Cigar was the best horse in the last 30 years

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Cardus

I'm not going to carry on with this all night, but let's take a look:

I was at the Gold Cup that he lost to Skip Away. Great race. I haven't seen a crowd that size at a Gold Cup since. Where'd those fans go?

Cigar ran in the Mass Cap, too. I see that Suffolk has thrived since.

A great horse brings out fans... on the day he or she runs at the local racetrack.

I don't think that is entirely true. It took Smarty Jones to make me take note of how interesting and multifaceted the sport is...I know a few who got involved by seeing the Afleet Alex story. We all have our hook...

Top stars do have an impact.

[miraja2]

Cigar was a very good horse. But if I had to go with the best horse in the last 30 years I would go with Affirmed. I just think this horse is VERY underrated. He is typically ranked lower than Seattle Slew or The Bid, but in my opinion he should rank slightly higher than those two. He certainly ranks much higher than Cigar or Skip Away.
The reason why is the quality of competition these horses faced.
Affirmed faced more top quality horses, more often, than any other horse to run in the last 30 years, and yet he still managed 22 wins and 5 places from 29 lifetime starts. He beat Spectacular Bid. He faced horses like Seattle Slew and Exceller multiple times. Coastal and Sensitive Prince were both tremendous horses that couldn't contend with Affirmed. And then of course, Alydar. Most horses in the last thirty years have NEVER faced a horse of Alydar's quality, let alone race against him countless times as Affirmed did.
Despite facing this unbelievable competition, Affirmed was Champion 2yo, Champion 3yo, Champion Older horse, Triple Crown winner, and 2-time HOY.
Despite his lack of success against Slew - which the only real knock on him - I would rank him #1 in the last 30 years.