Who are your top 5 horses in recent memory?

[Free House]

Sorry if this has been covered before. I find it an interesting topic as to who everyone likes. I figured keep it within the last 20 years or so. Otherwise Big Red and Slew might be on most lists. Its fun to talk about favorite horses, when no triple crowns have been captured. For me its.

5. Megahertz
4. Free House
3. Smarty Jones
2. Tiznow
1. Cigar

[GaryG]

Holy Bull
Inside Information
Sunday Silence
Personal Ensign
Barbaro

[misscashalot]

Dr Fager
Kelso
Forego
Honorable Miss
Priceless Gem

[Free House]

Holy Bull
Inside Information
Sunday Silence
Personal Ensign
Barbaro

Holy Bull was a little before my time, but a couple people have mentioned him in the last day or so> I've youtubed a couple of his vids and he is just amazing. Especially holding off Concern

[toussaud]

ghopzapper
barbaro
curlin
zenyatta
rachael alexandra


that is recent memory as in the last 5-6 years

[The Judge]

Sunday Silence
Alysheba
Bayakoa
Easy Goer
Personal Ensign

Sorry can't stop there got to throw in some honorable mentions some of whom could make anybodies top 5.

Cigar, Silver Charm, A.P Indy, Go For Wand, Skip Away, Ghostzapper, Dayjur,Invasor,Awsome Again, Criminal Type, Curlin, Tiznow, Lure, Reprise, Soviet Problem, Alphabet Soup.

[joanied]

Oh man, this is a toughie...especially trying to come up with 5 for over the last 20 years....and thank goodness, Free House, it's not further back than that...when we had horses like Fager, Damascus, Forego, Tawee and my 'old friend', Foolish Pleasure....not to mention the really obvious ones...
even looking back over 20 years, it's tough to pick 5...
Tiznow
Cigar
Skip Away
Personal Ensign
Paseana


I beleive those are not any further back than 20 years (DUH:blush: )

[DrugS]

5. Sarava
4. Master David
3. Dominican
2. Monba
1. Bandini

[Dahoss9698]

5. Sarava
4. Master David
3. Dominican
2. Monba
1. Bandini
Our lists are pretty similar. I had Monba and Bandini in reverse order.

[juanepstein]

KONAGOLD
paseana
bayakoa
mr frisky
petespocketfull.......high level claimer that won 11 races in a row for me in the late 80s. my name is pete so we can see how that streak started.

[tucker6]

In no order, and from 1988 onward,


Barbaro ( he was the "package", but was taken too soon)
Zapper (freak)
Risen Star (fast and a stayer like his daddy, and was almost a TC winner)
Cigar (obvious)
Easy Goer (they don't make 'em like they used to)

[lamboguy]

1. Holly Bull

2. Timely Writer

3. Curlin

4. Empire Maker

5. Funnycide (more centemental than anything else)


1. Ruffian

2. serena's song*


3. Mom's Command

4. Azari

5. Rags to Riches


*D.Wayne Lukas pupil, does not get capital letters

[Run Nicholas Run]

SMARTY JONES
BARBARO
AFLEET ALEX

are the only 3 that comes to mind right off the bat.

[proximity]

route: dubai millennium

sprint: smoke glacken

[santanajimi]

Forego...Seattle Slew....Skip Away...hit a pik 6 with him.
Sunny"s Halo.....Ruffian.

[Marshall Bennett]

1. Secretariat
2. Buckpasser
3. John Henry
4. Cigar
5. Damascus

* that goes for my memory

[sonnyp]

5. dr. fager
4. spectacular bid
3. kelso
2. seattle slew
1. secretariat

horses that i saw run

[DanG]

"Recent memory" being the theme...



Candy Ride
Easy Goer (Wow...20 years ago already)
Deep Impact
Miesque
Dubai Millennium
With about 19,437 on the AE list.

[juanepstein]

wheres all the WAR ADMIRAL people?

come on we know your out there.

[riskman]

Holy Bull was a little before my time, but a couple people have mentioned him in the last day or so> I've youtubed a couple of his vids and he is just amazing. Especially holding off Concern

Holy Bull was horse of the year in 1994, 15 years ago. In a previous post on this board you said you were 34 years old which would make you 19 when Holy Bull was at his peak. What gives?

[senortout]

Forego, hands down.

It was my distinct privilege to attend a running of the Metropolitan Handicap one year (forget which year) and watch Forego finally win this elusive prize. (he'd failed several years) The field was decent, here again, I forget the others in there.

He made his move and won. Each year he'd start out in a sprint of say 7 furlongs and go from there. He had terrible legs I believe, Frank his trainer spent a lot of time on them.

An amazing tribute to a GREAT CHAMPION was sneakily inserted into the form, for his next race! Check me on this if you have the clipping....in the comment line, for Forego, the winner of the Met Mile....a single comment....http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/1298/forego.html

SLUGGISH! (this the chart comment on a winning race)

the DRF CHART CALLERS EXPECTED MUCH MORE OF THIS GREAT HORSE.

Forego was 4th in Secretariats derby, to bring things to the proper perspective.

my list includes Secretariat, Forego, Personal Ensign(lucky enough to see that one finish out her career unbeaten), Skip Away(he had great human connections in the Hines), and Capt. Billy Bud(anybody remember this cheap claimer?) He won I believe 10 straight in one season, mostly at Thistledown. So, no, doesn't really belong, in the strictest sense of the poll. But there you have it.

[lamboguy]

i would never leave out FOREGO but the thread asked for RECENT horses

[slew101]

1. Cigar
2. John Henry
3. Alysheba
4. Skip Away
5. Silver Charm

[senortout]

Timely Writer Progresses






Published: May 23, 1982
Timely Writer, the overwhelming favorite to win the Kentucky Derby until a stomach infection and emergency surgery sidelined him 12 days before the race, will take another step on his road to recovery when he arrives at Belmont Park by van from Kentucky next Thursday or Friday.

i would never leave out FOREGO but the thread asked for RECENT horses
Lamboguy..............................


your list also included Ruffian, another who goes back a ways so wt heck?

just wondering......

[joanied]

I noticed a lot of us (not me:p ) are naming horses from before the last 20 years...
I mentioned I was glad we couldn't go back further than 20 years because it would be nearly impossible to name just five...hard enough to pick from the last 20 years as it is:bang:
:) :) :)

[sandpit]

Cesario
Lure (the greatest horse in the history of the sport to never be named champion)
Formal Gold (highest Beyer ever, 112, for a debut; finished ahead of Skip Away more often than not)
Lost in the Fog (any horse that can win a Graded stakes just a few short months before succumbing to cancer deserves an automatic Hall of Fame induction)
Silver Charm

[joanied]

Cesario
Lure (the greatest horse in the history of the sport to never be named champion)
Formal Gold (highest Beyer ever, 112, for a debut; finished ahead of Skip Away more often than not)
Lost in the Fog (any horse that can win a Graded stakes just a few short months before succumbing to cancer deserves an automatic Hall of Fame induction)
Silver Charm

I just had to jump in on your post, sandpit...I agree about Lost in the Fog:ThmbUp: and he was one of my best favorites...he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame anyway.
Have you seen the documentary about him? It's really well done...I enjoyed every minute and if you haven't seen it....try and get a copy...well worth it.

[buzzy]

holybull(best horse to never win a triple crown race)
cigar
tiznow
point given
da hoss

[sandpit]

I just had to jump in on your post, sandpit...I agree about Lost in the Fog:ThmbUp: and he was one of my best favorites...he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame anyway.
Have you seen the documentary about him? It's really well done...I enjoyed every minute and if you haven't seen it....try and get a copy...well worth it.

thanks, and yes, I have the DVD Documentary and some other DVD I got from a friend that is just all his races. I think maybe Golden Gate or Bay Meadows gave it away...I also have a couple of big photos of him matted and framed hanging in my basement...racing shots from new york, one is a head on from a low angle that captures all his power, plus that offset blaze that made him so unique.

[Marshall Bennett]

holybull(best horse to never win a triple crown race
Buckpasser ... The Bull wasn't anywhere close .

[Stevie Belmont]

Smarty Jones
Real Quiet
Say Florida Sandy
Curlin
English Channel
Evening Attire

Cat Thief

That's 7 oh well...

[andymays]

The top 5 horses are the ones that put the most money in your pocket!

[ezgoerbaby79]

1. Holly Bull

2. Timely Writer

3. Curlin

4. Empire Maker

5. Funnycide (more centemental than anything else)


1. Ruffian

2. serena's song*


3. Mom's Command

4. Azari

5. Rags to Riches


*D.Wayne Lukas pupil, does not get capital letters

Might want to make Azeri lower case as well.

[joanied]

thanks, and yes, I have the DVD Documentary and some other DVD I got from a friend that is just all his races. I think maybe Golden Gate or Bay Meadows gave it away...I also have a couple of big photos of him matted and framed hanging in my basement...racing shots from new york, one is a head on from a low angle that captures all his power, plus that offset blaze that made him so unique.

You have a great collection going on...:ThmbUp: Both 'Fog' and his owner were so special...and I hope Mr. Aileio (spelling?) and Fog were reunited in the great above.

[SmartyLane]

Smarty Jones (gotta love this scrappy little colt)
Curlin
Point Given (deserved TC, great horse that didn't quite make it like many others)
Tiznow (his two breeders cup wins put him on this list alone)
Zenyatta (was at the Breeders Cup last year) Simply amazing filly.

Rachel Alexandra might be on this list by the end of the year. Maybe as special filly as we have seen in YEARS, and could possibly be put in the same sentence as Winning Colors, Ruffian, Zenyatta, Bayakoa, Lady's Secret Personal Ensign to name a few. Only time will tell.

[joanied]

I wonder if we shouldn't have two lists of our top 5 horses from recent years...one for the colts/geldings, one for the fillies/mares...make it a little easier on the old memory...
:)

[MNslappy]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned any of these names (recent memory)

Big Brown
Invasor
Ouija Board
Rags to Riches
Street Sense

[Hajck Hillstrom]

Rags To Riches

Winning Colors

Melair

Hokuto Vega

Zenyatta


What can I say? I have an eye for the fillies.

[jognlope]

Funnycide had an 11th length victory in Preakness, 11th (somewhere around that) fastest time in Derby history, so he is my sentimental favorite too. He stood in his stall wearing a breathing nebulizer mask to remove phlegm many mornings. It's too bad he had those health issues sort of creep up on him. I don't think he just decided to run a bad race when he did. He came out of his career in good shape, thank goodness.

Barbaro, Tiznow, Curlin, Zenyatta.

[silverjeff]

5. Street Sense

4. Barbaro

3. Curlin

2. Alysheba

1. Hard Spun

[KathleenImposter]

I consider recent memory post 1990

1. Smarty Jones
2. Holy Bull
3. Azeri
4. Cigar
5. Skip Away

My favorite horse because she was just a tiny thing with an incredible burst was Gorella.

Most overrated horse IMO is Curlin

[Sabong]

I have been into racing sense 1999
1 Dubai Millennium
2 Ghostzapper
3 Tiznow (my fav)
4 Candy Ride
5 Left Bank

Fillies & Mares
1 Zarkarva
2 Ouiji Board
3 Azeri
4 Sunline
5 Zenyatta

[jognlope]

Evening Attire! how could I not mention him.

[maxwell]

This is good thread due to the fact that it askes a question I never thought about before : how many great horses have I seen personally or watched run?
I would have to say Cigar is the first super star that I have tuned into. Ouija Board is the best filly I have seen.

For sure I have seen tons of great horses run on TV: Big Red winning the Belmont by 31 was out of this world! I probably saw Northern Dancer in the paddock but what little kid would care about that? I woke up to racing when I started handicapping in '95, and only because I moved very close to Woodbine ... but I play the SoCal circuit. :D

A good eye-opening thread. :)

[jognlope]

OMG I didn't mention my favorite boy Lemon Drop Kid, not great as your lists, but I'm telling you he was so impressive and definitely topped the "dude" list.