Afleet Alex last years Belmont.

Afleet Alex was a very nice horse but closing kick? He took command at the top of the stretch to blast very average (at best) horses. How is that a closing kick? When Nolans Cat hits the board in a triple crown race, you know it wont go down as one of the deepest fields in history!

Forego
 

When i first started going to the track, Forego had that awesome kick carrying tons of weight (unlike the horses of today) and its Forego moving like a freight train to catch Quiet Little Table....

Forego!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

arazi had a decent closing kick, jock went way too early in BCJ!!

What about Mandells'a horse in the Breeders Cup turf (deadheat) what was that horse name....was it Johar or something

Ok. Race was a mile and a half. What did he run his last 1/4 in IN HAND

Afleet Alex was argueably the best closer of all time. Watch his Preakness move before the incident with Scrappy T...legendary. I have never seen such a move in all the races I have ever seen as extraordinary as that one. In the Belmont...it was...

"And Afleet Alex goes right by Giacomo as if he's standing still. Afleet Alex opening up with a tremendous burst of energy!"...Tom Durkin

In a matter of two seconds, Afleet Alex went from being even with Giacomo to being four lengths in front...one of the fastest last quarter of a miles ever in the history of the Belmont Stakes. When Alex turned it on, he could fly. It is too bad that Ritchey and Rose didn't finally figure out this horse until the Preakness, and it saddens me to think of how great this horse could have been had he not been injured.

Thank You...

I loved that horse too but he wasn't a closer, more of a push button horse. A closer is a horse like Steppenwolfer. AA had good tactical speed. The best closers are usually turf horses because that is where being a closer pays off.

I thought this drysdale horse, Really Indian was going to be a great closer in the 3yr old division. Didn't fire in the Peter Pan but I like those AP Indy's.

I would definitely have considered Alex a closer. He sat way too far back in all of his great (Preakness/Belmont Stakes)races to have been considered a stalker.

"And Afleet Alex is still lingering at the back of the pack..."-Tom Durkin 2005 Belmont Stakes at the 3/4ths pole.

Alex didn't begin to move up in that race until they entered the far turn. Jeremy Rose rode Alex so perfectly that day...

When Jeremy tried to make a middle move in the Derby, Alex didn't have enough left at the end to get by Closing Arguement and hold off Giacomo. The only reason Alex won the Arkansas Derby like he did with a middle move was because he was a superior animal and the distance was shorter.

Like I said, Ritchey and Rose figured Alex out by the time the Preakness and Belmont came around, and realized that they needed to sit him way back off the pace. His greatest performances came then.

I agree with Hoist. He was more of push button horse. He made his lethal move at various times depending on distances and pace scenarios. Most of all depending on when Rose said GO! He had scary talent. But when I think of closers I think of horses like Victory Gallop and Cryptoclearance, horses you dnt see in the picture until the 1/16th pole.

Honorable Miss at 6 furlongs.She'd be 20 lengths behind going into the far turn and win.if she went longer she'd hang.

I consider them DEEP closers. It is all just an opinion though. No matter what, Alex had a great turn of foot and was a tremendous race horse. And he did have scary talent. However, being a very rideable horse made him even better. I loved that horse.

Million dollar question. Afleet Alex or Smarty Jones? Tough call but I liked Smarty a little more.

That is a tough one as I thought that both of these horses could have become superhorses had they not been retired prematurely. I think that we had seen Smarty Jones's best already when he left us. However, Smarty Jones consistently gave his best which is what made him so good. He was such a precocious horse. I think that Afleet Alex's best was yet to come as he had been steadily improving with every race IMO. Smarty Jones was more accomplished than Afleet Alex when he retired, but I think Afleet Alex would have become the better horse had he not retired. It's too bad we couldn't have seen these two greats a year longer than we did. Both were incredible.

Who WINS......GZ,EM,SJ,AA....A field of dreams

It isn't really fair to compare the three year olds to the older horse. EM, SJ, and AA weren't raced as older horses so you won't ever know just how talented they were. I will say that GZ was one of those horses that only come around every once in awhile. He was a freakishly talented horse.

I hope EM doesn't stand for Empire Maker. He isn't even close to the other three. The horse was ok at best. Smarty, Alex, and GZ were all incredible and proven. Add Mineshaft and then you have 4 greats.

I was thinking the same thing about EM. LOL. Mineshaft was awesome too. That is a much better one than EM.

I don't think Empire Maker ever showed his best. He is going to be the next HUGE stallion, bigger then Giant's Causeway.

LOL... Freak isn't the word

I think that the next huge stallion is going to be Orientate.

One of my favorite ever Scav The Giant..

Actually you're right on both accounts. There are no stupid questions and yes Jazil had a very good closing kick to win the Belmont. That's what the term means, a late burst of speed in the race.

Don't worry about posting questions or making a fool of yourself. People will generally be pretty civil towards you. You'll do fine. Everyone here asks questions at some point or another. Heck I have stupid questions at times and I've been doing this a long time!

The Classics are races like the Kentucky Derby, The Belmont, and the Breeders Cup Classic. I'm not entirely sure how many distances are considered classic, but I do know that 1 1/4 miles (10 furlongs) is considered the classic distance. That is the distance of the Kentucky Derby and the Breeder Cup Classic.

Like I said the Belmont at 1 1/2 miles (12 furlongs) may also be considered a classic distance, I'm just not sure. Others will know for sure.

thanks

Daylami '99 BC Turf at Gulfstream
Afleet Alex a few times.
Monarchos '01 Florida Derby
Crytoclearance deep closer
Megahertz always brought it.

Just a few that come to mind.

Some people are calling the Travers a "classic" now, but i have no idea why I always thought that was reserved for the races you just mentioned.

just remembered this now. DEEP IMPACT, the champ in Japan and possible the best horse in the world in his last race coasted home in the 2m Tenno Show. around 7 furlongs out, he went 4 wide from 2nd or 3rd last to lead and clocked an unreal 33.5 secs for the last 3 furlongs. Thats some closing kick. He lowered the course record by a second to 3mins13.4. He was unreal. You can view this race and many others by going to http://japanracing.jp/information/list2006.html

Todo Ca Toda Ca Toda Ca Toda Ca!!!!

If one wants to go on a single closing performance, I would have to go with Just James' run in the Coral Eurobet Sprint Handicap on 25May2002 at Newmarket over the straight 6f. To quote the Racing Post chart:

A fiercely competitive event, and an astonishing win by JUST JAMES, who was detached from the pack with a couple of furlongs to go and seemingly an also-ran. He found a tremendous burst down the middle of the track in the final furlong - having been switched from the far rails - to get up in the final strides as several of those who tried to stay with the strong pace hit the wall.

This horse looked totally beaten with the finish in sight and just ran right by the 19 other horses in the field. He went on to win the G3 Jersey S at Royal Ascot two starts later.

Might not be the best ever for sure, but Saballina looked very good in the 8th today at Bel.

Seek Gold was a tremendous close.

An illusion. Everyone stopped in front of him, including PD who pulled himself up.

Brock, thanks for the link. That was an impressive race although I have no idea how strong the field was. There were some very long odds on the board.
But I agree with you DI looked to be a beast and just wreaks of class.
Do you happen to know what his plans are for the year?

Yeah its tough to say how good the field is. usually alot of two mile races are filled with horses too slow for shorter distances, but i believe the first 3 home were genuine g1 horses. Deep Impact will be heading for the Arc in October and a fascinating clash with Hurricane Run is expected. He has only been beaten once by Hearts Cry on christmas day last year and considered unlucky as rider went for home too late. Hearts Cry beat Ouija Board et al in dubai and is on course for the King George at Ascot in July where he'll meet Hurricane Run. So it will give us an indication of how strong Deep Impact is.

Deep Impact could be the best bred horse in the world.

when deep impact won the japanese triple crown last year in the japanese st leger over 1m7f,those who put 100 yen on him to win got back 100 yen. no profit. amazing

Watch the 2000 BC Juvenile and Point Given's charge down the stretch. He never trailed much after that, but he sure could finish when on. His Belmont was another amazing burst of speed when he came off the turn.

I'm telling you go watch artie schiller's race first out!!!

6f on the turf LAST AT THE TOP OF THE STRETCH! mig still sitting and everything, he knew he had a loaded gun I guess. He explodes and catches see lathem who had opened up by 4. Artie made up at least 17 lengths.