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
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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