Top 5 BC performances ever
 

We did a thread like this a couple of years ago, but I wonder what other people think of this question.

I am probably forgetting a few, but I think my list is as follows:

1) Inside Information - '95 Distaff
2) Ghostzapper - '04 Classic
3) Arazi - '91 Juvenile
4) Pleasant Home - '05 Distaff
5) Banks Hill - '01 Filly & Mare Turf

Azeri '02 Distaff

Wasn't Storm Flag Flying's race at Arlington a real good performance, she was beat at the 1/4 pole and fought back gamely. Was an awesome race

I'm not sure of my list but I'm pretty sure Medaglia d'Oro in the 2003 Classic will be on that list. I know it was a loss but it was a winning effort and one of the best I've seen considering the circumstances.

Im pretty sure last years Turf winner was impressive. The winners name escapes me at the moment. Maybe Scavs would remember??

Shamdinan.

Exactly....I don't even want to respond he is so comedy....Any turf races should be tossed from that day, they don't even run on turf like that in Europe.....

Personal Ensign's Distaff
Arazi's Juvie
Johanesburg's Juvie

I remember HalfBridled in 2003. I thought she had an impossible post (14). She was 3-4 wide most of the way, and near the front in a hot paced race.

:mad: :mad:

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Ok. Very hard to make a list like this but here goes:

1. Bayakoa/Go for Wand-90 Distaff
Had to make this the top choice. I still think Go for Wand would have won had she not broken down but we'll never know. Either way, it was going to be a tight finish between two absolutely brilliant horses that hooked up early and provided everything we had anticipated and then some.

2. Great Communicator-88 Turf
Sunshine Forever, Indian Skimmer, and Triptych had all passed GC turning into the lane but as Tom Durkin said "Great Communicator would not be denied". He was game as they come in the lane and beat back some pretty good horses.

3. Medaglia d'Oro-03 Classic
Never got a break in that race. Was down on the inside of Congaree and dueled throughout with some pretty solid fractions. Congaree never gave an inch either but MDO was pulling away from him at the end. By right, both horses had to have been spent in the lane and Pleasantly Perfect benefitted from them wearing each other out and swept by to win but I have always thought that in defeat, MDO put on the best performance and it was that race that tells me whenever people say he can't run 10f, they are dead wrong.

4. Arazi-01 Juvenile
He didn't have much to beat but the way he did it was incredible. The most devastating move I've seen. Only seen it one other time and that was by him in the Derby. Even though he wasn't beating much, he wasn't supposed to do it that easily.

5. Personal Ensign-88 Distaff
With all that was at stake, it had to be the most dramatic. But putting the drama of the perfect career out of the picture, it was a pretty damn good performance. That was a damn good horse in Winning Colors that she had to run down even though that one had it totally her way. Goodbye Halo was no slouch either. It looked like she was beaten at the head of the lane and she didn't appear to be running comfortably but she dug in and got it done. I think that if that had been maybe 98% of the horses in the history of the game behind her, Winning Colors doesn't get caught.

Also considered:
Phone Chatter-03 Juv Fillies
Flanders-04 Juv Fillies
Miesque-88 Mile
Inside Information-05 Distaff
Alphabet Soup-06 Classic
Tiznow-00 Classic
Intercontinental-05 F/M Turf

Lure from the 12 post in '93 at Santa Anita

1) Personal Ensign
2) Curlin ; against the bias last year was really even better than it looked.
3) Arazi
4) War Chant
50 Midnite Lute ; with help of bias and great set-up, but was awesome.

Singletary:tro:























:rolleyes:

Inside Information.. she absolutely destroyed Heavenly Prize and Serena's Song...

personal ensign, arazi and tiznows second win would be hard to top.

Tiznows races, and I think it was Powerscourt who put on a good show couple years back. Phone Chatter too.

He didn't make my list, but I'm a little surprised that nobody has mentioned Skip Away in the '97 Classic yet.

That was a nice performance by her that day. For Juvy fillies though, I would probably go with Countess Diana or Flanders.

Hard to argue those two but I think Phone Chatter has got to be considered because of the two she beat, Sardula and Heavenly Prize, both top level horses.

Manila............checked and blocked and still won the Turf.

In no particular order
Wild Again's Classic 1984
Ferdinand's Classic 1987 over Alysheba
Arazi's Juvy 1991
Personal Ensign's Distaff 1988
Inside Informations's Distaff 1995

Honorable mention
Miesque's Mile in 1987
Cozzene's mile in 1986
Lure's mile in 1992
Steinlen's mile in 1989
Six Perfection's mile in 2003
Princess Rooney's Distaff in 1984
Bayakoa's Distaff in 1989
Beautiful Pleasure's Distaff in 1999
Flanders Juvy filly in 1994
Halfbridled's Juvy filly in 2003
Indian Blessing's juvy in 2007
Ghostzapper's Classic in 2004
Sunday Silence's Classic in 1989
Skip Away's Classic in 1997
Awesome Again's Classic in 1998
Tiznow's Classic in 2000
Manila's Turf in 1986
Theatrical's Turf in 1987
Fantastic Light's Turf in 2001
War Pass' Juvy in 2007
Street Sense's Juvy in 2006
Banks Hill's Filly turf in 2001
Midnight Lute's sprint in 2007
Safely Kept's Sprint in 1990
Very Subtle's Sprint in 1987
Precisionist's Sprint in 1985

Mind you how the monmouth track was playing, in Routes, on Cup weekend last year. Granted both went on to prove that the results werent flukes, they were definitly aided by the track.

1) Personal Ensign 1988 (yeah... that was easy)
2) Ghostzapper 2004
3) Skip Away 1997 (he beat nothing but man that was awesome)
4) Unbridled's Song/Hennessey 1995 (crushed a good field... Hennessey set torrid fractions and almost got home)
5) English Channel 2007

English Channel? Did GPK steal your password?
Unbridled's Song should have an asterick due to Donna Bartons ineptness

:p

Ask me again tomorrow and I'll probably have 3 different choices underneath the top two. The reason the BC IS such a great event is the incredible horseflesh that gathers for it every year.

I almost put UBS on my honorable mention. I thought that last years Turf was arguably the weakest group ever plus I would never feed Kevs EC addiction

Looking over the charts there are so many great races that we have forgotten about. I dont know anyone can leave Wild Again off the list. Not only was it an unbelievable performance, it was one of the largest betting scores ever.

How did Pleasant Home not make your honorable mention list? I thought her race that day was extremely strong.

This is obvioulsy a very subjective discussion, but I really don't know how in the world any top five list could exclude Inside Information.

Yeah she probably belongs

Princess Rooney went one full second faster than Wild Again at the same distance on the same days as the Breeders Cup Classic - and both PR and WA went an identical 1:37 flat to the mile call.

I realize WA deserves some extra credit for the fast and pressured pace - but that simply can't be rated a top five all-time BC performance.

I don't agree about PE's Distaff - it was certainly one of the best moments in BC history - but the individual performance itself is no way top 5 material.

I agree with you completely on this point and was a bit shocked to see so many people have it as a top five performance. I am a big Personal Ensign fan, and it was a fabulous race to watch, but the amazing thing about it to me was that she managed to win without turning in a truly great performance.

Johanesburg's Juvie went significantly slower than the Juv Fillies. I doubt it would make the top 100 BC performances ever.

g zapper 2004:tro: :tro: :tro:

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:) :wf

Just a reminder to Scavs as to what it looked like that day:tro: :D

Only if you are basing it on speed figures. First, the 1-2 fillies (Tempera and Imperial Gesture) were pretty good horses in their own right. Second, Johannesburg beat a very deep field that year (Siphonic, Came Home, Officer, Repent, Publication, etc.). Third, it was the cap to a brilliant globe-trotting, and unbeaten juvenile campaign.