Top 5 best two-surface horses of the last 20 years

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

Apparently, head to head means nothing. I guess next we are going to read again that Easy Goer was better than Sunday Silence. Or maybe better than that, we can read how Summer Bird is better than Rachel Alexandra. Rock Hard Ten beat the hell out of St. Liam but St. Liam was so much better. Got it.

Saint Liam was beaten by Rock Hard Ten in his backyard. Rock Hard Ten was completely useless outside of California and that is a huge mark against him with me. The SA Handicap was clearly the only real blemish on Saint Liam's record as his only other loss during the entire campaign was to Commentator in the race of that horse's life. He was there when it counted and he performed at a high level.

Rock Hard Ten was overrated from the time he broke his maiden. Everyone latched onto him on the Derby Trail and the DQ in the SA Derby added to his appeal because it led to his exclusion at CD. As a 4YO he was good, sure, but he also hardly ran. The SA Handicap was a solid race but His Goodwood was the ultimate unimpressive race to me as he and Roman Ruler had cupcake trips and he capitalized.

When Saint Liam ran in the SA Handicap he was coming off a very handy win in the Donn where he BURIED the Dubai World Cup winner.

So, yes, RHT might have won the only head to head matchup but I still think Saint Liam was better. RHT, like Candy Ride but to a greater extent, is held in high regard because of potential more so than substance IMO.

NT