goodnight Mera.
thanks for staying up so I have someone to tallk to on here.

Ive got to make some time and get on here during the day more often when more ppl are on.


Repent

Raw talent and combined accomplishments? Slew, hands down.

Well yeah...that ten! No fair using such celebrateded "claimers". Besides this obvious group, can you name ten 3yos better than Secretariat?

Interesting, by asking for the most "talented" 3-y-o, you're suggesting that they don't always have had to applied that talent. I prefer to rate horses by ability rather than talent. A minor semantical point, I know, but important nonetheless.

Hawk Wing or Point Given in my opinion.

You were just joking with this post...weren't you?

repent admitted to me at one point that he didn't like smarty because he hadn't picked him to win...so of course the horse proved him wrong.

excellent point! talent doesn't earn purses, or pay the bills.

what sire? it would have to be between native dancer, northern dancer, seattle slew for more modern horses. domino if you go way back. bold ruler is another who excelled on dirt and in the shed.
i guess out of those i just listed, i'd go with northern dancer. dual classic winner, and a worldwide influence on the breed.

Slight correction: TRIPLE classic winner, as he won Canada's premier classic race for 3yos the Queen's Plate.

well,
if you are just talking accomplishment during the running of their 3YO year,
then, no-
there probably are not 10 better US dirt horses than Secretariat.

when you say "better", I think accomplishment.

I have no idea.
I cant even say with complete confidence who is "better" btwn 2 horses from the same crop like Bernardini and Discreet Cat,
so I have no freaking clue who is better btwn Secretariat and a horse that ran 30 years earlier like Citation or Coaltown.


Repent

lol

and i just read further on where repent 'fessed up again. hell, 'pent, i had smarty all along and never made a dime on him! you gotta play to win. no biggie...also had sunday silence, didn't bet him either. of course i was too young to play genuine risk.

er...yeah. lol

interesting to note tho that citation beat the previous years horse of the year when he was three--before running in and winning the tc. when's the last time someone saw a 3 yo face older in the early spring?? or face them early and beat them!

George Washington has just stated a very good case to be on this list.

also regarding secretariat....it's always difficult to debate this horse and what he did, and did not do. he accomplished quite a lot, his tc races were breathtaking performances. BUT the best horse ever doesn't lose 5 of 21. almost 1/4 of his races were losses. ignoring those would be like ignoring perfect drifts losses on turf when he was a potential hoy candidate--remember that argument by his trainer??

i think you could make the argument that there were ten horses who were better at three than secretariat. of course you could make an argument on just about anything....

so, if you truly thought about it--what ten would there be?

eclipse
colin
man o war--don't forget, this guy was placed ahead of sec on the top 100 by bloodhorse.
seattle slew--unbeated thru the tc, something sec was not.
count fleet
citation
spectacular bid
affirmed--after all, he had to keep beating alydar
war admiral--perfect 8 for 8, including a win in the belmont with one fourth of his hoof ripped off at the start. his preakness was ONE WEEK after the derby (in which he had the second fastest time in that race)-preakness time was two ticks off the track record, and the track was 'good' not fast. and in the belmont, he broke the belmont track record (set by man o war) and equaled the american record for that distance.

now, am i saying i really believe those ten were better??? lol maybe they are, maybe they aren't. my point is you could make that argument. it's all in the eye of the beholder.
secretariat gets most of his laurels due to three races. important races obviously....BUT overall at three?

a win by the guy?? fantastic! thanks for the update--how'd he look?

He confirmed himself Europe's Champion Miler with a truly majestic performance. I will post my full thoughts on the race in the International Forum shortly!

is he coming to the bc? looks like aragorn will have a little competition...ok, a lot of competition!

i'll give my impression, it was exceptional. GW just galloped near the rear and very casually waited a long time in the stretch for room, when it opened up for him he passed top milers with ease, just some hand urging.

after the race they interviewed AO and he said the the BC mile is the most likely next stop for him.