Was Brigadier Gerard at his best on the day Roberto beat him in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup?
Comparison
- #1Yes
- #2No
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Today we commemorate the 50th anniversary of one of flat racing’s most spectacular and mysterious wins .Roberto destroyed the myth of invincibility of Brigadier Gerard in at start to finish victory.Braulio Baeza gave a scintillating exhibitions of race riding artistry,enabling his mount to set a scorching pace.Inspite of breaking the course record,the Brigadier finished a runner up by 3 lengths.It is hard to find an adjective to describe the bewilderment amongst racing fans .It was virtually inexplicable how horse rated at 144 by timeform could be vanquished.Just as it looked as though a Brigadier win was mere formality,Roberto and Brauiio Baeza turned the tables,,switching gears.Inspite of coming within touching distance o Roberto in the straight,Brigadier Gerard looked as though he stopped in his tracks.No race more illustrated why horse racing was the most unpredictable of sports .Few horses ever exhibited relentlesness in the degree of Roberto ,that day.Roberto’s sheer courage transcended realms which a racehorse rarely did.
In my view the blistering pace undid Brigadier ,who was not at his best over distance of a mile and a quarter..This is underlined by his winning distances in the King George of that year.Robert was great horse in his own right,having won the Epsom Derby .His resilience overshadowed that of any great racehorse of Vincent O’Brien.I personally would have backed Mill Reef to win on that day.Lester Piggot would have been proud if emulating Jockey Baeza,that day.It is debatable how great Roberto was on that very day.Joe Mecer sttaed in the post-race conference that his mount ran at his best,and was certain that the Brigadier would cruise to the lead,in the straight.Trainer John Hislop flt”He was stung by a Bee.”
Just re-watched the race on YouTube and to me Roberto just simply outstayed him, he was a Derby winner and maintained that brutal relentless gallop which ultimately took BG out of his comfort zone until his stamina run out about 1.5F out.
Those who thought he underperformed was probably looking at it from the perspective that it was just Roberto that beat him rather than Mill Reef. But on a line through Golden Rod who finished 10L back in 3rd (yes they were bunched together turning for home but the first 2 pulled 10L clear up the York straight) so you can’t say BG was below his best because that was the same Golden Rod that he beat only 1L in the Eclipse but by the same 10L margin in the Goodwood Mile the previous season.
For me BG was unfortunate that he ran into a Roberto that on the day produced the performace of his life and in doing so was able to exploit that small stamina limitation in BG’s armour that others at the trip (and the 12F of the King George) were not good enough to do – the fact that they both also broke the previous track record would also tell you BG didn’t underperform no matter how shocking the result was.
The fact Gold Rod was ten lengths away in third, just ahead of Rheingold, suggests Roberto (who had only beaten the latter a short-head in The Derby) ran the race of his life and that Brigadier Gerard indeed ran to form.
However, while it’s possible on that basis to argue Roberto ran to a Timeform equivalent of 149 that day, a mark he never came close to before or afterwards (indeed Frankel’s 147 is the highest Flat rating Timeform ever awarded) I still think there are reasons for thinking the Brigadier wasn’t at his best.
On his previous outing, he had contested the King George over 1m4f and, at a trip that was beyond him in truth, he had made heavy weather of beating Parnell a length and a half.
I suspect Ascot took the edge off him and he consequently didn’t run to his best at York.
This would mean Gold Rod and Rheingold didn’t run to form either, leaving it hard to accurately rate Roberto, but while that may seem implausible to some it is my verdict on the race nonetheless.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"If we are asking did he perform to his best Timeform rating of 144 then the answer is clearly no but then Frankel never ran to 147 subsequently but no one would say that he was below his best at York.
Indeed, LD. The Queen Anne and International were Frankel’s two standout performances in a career full of top-class displays.
In response to the question posed in the poll, Brigadier Gerard’s best performances were all over a mile, and he clearly did not run up to his best in the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup.
Maybe he ran to the very best he could at 10F because if you take Roberto out of the race he has broken the course record winning by 10L, which quite possibly would then have been hailed as his best performance?
But then you have to ask if Roberto has put up one of, if not the, greatest one-off performances of all time.
It’s entirely possible, of course, but would be about a stone in advance of anything else he ever did.
I suspect the answer lies somewhere in the middle (we’ll never know for sure).
I totally get the Gold Rod beaten ten lengths, take out Roberto and the Brigadier smashes the course record by over two seconds and wins by ten argument.
Roberto has clearly run a career best.
But something in the order of 149 given the three-length runner up is 144?
I don’t think so.
The Brigadier went to York on the back of a run at Ascot which surely took the edge off him, temporarily bottomed him, even.
1m4f in the King George – too far, and it resulted in a lack-lustre length and a half win.
Common sense tells me the Brigadier can’t subsequently have been at his peak at York.
Rheingold has surely run below his Derby form, maybe Gold Rod is below par too, many horses don’t run to their marks when broken by an attritional pace.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I just think its a shame Roberto gets dismissed as almost being fortunate to win because clearly BG must have had something wrong with him to have been beaten – not for one instance am I suggesting Roberto put up the greatest performance of all time but I don’t see how people can say it was a below par run from BG.
For me BG’s optimum trip was 8F but he had the class to win at 10F and get away with it at 12F but that was in part sadly because the much anticipated clash with Mill Reef at those distances never happened because lets be honest he wouldn’t have won an Eclipse & KG had Mill Reef lined up in opposition.
Gladiateur,
“But then you have to ask if Roberto has put up one of, if not the, greatest one-off performances of all time.”
Certainly one of.
With no little assistance from an accomplished jockey giving Roberto a great ride. Baeza claims he had plenty of horse left at the finish but that might be him just telling the tale.
As far as I can recall Braulio flew in from the US on Sunday and didn’t get on the horse until Tuesday morning. He beat a 144 rated horse by 3 lengths in a course record time. He then flew home and rode at Saratoga the following day. If memory serves, it was Baeza’s only ride in Europe, so his CV on this continent can reasonably be described as impeccable.
Bill Williamson was allegedly offered the ride on Roberto but declined, citing a commitment to ride in Belgium the same day. I’m wondering if Williamson was suffering from a fit of pique when he turned down that opportunity.
It was a very special performance by the winner. Exactly how special I’m not really sure but it was special enough.
Timeform took the view that Brigadier Gerard had run below his best but acknowledged the alternative explanation that Roberto was simply at his peak when forcing tactics were employed over a mile and a quarter on a sound (firm) surface. The mile track record was also broken in a handicap on the same card indicating that the record time perhaps owed plenty to the conditions. they indicated he’d have had a higher rating (than that of an ‘average’ derby winner) had he been retired after the York race.
Cormack
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