On the subject of great 3yo milers ... here are a pair of monsters (even moreso than Uncle Mo and The Factor for sure) that ducked both the Triple Crown series and the Met Mile.
Dr. Fager was only a half length winner in the Gotham in his 3yo debut - but 2nd place finisher Damascus was my 4th rated 3-year-old of the entire last century....
In the Withers - Dr. Fager took on the undefeated Tumiga. Tumiga is the only 3-year-old since 1950 to win the Carter Handicap against older horses.
The result was a ruthlessly fast Withers.
3rd place finisher Reason to Hail (beaten 11 lengths) - was cutting back from a 4th place finish in the Ky Derby last out - where he was always fairly in contention.
4th place finisher Favorable Turn (beaten 16 lengths) - won the Saratoga Special as a 2yo - and would win the Donn Handicap as a 4yo.
5th place finisher Sun Gala (Beaten 19 lengths) - won both the Sports Page and the Stuyvenct in New York that same year.
Even the hopelessly drowned Racing Room (later won the Citation Handicap and 2nd in the Hollywood Gold Cup) and Yorkville (won the Sanford as a 2yo and Fayette as a 4yo) were accomplished horses.
Dr Fager's winning time of 1:33 4/5 was 50 Beyer points faster than the next race time of 1:38 3/5 for 8f on dirt in a 10K 3yo non-condition claiming race.
Basically - a projected Beyer in the 118-to-123 range.
And as for why they ducked the Met Mile .....
Who wants to run against that when they're so many lucrative spots for 3-year-olds?