great losing efforts...
 

Personal Ensign H. 2004 ... i just watched the replay and what a champion azeri was, they go 1:09.4 and she digs in and gives storm flag flying everything she can handle, i know there are prolly alot better performances then this, but watching this replay makes me remember what a champion she was.

I am sure i am alone here, bit I think her connections probably dimiinished her legacy by staying on the west coast and not winning a few other races with her. She was talented, not the most but talented, and she had heart. She would've had a better resume if they had not been scared of her streak.

agree with that, i am bias though i saw her live twice at saratoga and both times she ran huge, true champion

I was very excited by her performance the day she broke her maiden. She was ignored in the betting, and won sensationally at odds of about 18/1 or so.

For whatever reason, I became less and less of a fan of hers as time wore on. A lot of people got carried away with her performances and accomplishments later on in her career....so much so, that I clearly wasn't a fan of hers at the end.

It was like the opposite of how I viewed Xtra Heat. I could barely stand her early on in her career, and just past the mid-way point of her 3-year-old season, after a sensational losing effort to Victory Ride in the Test, I had suddenly become one of her biggest fans.

In my opinion the greatest losing effort in history was Seattle Slew in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup. How he ran the opening half mile in :45.1 (with some colt named Affirmed pushing him all the way), and still had enough left in the tank to battle a 10-time G1 winner in Exceller down to the wire in a 12f race is beyond me. If you have never seen the race you should definitely watch it, and even if you have seen it 20 times......you should watch it again.
Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...&search=Search

How about the race at Saratoga between You and Carson Hollow. I don't remember which race it was but that was a sensational race. I think even Durkin said neither one of them deserved to lose or at least something to that effect.

I didn't see the race between Slew and Excelsior but I read about it and wish I did see it.

I wish I could get into NYRA's library and create a DVD of the greatest races run on NYRA tracks, think about all of the great ones in the "Video Vault"

Besides the obvious two in ALYDAR & Seattle Slew in the JCGC, I'd go with Saint Liam's losses to Commentator and Ghostzapper.

the you/carson hollow race was great. another it was a shame to have a loser--easy goer and sunday silence's preakness. congarees narrow loss to milwaukee brew in the big cap.

one of the greatest winning efforts--dr fagers one experimentation on turf.

Slew was special in so many ways. He proved it over and over again. What a horse!

I agree. Sheer heart to come back in that race when going 1:09 and 2 while battling 2 horses for the lead through 6 furlongs.

Agree that Slew's JC was as good as any.

Another sticks out to me from Silver Charm's Santa Anita Derby. He chased Sharp Cat through an opening half in 44 and change, then came again in the final 1/16th at Freehouse. I've never had a better moment of clarity on who I was going to bet in the Derby.

Behren's and Victory Gallup

Congaree's Derby

Agree 100%. Not only the best losing effort ever but probably one of the top 10 performances of all time.

seattle slew was a one in a million, or maybe one in a billion horse. one of the best horses to ever grace the sport when you look at his on track accomplishments, and then his impact as a sire.

another great losing effort was from empire maker in the derby. i always said he should have never run with that bad foot, but he would have won imo had he not been hindered both training and running with that bruise.

then there's genuine risks preakness. she was as game as they come.

I think you know your stuff! Empire Maker impressed me in his losing Derby effort. Genuine Risk was my first Derby collection ever. I never said"I told you so!" to the chauvinist naysayers. Seattle Slew (obviously) is my favorite horse of alltime. Words desert me when I speak of him. I agree with you when you say he is one in a million/billion. In his presence, at the track or at the farm, he left me in awe. I do not think it is trite to say we shall never see his like again.

I agree with you about Silver Charm's performance that day--I thought he ran a spectacular race, and was clearly best even in defeat.

Mineshaft's battle with Perfect Drift... Mineshaft was weighted down and would not give in. A beautiful effort by an underappreicated horse.

OOps, except by Randall...

The list has to include Smarty Jones in the Belmont. How about Medaglia d'Oro's 2003 Classic?