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#1
11-24-2006, 01:19 PM
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Best Horse of 2006
Ok, so who was the best horse to race in the United States in 2006? I'm not asking who would get your vote for HOY. Many of u have certain standards that u want to see met in order for a horse to be HOY (ie wins in certain races, money earned, number of starts, etc). I understand and respect all of those opinions. But I was just thinking about what the Eclipse Awards actually state as their criteria and all it says is that u have to have at least one North American start to qualify. That's why we've seen so many European winners win our turf championships off of only one start here. It's why Arazi was one of the three finalists for HOY in 1991 off of only the Juvenile win here. So in that vein, I'd like to know simply what horse people think was the best horse to race in this country this year. Last year was an easy one as Ghostzapper was the clearly the best one even though he only ran once. Who is it this year? My vote goes to Discreet Cat.
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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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#2
11-24-2006, 01:32 PM
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I would stick with Invasor. I like seeing horses run successfully at a classic distance. He's been remarkably consistent. Discreet Cat would be a close second for me. He may be the better horse in terms of overall talent (which we'll begin to find out soon here), but in terms of being the "best" I think you have to beat the best of the rest to be truly be the best in any year.
Honnorable mention for best show put on by any horse all year? Without a doubt Gorella. I don't think she's the "best" horse this year -- but she is sure as hell the most entertaining to watch!
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#3
11-24-2006, 01:40 PM
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Invasor although I'll give small consideration to changing my vote if Discreet Cat is amazing on Saturday.
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#7
11-24-2006, 09:24 PM
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Invasor was the best.
Barbaro probably would have been had things not gone wrong. He really wasn't appreciated for how good he was because after his injury bernadinimania started. Look back at what he did. Wins at Delaware, Laurel, and Calder on grass. Wins at Gulf in the slop and on a dry track. Most dominant Derby win I ever saw. Only defeat occurred when he went down to injury. We really got screwed missing out on what we could have witnessed with him. That one's always gonna hurt.
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#8
11-24-2006, 10:18 PM
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Invasor is no lightning bolt -- his times are relatively slow for an older horse. Discreet Cat is the sprinter's version of Bernardini -- he's beaten nobody.
Barbaro could beat either. Any distance. Any surface. Any condition.
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#9
11-24-2006, 10:37 PM
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Discreet Cat with another smashing victory tomorrow. Barbaro would be my 2nd chioce
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"Change can be good, but constant change shows no direction" http://www.hickoryhillhoff.blogspot.com/
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#10
11-24-2006, 10:48 PM
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Against how many? 4 others? Discreet Cat doesn't break 1:34 and possibly even 1:35 tomorrow. Nothing special. Yet Beyer gives him a 118 or so speed figure. Same old story. Why run Discreet Cat in the Breeders Cup when you can clean up easy money in overrated races like the Cigar? In the BC the truth might have been revealed.
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#11
11-24-2006, 11:17 PM
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After tomorrow...
Quote:
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"Change can be good, but constant change shows no direction" http://www.hickoryhillhoff.blogspot.com/
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#12
11-25-2006, 01:06 AM
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Im not sure DCat can do any more tomorrow to win the award.
hes going to romp easy and ppl will again ask why he has not faced more. you either believe he is a freak now or are going to have to wait until next year. the best horse of the year? well, HOY has to go to Invasor. more than deserving. but then again, look what DCat did to him in March. interesting though, the best horse to run in this country after those 2 has to be Hurricane Run. he ran horrible in his only US start and really was out of form by the Fall. but if you want to know who was the best turf horse that stepped foot on US soil this year, thats it. Repent
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#13
11-25-2006, 02:16 AM
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#14
11-25-2006, 06:45 AM
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Discreet Cat? The Jerome and Cigar Mile won't cut it as a HOY resume. And please don't drag out the ridiculous "UAE Derby". There aren't too many people that would count anything that transpires at Nad al Sheba as a legitimate result towards determining anything. (Ian Jory's two horses were likely drugged up by someone for gods sake... He's got the test results to prove it. And then there's the horrific treatment Buff Bradley and Brass Hat received as further evidence of the phony shenanigans that go on in the 'Desert Oasis'...) Barbaro is Barbaro. It's difficult to quantify his half season in the context of those that ran complete seasons, but he wasn't the 'best' horse of 2006. Everyone is so quick to attack Bernardini's opponent list, but other than the great Derby performance, which itself is quantity over quality, who exactly was Barbaro beating in the Tropical Park Derby (Wise River 2nd, Lewis Michael 3rd); Holy Bull (Great Point 2nd, My Golden Song 3rd); and FL Derby (Sharp Humor 2nd, Sunriver 3rd)??? The also rans behind him in the three pre-Derby races were hardly frightening groups.. So that leaves a wonderful Derby performance as Barbaro's great accomplishment of the year. Fine. But it hardly makes him the 'best' horse of the year when there's a candidate that won 4 straight Grade I races that are among the most important of any racing year. And as a reminder of the initial point, Invasor has been facing elders from May onward. I can appreciate the adoration of Barbaro as much as anyone, but in these discussions, he simply doesn't qualify from a body of work basis.
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984.
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#15
11-25-2006, 07:50 AM
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i answered the question, which was who you thought was the best, not who was HOY. invasor obviously deserves the award.
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Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all. Abraham Lincoln
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#16
11-25-2006, 09:25 AM
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Ouija Board was the best horse to win in the US this year. Invasor had the best season, and will be a deserving HOY, but OB is a future "Hall of Fame" mare and was a bad trip in 2005 from winning 3 straight BC races. Add her globetrotting resume in open company and you have one of the best in recent memory.
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Do I think Charity can win? Well, I am walking around in yesterday's suit.
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#17
11-25-2006, 09:40 AM
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Invasor!! although I would side with Bernardini in a rematch at 10f 12f
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#18
11-25-2006, 10:52 AM
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Barbaro
Afew think Discreet Cat should be on top, but in this country he has just raced thru his conditions and dodged his real competion. He will race today and ship back home. If a race horse doesn't run into his 4yo year they are to be remember as a flash in the pan.
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#19
11-25-2006, 10:55 AM
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#20
11-25-2006, 11:16 AM
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I will always think that Bernardini was a monster. Although, I really liked both Barbaro and Invasor too.
However, Discreet Cat is going to put them all to shame in terms of talent. Hate the way the horse moves and hate the way he is built, but love his talent. Discreet Cat by a mile in the Mile today.
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