP> fastest of all time, up to the fastest.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Buda With The Slew<\/U><\/EM><\/B> \u2013 120.3097 SP<\/I> \u2013 If you were to ask me to name the fastest horse in the sim, I would have named this guy.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Owner capeside<\/I> got this 2yo Danzig x Seattle<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> Slew x Night Invader back in 2000.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The breeding said turf, which is where he spent most of his 2yo year.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, his owner decided to try for the BB Juvenile, rather than sticking with the turf.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His overpowering 2-3\/4 length win was a sign that maybe he liked the dirt better.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His 2001 run was even better, as he reeled off a 4 straight G1 win streak, including the Bluegrass Derby and Middle Jewel, and was stopped only by a poor running in the New Yorker.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After one more win in the Buckeye Derby, he seemed to hit a wall.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He failed in some dirt, so his owner switched him back to turf for the Canada Mile, where he failed some more.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He went back to dirt, but ended his 3yo campaign on the turf again, finishing 10th<\/SUP> in the ASR Derby, and a very disappointing 4th<\/SUP> in an open allowance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So no one was expecting very much from 2001\u2019s Sim Eclipse Award winner for 3yo of the year.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Buda\u2019s first race of 2002 came on January 19, also known as week 1278.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was entered in the San Valenzuala Breeders Bowl Stakes<\/I> (sic) at California<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unfortunately, the California<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> track was drenched in rain for two days leading up to the race, so the track was sloppy.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Buda went off at 12.70\/1, coming off of two poor turf races and two poor dirt races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Even though the race was a Grade 2, it had an amazing field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The favorite was Stupid<\/B><\/st1:PlaceName> Kingdom<\/st1:PlaceType><\/B><\/st1:place>, who would eventually go on to be a millionaire, with 17 wins in 73 starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The 2nd<\/SUP> choice in the 8 horse field was Western Groom <\/B>(2.70\/1), who earned $4.6 million with 20 wins (6 G1) in 74 career starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In fact, Buda went off as the 6th<\/SUP> choice in the race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>When the race started, it didn\u2019t look good.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Western Groom got out to an easy lead, which was as large as 5-1\/4 at the 4f mark.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Buda\u2019s running style was a closer style (in his winning days), where he would come from 6-9 lengths back.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He managed to get to about 6-1\/2 behind Western Groom, settling in 4th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Going into the far turn, M Dorsey (Buda\u2019s jockey throughout the Triple Crown) felt the old kick that Buda had.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He started closing, and got to within 3 at the top of the stretch.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Buda had never run on an off-track before, but he seemed to love it, as he gained ground with every step he took.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He kept coming and coming, until he passed Western Groom.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Then he kept going.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Dorsey put the whip away, but Buda didn\u2019t slow down.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He crossed the finish line in 1:40 flat, 2-3\/4 clear of Western Groom.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It was another 18 lengths back to 3rd<\/SUP> place.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Anyone watching the race knew it was amazing.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>They knew they were watching history.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In the first race of the year, Buda With The Slew<\/B> silenced all of his critics, and sent the sim abuzz.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unfortunately, it appeared to be a unique performance \u2013 perhaps due to the battle with Western Groom.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He would not win another race in his career, and was bred later that year.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Forty With Polar<\/EM><\/U><\/B> \u2013 120.721 SP<\/I> \u2013 Forty was a 4yo when he entered the sim, debuting in 1999 in week 236.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A Forty Niner x Blushing Groom(FR) x Foolish Pleasure, owner debi<\/I> had no doubts that he was a dirt horse.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ran 18 times in 1999, winning 3 times, although he was 0 for 5 in stakes races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>2000 faired a little better, as he finally broke through in the season opener, the BigRed77\u2019s Gee I Hope I Get Some This Year Handicap<\/I>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He set the pace the entire way and won by 3.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That warranted a trip to Graded Stakes, which met the same fate that the stakes tries met.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ran 17 total races in 2000, winning 3 races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>One of those was a graded stakes, the Kentucky BB Sprint, which he won going away by 1-1\/2.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

2001 didn\u2019t start off any better, as his first 6 tries, in a mix of allowances, stakes, and graded stakes, were all failures.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Then he ran in the Northerly Stakes<\/I> in Louisiana<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> and won, wiring the field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That race, a \u201c120\u201d SP (nowadays it would be roughly a 112 SP), was a peak performance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So, as expected, he bounced in his next one (which happened to be on an off-track and at 8.5f).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His following 2 were no better, running 10th<\/SUP> and 9th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So when he entered week 1180\u2019s Scottsdale BB Stakes<\/I>, a Grade 1 event in Arizona, it was no surprise that he was installed as the 21.20\/1 11th<\/SUP> choice out of 14.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The favorites in that race were Hard Cat <\/B>and Zach\u2019s Projects<\/B> at 4.80\/1.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>When the race started, Forty did his normal thing and got out to the lead.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His opponents decided to let him have a somewhat easy lead, and he had a length out in front.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He widened the lead to 2 lengths as they entered the far turn.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Since the race was only 6f, the others would have to start coming now.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Jockey B Drewrey, in his first time aboard the horse, took the whip out and starting forcing Forty.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He pulled out to a 4-1\/2 lead at the top of the stretch.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The only question was whether the whip came out to soon.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But it turned out fine, as Drewrey put the whip away mid-stretch.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Forty continued rolling, slowing down slightly because he didn\u2019t need to run too hard.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>As it turns out, he ran harder than anyone could have imagined.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In winning by 2, Forty With Polar ran 6f in 1:08, earning his 120.721 SP (although at 130, the number looked jaw-dropping at the time).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was the first to run this fast, and no one in the sim had seen a race like this before.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

The rest of that year was not great, as he would end up with 2 5ths and an 11th<\/SUP> in his last 3 races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He would win once in 6 races in 2002 before taking a long break at the farm.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He returned in 2005, but was much older than he had been, and didn\u2019t quite have the speed that he showed in his heydays.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was recently sent to the breeding shed.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Wing\u2019s Of Naskra(GB)<\/STRONG><\/U><\/EM> \u2013 120.9426<\/I> \u2013 A popular choice in the trivia contest, he is not the winner.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Owner bobbyg<\/I> bred this In The Wings(GB) x Graustark x Naskra as a 3yo in 2002, and he made his debut on June 1, 2002.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He easily won that race, and then bounced between allowance and stakes company, where he faltered.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His owner moved him to the turf for his fifth try, where he discovered that Wing\u2019s preferred the dirt.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His return race to the dirt was his breakout performance, as he wired an allowance field going away to win by 3-1\/4.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He finished up 2002 with a 3rd<\/SUP> and two wins, all in allowance company.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

He opened up 2003 in a stakes race, and finished a dull 7th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So bobbyg<\/I> sent him back to where he was comfortable, in allowances.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He wired the field in his next race, going 6f in 1:08-4\/5.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So his owner sent him back to the stakes level, where again he failed, finishing 7th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But his ever-persistent trainer kept Wing\u2019s at the top level, and he finally came through in his next run, going 6.5f in a blistering 1:14-4\/5.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He also won his next race, which gave his owners high hopes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He decided to try graded company for the first time, and what better way to do that than in a Grade 1?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So he was shipped to NY for the Gary Carter Handicap<\/I>, a 7f race run on May 3, 2003 (week 1747).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He came in as the 7.50\/1 third choice in the full field of 14.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The favorite was Virginia Muskrat<\/B> at 3.50\/1, coming off a 3rd<\/SUP> place finish in a G3 the race before.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>When the gates opened, jockey P Lewis<\/I> tried to send Wing\u2019s out to the lead, which is where he was for 3 of his prior wins.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unfortunately, Marc Weapon<\/B>, the 8.50\/1 choice, got a better jump, and stuck a head out in front.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The two locked up in a speed duel, and by the three furlong mark, Wing\u2019s was able to stick his nose out in front.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Lewis, not one of the top jockeys at the track, decided to press on.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Going into the far turn, the lead was up to 1 length.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Lewis then went to the whip, and Wing\u2019s took off.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Much like his name says, he began to fly.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>While Marc Weapon was able to hold on to second, 5 lengths ahead of the third place horse, he was no match for Wing\u2019s, who showed a kick that no one could have expected.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He drew off to win by 3-1\/2, but even more impressive was the time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A horse who finally broke through in stakes races two starts prior, he finished the 7 furlongs in a stakes record and track record 1:20-1\/5.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>No one that day realized how fast Wing\u2019s really went.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The front two horses held on the entire race, and no one believed they were going that fast.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>When the final time came in, the cheers erupted in the New York Grandstand.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

That wasn\u2019t it for his run.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was sent back out in the Cosmopolitan Handicap<\/I>, an 8f race in New York<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>, 3 weeks later, and he again wired the field to win by 4, covering the ground in 1:33-4\/5.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unfortunately, he hit a rough patch when he tried a 10f race, and exerted himself too hard, so when he returned to sprinting in his next race, he was injured and was distanced in a 6f race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He tried the Breeders Bowl Sprint in 2003, but finished a dull 7th<\/SUP> after starting a length behind the pace-setters.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He finished off the year going back to his roots, taking home a NW1t allowance race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His 2004 campaign opened with a 2nd<\/SUP> and 3rd<\/SUP> in two stakes races, but he never quite showed the skill that he did in the middle of 2003.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He raced 5 times in 2004 before entering Sim-limbo.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His owner appears to be inactive, as he has not run since week 2342.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It is sad to see a horse with the kind of history sit, inactive, with nothing to show for his accomplishments.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ran the fastest dirt race of all time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Sadly, it was upstaged by another horse \u2013 who set the turf record (as well as the all-time record) 2 weeks prior.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That horse was\u2026<\/P>

\u00a0

<\/o:p>

<\/P>

Pro Saint<\/FONT><\/EM><\/U><\/B> – 121.1737<\/I> \u2013 The all-time record holder came into the sim as a 3yo in 2000.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A Mr. Prospector x Welsh Saint(IRE) x Groton<\/st1:City><\/st1:place>, he debuted for owner catthief99<\/I> is a dirt sprint MSW on March 4, 2000 (week 598).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ran 2nd<\/SUP> in that race, but was able to come back and break his maiden in his second try, in another dirt sprint.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After one failed attempt in a dirt mile allowance, he went back to dirt sprints, where he finished 2nd<\/SUP> and 4th<\/SUP> in two claimers.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In the second claimer, run on August 19, 2000, Saint was claimed by gipper5<\/I>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His new owner sent him back to allowances, where he finished 2nd<\/SUP> twice and 4th<\/SUP> twice.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After the two fourth place finishes, and in his 10th<\/SUP> race, gipper5<\/I> decided it was time to try the turf.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He started with a turf sprint, where Saint blew away the field, winning the NW1x race by 3-1\/4.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ended 2000 with an attempt in a mile turf stakes, but it was a failed attempt, as he finished 18 lengths behind the winner.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>2001 was a good year for him, as he reeled off 3 straight allowance wins near the beginning of the year, all in turf sprints.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His first try in a graded stakes came in the 2001 Sydney Sprint<\/I>, where he finished 8th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He came through 2 races later however, in the G3 ASR Blessingindisguise Stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He won one more stakes, and then ended the season with a win in the G1 Because I Said So<\/I> Stakes<\/I>, followed by a disappointing 11th<\/SUP> in the G1 Japan Sprint<\/I>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His 2002 debut came in the Equinics, but he finished a dull 5th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That set the tone for the year, as he went 9 races, split between graded stakes, regular stakes, and an allowance, without winning.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Finally he came through in a NW1s allowance, in his 10th<\/SUP> start of the year.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His 11th<\/SUP> start was a 3rd<\/SUP> place finish in a NW3s allowance, and he ended his season with a win in the Khairpour(IRE) Handicap<\/I>.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

2003 started out much better for Saint.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He opened it up with a win in the Rolling Rock Stakes<\/I>, a listed stakes at South Africa<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He followed that up with a career-best run, although 3rd<\/SUP> place finish, in the Vice Regal Challenge<\/I>, at 6.5f.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He stretched out a little to 7f to try the G3 Mr Anderson Special<\/I>, and put together a massive closing move to go from 6-1\/2 back at the top of the stretch to a mere 1 back, a second place finish.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Gipper5<\/I> made an interesting decision to once again try Saint in the Sydney Sprint<\/I>, a Grade 1 at 5.5f.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It rained the day before, and the turf came up yielding.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His one previous run on off-turf was a 2nd<\/SUP> place finish in a 2002 stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This time, he would be up against much tougher competition in Brown Voss <\/B>and Nine Gold Rubys<\/B>, the co-favorites at 4.70\/1.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Saint went off as the 3rd<\/SUP> choice at 6.20\/1.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His one earlier win in 2003 had come with a different type of running style, as he sat only 2 lengths off of the leaders.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Jockey M Long<\/I>, who had never ridden Saint before, looked at the form and saw this.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He figured that maybe Saint didn\u2019t have the closing kick he once did.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He saw the move Saint made at 7f, but this was 1.5f shorter, so he would need to stay closer.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That was the gameplan.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>With the shorter distance, however, that seemed to be everyone\u2019s gameplan.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Shadow<\/B> broke for the lead, getting \u00bd length out in front, and 2-1\/4 lengths ahead of Pro Saint.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That put Saint in 10th<\/SUP>. \u00a0<\/SPAN>He held his ground at the halfway point, slowly moving ahead as other horses gave way.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In the far turn, Long sent Saint with all he had; unfortunately, Brown Voss<\/B> was currently ahead of Pro Saint, and he would be a tough horse to get past.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Both Pro Saint and Brown Voss came flying and passed Shadow in the top of the stretch, where Brown Voss held a narrow lead.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But Pro Saint looked like a possessed horse.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was moving faster than anyone had seen.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Brown Voss didn\u2019t stand a chance in this race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Saint thundered by, storming off and widening the gap.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ended up winning by 1-1\/2, and everyone knew this was a special race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A look up at the clock proved everyone correct; 1:01-3\/5.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>No 5.5f race had even been within a second of this.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Brown Voss, who ran a career-best race, was denied by an all-time legend.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This one race set both the turf and all-time record.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>While Wing\u2019s Of Naskra<\/B> would come close 2 weeks later, this held on as the leader.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>And since April 19, 2003, the day of the Sydney Sprint, no one has been able to beat this feat.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Pro Saint regressed off of this race, as could be expected.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He won only one more race in his last 8 starts for the year, an ungraded stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He tried the Breeders Bowl Mile, but the distance was too long and he faltered, finishing 12th<\/SUP>, over 20 lengths behind.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>2004 seemed to start off a little better, as he reeled off back-to-back wins in the G2 Everclear Handicap<\/I> and an ungraded stakes, both at 5.5f.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He took a 3 month break and came back a little slow, losing in his next 4 races (and finishing no better than 5th<\/SUP>).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Gipper5<\/I> sensed trouble, so he put Saint back on the shelf for 5 more months.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His return race in December did not go well, and he finished 5th<\/SUP>, losing a lot of ground at the end in a 7.5f race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He came back the first week of 2005, and won a NW1n allowance on the good turf.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It would be his last win, however.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In 6 races in 2005, he had a record of 1-0-1.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was sent to stud and bore Sulpher Springs<\/B>, who won his first two races\u2026both turf sprints.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Since then, he has become stakes-placed, although he has not run since 2853.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Some people may know all of these horses \u2013 some may know none.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But regardless of whether you saw them race, or followed their careers, there is one thing that they all share; they are part of a sim legend.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Everyone strives for a 120 speed figure in the sim; very few get it.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>And while these 4 horses may not have been the best horses of their generation, they each had one race that was unrivaled by anyone in the sim.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Records can be broken; but these four races will live on in the Sim world forever.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Tune in next week when the Speed Study Series takes a look at another Graded Stakes Record: Most Graded Stakes Records set.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Bryan (shagfarms) can be reached at <\/EM>TripleCrown@suscom.net<\/EM><\/A>. He can also be reached through the BTB Message Board, the Main Message Board, the Chat Room, or by Private Message.<\/EM><\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speed Study Series looks at the magic number in Speed Figures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}