Top 5 greatest failures I've seen among racehorses

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by jms62

If I can use one word to describe your list of "failures". Absurd.

Why?

I'm not talking about horses who sold for $16 million because they fooled someone in an undertack show .. or sold for $11 million because they fooled someone with looks.

I'm talking about horses who were actually on the path to greatness - and had logical reasons to believe they would improve - and they certainly didn't come close to achieving greatness.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Why?

I'm not talking about horses who sold for $16 million because they fooled someone in an undertack show .. or sold for $11 million because they fooled someone with looks.

I'm talking about horses who were actually on the path to greatness - and had logical reasons to believe they would improve - and they certainly didn't come close to achieving greatness.

Drugs. First line of Slewboppers post verbatim is my reasoning.

[smuthg]

Drugs, what about Sweet Catomine?

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by smuthg

Drugs, what about Sweet Catomine?

Tough to consider her a failure considering the circumstances though, no?

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by smuthg

Drugs, what about Sweet Catomine?

If I had to do females ... she, along with Halfbrideld would be very high on the list. She didn't race long enough though afterwards to get a top 2 or 3 ranking though.

[Antitrust32]

I think that grey Canadian horse (i think a stronach) that won the Withers I believe and everyone was saying he was going to be the next Bernardini. I think he would qualify.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

I think that grey Canadian horse (i think a stronach) that won the Withers I believe and everyone was saying he was going to be the next Bernardini. I think he would qualify.

Harlem Rocker?

[DaTruth]

I really enjoy your various lists. Thank you for posting them. One thing I will note about the above list is all the horses had competent trainers. Their detours from the path to greatness were the results of circumstances more than boneheaded training decisions. That might be a good topic for a future list-budding superhorses ruined by their trainers.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

Harlem Rocker?

yes

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Harlem Rocker crossed the wire first in the Cigar Mile the last time he raced. The Cigar is the same track and distance as the Withers. I would say he was a failure ... but no way did he ever appear on the path to greatness.

Getting back to Afternoon Deelites ... the 111 Beyer he got in the Hollywood Futurity is, to the best of my knowledge, the fastest two-turn dirt number ever published for a 2yo on a fast track.

I think most people would have guessed Street Sense's 10 length BC Juvie win would be the fastest .. but that was only a 108.

It's not just the figure for AD though ... that was his first lifetime start in a route race. He won the race with disdainful ease in 1:40 3/5ths and looked like routing would be his thing and not sprinting. 2nd place was beaten 6.5 lengths. 3rd place beaten 16.5 lengths.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c08XH52OHc


The winner was being compared to Seattle Slew ... but it was the obliterated 2nd place finisher who would sweep the Fla Derby, Ky Derby, Belmont, and Travers as a 3yo the following year.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by jms62

Drugs. First line of Slewboppers post verbatim is my reasoning.

Easy. Multiple stakes winners can be great failures - to me anyway - because they were cut out to be all-time greats and they didn't achieve it.