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Quote: from Salselon on 4:54 pm on Feb. 13, 2007[br]Do either of you, or anyone else for that matter, see anything getting close (or beating) Well Chief?<br>
I think if the ground came up soft (highly unlikely) then Nickname would be a threat. He’s looked very impressive in Ireland this season but obviously he needs give underfoot to show his best form.
However, if Well Chief reproduces his form from the 2004/2005 season then the rest of the field are running for second place.
I really hope everything goes smoothly in training for Well Chief between now and Cheltenham. He deserves to have his name alongside Moscow Flyer & Azertyuiop as a Champion Chase winner.
Let’s just hope both Kauto Star and War Of Attrition avoid injury between now and the Gold Cup so that this debate can be settled!
I got into racing just as Richard Dunwoody started to ride Dessie. He was the first chaser that I really supported and to this day he is still the best I have seen.
A true legend.
I think and hope that they will end up sticking with the Breeders Cup Mile for George Washington. If he runs to his best in the mile (which is quite a big if) then he will almost certainly win the race as I don’t think there is another horse in the field who could cope with his turn of foot.
In the BC Classic there are so many things that could go wrong for him. The dirt surface is something that he has never run on before, his running style wouldn’t suit the race at all because he tends to break slowly which means he’d be playing catch up right from the start, he’d have to deal with alot of kick back, there is a big question mark over his ability to stay the 1m 2f trip and on top of all of that he’d have to deal with Bernardini who IMO is the strongest looking favourite out of any of the BC races this year.
I hope Ballydoyle are sensible and run GW in the Mile where he’d actually have a chance of winning.
Quote: from newyork on 12:33 am on Oct. 1, 2006[br]zilzal 89 guineas would of left nashwan standing
I agree. Zilzal is still one of the best milers I have ever seen, his winning performance in the 89′ QEII is up there with Mark Of Esteem & George Washington’s victories IMO. Unfortunately, he was retired too soon and therefor doesn’t get mentioned very often when their is talk of great milers. If he had been kept in training I believe he would have carried all before him in 1990.
Polish Precedent who finished second to Zilzal in the QEII never ran in a classic but was a top class three year old as well.
I may be wrong but I don’t believe Selkirk ever ran in a classic and he was a top class miler at three years old.
Like Cormack15 said, Pentire was a top class three year old.
I can’t think of any others off the top of my head but Zilzal is most certainly the best horse that I’ve seen never to run in a classic.
Without question he’ll be the best horse in the line up for the Breeders Cup mile and I’ll be supporting him 100% like I do with all the European runners. However, because he comes from off the pace and can be a slow starter there is always the risk of him running into traffic problems or being left with too much ground to make up.<br>It happend to Rock Of Gibralter in 2002. He was clearly the best horse in the field but got a slow start and was in the end left with too much ground to make up.
Plus, in the states his temprement before the race will be tested to the full. There will be a lot more going on around him out there and he will have to cope with a lot more hassle. One of the most frustrating days in racing for me came in 1989 when Zilzal got really wound up before the race. When he entered the stalls he was moving about alot and he ended up missing the break and losing his chance. Like George Washington, Zilzal was the best miler in the world at the time and as good a miler as I have ever seen but his temprement cost him the race.
I know I’m sounding very negative picking on things that might go wrong. I suppose it’s just that I’ve seen so many of our great champions go over there and not deliver and I’m just hoping the same thing doesn’t happen to GW. <br>
Arazi. He looked like he could be one of the best horses in history after his spectacular win in America. However, his three year old career was a real let down.
Montelado. This fellow was hugely impressive in the 93′ Supreme novice hurdle, a future Champion Hurdler if ever I saw one. Unfortunately, injuries plagued him and he was never the same horse again. Although, I continued to back him in the hope that he would return to his best.
I hope Godolphin end up running Electrocusionist in the BC Classic. He’s the perfect type for the race – acts on the dirt, top class & tough as nails.
David Junior will be a very interesting contender in the same race. Hopefully he has a trouble free preperation for the race.
I’d be thrilled to see George Washington line up in the Mile. He’s one of the best Guineas winners I’ve seen and it would be exciting to see him compete over there. I think Ed Dunlop wants to aim Court Masterpiece at that race too. Librettist would be Godolphins strongest contender at the moment but alot can happen between now and then.
Ouija Board is almost certain to line up for the Filly & Mare and would have a strong chance again. It would be nice to see Alexandrova as well as she’s the best middle distance filly over here.
I would have thaught barring injury that Shirocco will defend his title in the turf. It would obviously be great to see Hurricane Run as well.
Of course the Ballydoyle horses will probably not be ridden by Kieran Fallon because I think I heard that he won’t be allowed to ride in the Breeders Cup.
I read on teletext that AOB said after the race that Holy Roman Emperor will run next weekend in the Prix Morny. I would have thaught he’d be tough to beat in that race even though it is only a week away.
The ground conditions will probably be quite a bit softer in France than the ground he ran on today. I don’t know whether that would be a problem for him or not.
The first horse race that I ever watched is still one of my all time favourite’s. The year was 1989 and my Mum had just picked me up from school and taken me to my Grandma & Grandad’s house, which was about a 5 minute walk from the school. When we arrived I went straight into the living room where my Grandad was watching the racing on t.v. The horses were just entering the stalls for the 1989 Derby and my Grandad gave me the newspaper and told me to pick a horse. I remember looking at the runners and asking why there were numbers next to the horses names. After a brief explanation I naturally just looked for the horse with alot of one’s next to his name!:) <br>The horse I chose had three one’s next to his name and he was called Nashwan. After the stalls opened Grandad pointed out the blue colours that Willie Carson was wearing and from then on I just kept my eyes on Nashwan for the rest of the race. When Willie Carson asked Nashwan to quicken in straight and take the lead I was so excited that I started jumping around the room! Nashwan went on to win brilliantly and I remember thinking it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen, from then on I was hooked on racing. I have watched so many great horses since the 1989 Derby but Nashwan will always be spiecal to me and I still maintain that he is the best Derby winner that I have seen. Generous, Lammtara, Sinndar, Galileo & High Chapparall are the best winners since and all of them were great horses and a pleasure to watch. However, I still rate Nashwan the best and given what he achieved before and after the Derby I think his record backs my statement pretty well.:)
Ever since the 1989 Derby I have always got excited before a big group 1 race or a top race over the jumps. Watching the best horses take each other on in the big races on the flat or over the jumps is what I enjoy most about the sport. There are quite a few other great races that I would like to mention but seeing as I have written alot already I’ll post my other favourite’s later on.
I think Electrocusionist will run a big race in the Breeder’s Cup classic if he aviods injury between now and then. He has the tools required to run a big race there as he acts well on the dirt and is as tough as they come. Other than Bernardini there isn’t any 1m 2f horse in the states that I would say is outstanding so I think the Godolphin horse would have a fine chance.
Of course, Sheikh Mohammed owns both Bernardini & Electrocusionist so if they both make it there in one piece he may want to keep them apart. In which case Electrocusionist would probably go for the turf instead.
Frankie Dettori is a bit of a glaring omission. He’d be ahead of G.Duffield, J.Murtagh & J.Spencer for me and personally he’s as good a jockey as most of the others on that list IMO.
If I owned a top class race horse and had the choice of any jockey around I would pick Frankie to ride it. I know most other people would pick Keiran Fallon and believe me I’d still be really confident with him on board. However, out of the two I’d go for Frankie.
The best I saw from that list would probably be Steve Cauthen. A superb judge of pace that guy had.
I never saw much of Lester Piggott and Bill Shoemaker, they were a bit before my time but I suppose those two would get the most votes normally.
They made similar comments when Rakti won at the Royal meeting a couple of years ago. He was being crowned the best 1m 2f horse in the world.
They do tend to go over the top.
I’d really like to see Sir Percy win. His owners refused big money offers for him over the winter and it would be great if he could go and win the Derby for them. Unfortunately, after reading many comments on this thread about his stamina doubts, it’s sort of put me off his chances of winning the race. I’ll be cheering him on anyway on Saturday.
If the ground is good then I’m with Ouija Board. I think she is at her best over 1m 4f on good ground and at her best she is definatly good enough to beat Shirocco.
If ‘soft’ is in the going description then I think it will blunt her turn of foot and Shirocco will be tough to beat.
I really hope OB wins though because she really deserves another group 1 win after her unlucky defeat last time out.
