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Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS
I think anyone who was around and following the game closely in '99 has to remember how disgracefully bad of a horse Charismatic was going into the Lexington.
The fact that he was only 44/1 in the Santa Anita Derby was a joke in itself...and he got drubbed pretty good by the blah Generally Challenged. He was 4th beaten 8+ to him.
'99 was a fairly weak year. I believe Steven Got Even would have been the Derby favorite that year, if not for the fact that Generally Challenged and Excellent Meeting were coupled in the betting.
War Emblem was a better horse than Charismatic. He ran several very good races. His win in the Preakness was outstanding - because he proved he could win inspite of taking all the early heat and not getting anything his way.
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I was following the game closely and remember vividly Charismatic's past performances. What I said was that Charismatic hit his stride in the Lexington and then followed that effort up with a good Derby and good Preakness. Calling him the worst Derby winner ever can only be done by penalizing him for his career ending prematurely. I know that he was a claimer and that he had few good speed figures prior to the Derby, but he ran three very good races in a row and then was brave in defeat in the Belmont.
NT