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Today on September 12th the racing world celebrates the 50th anniversary of Nijinsky 11 capturing the elusive triple crown.The equine superstar carved out a new epoch in post war flat racing history in 1970.Since then No racehorse has been able to emulate that feat.Overall this year we commemorate 50 years since equine achievement was taken to it’s pinnacle of glory.
No flat racehorse captured the public imagination to the crescendo of Nijinsky who received the adulation of Jesus Christ or Julius Caesar.No adjective can do complete justice to the command , sense of authority or energy he exuded when striding in the paddock or the Turf .It was not his mere winning of races but the contempt with which he treated his rivals ,to deliver a final knockout punch like boxer Muhammad Ali.Nijinsky portrayed an aura of invincibility no flat racehorse ever did,although he was very playful ,temperamental and hard to settle.Nijinsky was a manifestation of the energy of a thoroughbred racehorse at heights of divinity.I have rarely seen a racehorse reveal such instant acceleration.
In the King George 6th Diamond stakes in 1970 Nijinsky revealed racing supremacy over rivals in mythical proportions or regions never traversed before and could comfortably sit with the gods of Olympus.In the manner of a Waltz being performed,he effortlessly cruised home ,literally toying with his rivals.Those he vanquished included previous years Derby winner Blakeney,Washington International Winner Karabas,Coronation Cup winner Caliban,Oaks winner Crepellana and Italian Derby winner Hogarth.If he wished Nijinsky could easily have doubled his winning margin of 2 lengths,displaying reserves of energy of a motorcar with its tank still almost full .Horses may have won a King George or other big races by bigger margins but none displayed more consummate ease,like icing being put on a cake.
Nijinsky became lazy after hitting the front in the 2000 Guineeas from Yellow God and Amber Rama and although he won did not give his best performance.However in the Epsom Derby he was the ultimate powerhouse of energy.The colt unleashed a spectacular turn of foot a furlong and a half out like a motor car doubling it’s speed, to fly past the high class son of Sea Bird Gyr and Stintino,to win in near record time.In the Irish Derby he cruised home facing no challenging opposition.
In the St Leger run on this very day Nijinsky had come in just after facing a bout of ringworm disease which took the toll out of home.Still in characteristic fashion he galvanized his energy to the optimum midway down the straight to catch leaders Charlottetown and Politico ,displaying remorseless effortlessness when hitting the front.However Nijinsky though a victor,unlike his previous races had hardly any reservoirs of energy left in his tank ,having only a length to spare from Meadoville at the post.
Nijinsky had become the first horse for 35 years to win the triple crown after Bahram in 1935.However it was his run in the Leger that cost him an almost certain victory in the Arc.Nijinsky lost considerable weight on his flanks and was not at his best in the Arc.The Old Nijinsky would possibly have won by 3 lengths,instead. of going down by a head.Even when getting into full gear and having the race at his mercy, Nijinsky was not his old self and veered to the left to let French Derby winner Sassafras overtake him.Racing fans were reminded of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.
Sadly the icon bade farewell to flat racing with a defeat in the Champion Stakes at New Market. A hard season had literally dissipated all his energy.
In terms of achievement was Nijinsky the racehorse of the Century or the best achiever ever on the British Isles?True colts like Mill Reef and Sea the Stars faced better opposition and in terms of consistency won with more conviction than Nijinsky.Dancing Brave did not stay as well but displayed better acceleration at his best and faced better opposition.In most of his wins Shergar devoured rivals with more remorseless ease.No performance of Nijinsky equalled the best of Sea Bird in the 1965 Derby and Arc.For sheer class Sea Bird was definitely ahead or arguably even Mill Reef,Brigadier Gerard or Sea the Stars.However for sheer charisma Nijinsky eclipsed them all.
No great champion be it Mill Reef,Shergar,Dancing Brave,Brigadier Gerard or Frankel has won a Triple Crown.Ofcourse in terms of sequence and combination of plum races Mill Reef and Sea the Stars have been outstanding with both winning the Derby,Eclipse and Arc and the latter winning 6 group 1 races in a row.Still Sea the Stars ,Dancing Brave and Mill Reef did not win or run in the leger like Nijinsky and there is a distinct possibility that their participation may have adversely acted upon their performance in the Arc.The great Shergar could only finish 3rd in the Leger Without being confronted with ringworm late in the season or been the victim of wrong riding tactics of his jockey who arguably gave his ward too much to do,Nijinsky would probably have won the Arc.This means that morally Nijinsky morally should have been the winner of the 2000- Guinneas,Derby,Leger,Irish Derby ,King George and Arc-reached a pinnacle of glory no thoroughbred ever did.Thus I conclude that in terms of sheer achievement Nijinsky sits on the top of the tree.
Late Commentator Peter O’Sullivan state at the end of 1979 that in terms of public impact Nijinsky was the racehorse of the 1970’s.The great son of Northern Dancer defined the sport of racing and exuded energy on the track as though God sent him to be a racehorse.
Camelot almost did it in 2012 only to be beaten by a horse trained by a subsequently banned trainer and that was later found to have been given banned, performance enhancing substances. And even then he still should have won – he received a poor ride from Joseph O’Brien, in my opinion.
Although Camelot was fortunate to win a very weak Guineas. I doubt he would have beaten a top class, specialist miler.
Racing forum viewers kindly join me her in paying tribute to immortal Nijinsky on 50th anniversary day of capturing elusive triple crown.Please contribute to debate on whether his achievement was the very best in history.Arguably Nashwan and Sea the Stars may well have won the triple crown if run in the St Leger.I somehow doubt Dancing brave would have stayed the leger distance,similar to Shergar or Sir Ivor.Had Brigadier Gerard nor raced in his year almost certainly Mill Reef could have won a triple crown,but maybe at the cost of an Arc.Greats like Troy and Shergar were the typical middle-distance proto-types who could not win beyond a mile and half nor below a distance of 10 furlongs.
It occured to me that none of the equine stars have won a Leger and Arc in the same season.
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