Originally Posted by The Bid

He was controlling speed in every race he ran because he was an incredible talent.

Kelly's Landing (1.5 million)was a nice horse, Egg Head was going to be a very nice horse, Santana Strings (550k) was a nice horse. He ran against and drilled some very good horses. When he won he didnt outbob horses, he ran them into the ground. He danced every dance as a 3yo, the only race he didnt make was the Malibu because he had cancer. His 2yo season was also incredible, never running a sub 102 figure.

It is impossible to say how good he was, but its safe to say he was a monster and certainly deserves to be on a list of top 3yo.

Originally Posted by Danzig

but i thought the question was top 25 three year olds?

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Did I just see a somerfrost appearance? Perhaps a Derby angles list is forthcoming soon?

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

It was... which is why I didn't include him.

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

I have to jump in this LITF debate here. Personally I think it's kind of silly to put him on the list. While it's not his fault no one ran against him up to the Breeders Cup, winning races over Egg Head doesnt make you great. His 3 year old season was very good. But unfortunately when he faced his best field he faltered. Maybe he was sick, but we'll never know for sure.

I think if he is on the list then Honour and Glory has to be also. He faced much better and actually defeated his elders, in May of his 3 year old season in the Met Mile, shading 1:33 for a mile in the process, while running hard every step of the way. He also had a full campaign running in California, New york, Canada and Kentucky. His record isn't as flashy as LITF's, but there is no doubt in my mind that if he was running in those races that LITF was he would have been undefeated and I think he was a much better horse than LITF.

Originally Posted by easy goer

This is an interesting discussion certainly but the one thing I dont get is why are some folks so certain that Smarty Jones is overrated? The one horse that I find that looks most similar to him in terms of his career/three yr old season is Majestic Prince.

9 wins out of 10, and failed to win the Belmont.

But in Smarty's case he seems more dominant over his field than Majestic Prince. And, he came very close to winning the TC whereas Majestic Pr. really had no chance from the start. That to me makes his run at the TC even more exciting than MP.

I dunno if MP is in the Hall of Fame (I didnt look at the site) but clearly a close case can be made for him and if so...how can you be so certain that Smary is overrated?

Originally Posted by easy goer

This is an interesting discussion certainly but the one thing I dont get is why are some folks so certain that Smarty Jones is overrated? The one horse that I find that looks most similar to him in terms of his career/three yr old season is Majestic Prince.

9 wins out of 10, and failed to win the Belmont.

But in Smarty's case he seems more dominant over his field than Majestic Prince. And, he came very close to winning the TC whereas Majestic Pr. really had no chance from the start. That to me makes his run at the TC even more exciting than MP.

I dunno if MP is in the Hall of Fame (I didnt look at the site) but clearly a close case can be made for him and if so...how can you be so certain that Smary is overrated?

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Top 25 Derby Also-Rans That Didn't Win The Preakness or Belmont:

Gulch- 87
Cryptoclearance- 87
Seeking the Gold- 88
Hawkster- 89
Lost Mountain- 91
Fly So Free- 91
Dr. Devious- 92
Kissin Kris- 93
Holy Bull- 94
Soul of the Matter- 94
Honour and Glory- 96
Skip Away- 96
Old Trieste- 98
Favorite Trick- 98
General Challenge- 99
War Chant- 00
Captain Steve- 00
Startac- 01
Harlan's Holiday- 02
Came Home- 02
Medaglia D'Oro- 02
Ten Most Wanted- 03
Showing Up- 06
Tiago- 07
Any Given Saturday- 07

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I'll give you a horse that I assume hasn't been mentioned, and probably has no business being on a legitimate list, but was one of the best 3YOs of the last 20 years when sound.......Unbridled's Song.

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I'll give you a horse that I assume hasn't been mentioned, and probably has no business being on a legitimate list, but was one of the best 3YOs of the last 20 years when sound.......Unbridled's Song.

Originally Posted by King Glorious

Lawyer Ron, Artax, Louis Quatorze, Serena's Song, Tabasco Cat, Devil His Due, Corporate Report. None of them could beat out Startac or Kissin Kris in your opinion?

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

Draw a line above Funny Cide's Belmont and compare the Beyers for the two to that point. Smarty got a 99 or 100 in the Belmont which is missing. There really isn't much to seperate them now is there? One just happened to run against much better horses and the other had the benefit of retiring right after his peak.