Versatile horses...trivia

[cj]

Including all races since 1973, I was able to find only five horses that were able to win a G1 in the US at 6f or below, and also at 10f and above. Can you name any of them or maybe some I might have missed? I'll let you know if those named are correct and/or from my list.

[only11]

Including all races since 1973, I was able to find only five horses that were able to win a G1 in the US at 6f or below, and also at 10f and above. Can you name any of them or maybe some I might have missed? I'll let you know if those named are correct and/or from my list.
Prescionist

[cj]

Yes, Precisionist is one.

[only11]

Yes, Precisionist is one.
Ruffian

[cj]

Yep, those are the two easiest I found.

[MickJ26]

Was Ghostzapper's Vosburgh six furlongs?

[cj]

No.

[andymays]

I was gonna say Ack Ack but he was before 1973 I think.

[cj]

It was...I couldn't find gradings in the PPs til 73.

[PhantomOnTour]

Just guessing here but how bout Swale and Turnbackthealarm??

[Tee]

Bold Forbes - nope I'll try again.

[cj]

Nix on the last three...got some stuff to do, check back later on.

[46zilzal]

I was gonna say Ack Ack but he was before 1973 I think.
HOY 1970

[46zilzal]

FOREGO

[Linny]

Forego deserves honorable mention for winning the Woodward at 12f, the Vosburgh at 7f and the JCGC at 2 miles between 9/28 and 11/9/1974! He didn't win a G1 at 6f though.
Grading onlycame into being in 1973.

Back to finding answers to the question at hand...

[46zilzal]

It was...I couldn't find gradings in the PPs til 73.
there is a reason for that:
The grading of races began as a TOBA project in 1973, primarily at the request of European authorities anxious that North America have a method, similar to their Pattern race system implemented in 1972, for identifying the highest quality black-type events. In January, 1974, The Blood-Horse published the first list of 330 North American Graded Stakes. This list was immediately incorporated into Weatherby’s Pattern Race book for the English Jockey Club; Fasig-Tipton Co. incorporated North American grades in its catalogues in 1975; Keeneland Association followed suit in 1976; the Daily Racing Form adopted grade-listings in 1978. In 1981 international auction houses and national breeders organizations and racing authorities formed the International Cataloguing Standards Committee "to achieve uniformity of cataloguing standards throughout the world," recognizing the TOBA North American Graded Stakes Committee as the grading authority for North American races. (In 1998, Canadian authorities received ICSC authority to grade Canadian races independently, and the TOBA Committee became the American Graded Stakes Committee.)

[Linny]

Alydar. He won the Sapling which was a G1 at the time and the Travers, on the DQ.

[Tee]

Foolish Pleasure

[cj]

Only one more to go from my list, Alydar and Foolish Pleasure were amongst them. The one I assumed would be toughest is last.

A few other interesting facts...Safely Kept won her last 20 races against fellow females at distances below 7f.

John Henry won 4 of his first 6 graded stakes attempts on dirt.

[cj]

No on Hansel.

[cj]

there is a reason for that:
The grading of races began as a TOBA project in 1973...

Thanks, good info.

[only11]

Thanks, good info.
DR fager

[Stevie Belmont]

How about Left Bank

[only11]

Spectacular Bid

[cj]

I don't think any of those qualify. Dr. Fager probably did but is too old.

[joanied]

One already mentioned was the first I thought of...my old 'friend'...Foolish Pleasure:ThmbUp:

[cj]

The one nobody has mentioned is the most recent.

[joanied]

The one nobody has mentioned is the most recent.

:bang: Hint?

[Bobzilla]

Gulch

[cj]

:bang: Hint?

That was a hint. Ok, here is another. It isn't Gulch. :)

[Cardus]

Gulch won the Suburban Handicap and the Breeders' Cup Sprint in 1989, right?

[Cardus]

Or was that Dancing Spree?

[Bobzilla]

I'm sure he won the Wood Memorial, too. Maybe it wasn't a G1 at the time though I would find it hard to believe.

[illinoisbred]

Easy Goer?

[Bobzilla]

oh, 10f and more... sorry.

[cj]

Well, I'm actually wrong. I missed a key part of data...Sky Beauty was DQed from her G1 6f win in the Spinaway. Sorry about that!

Gulch didn't win beyond 9f.

Dancing Spree, however, did win at both the qualifications and can take her place.

[cj]

oh, 10f and more... sorry.

No, you got it, typo. Was supposed to say 10f or more. I need to work at this trivia stuff.

[46zilzal]

That was a hint. Ok, here is another. It isn't Gulch. :)
Easy Goer but the sprints weren't graded.

Secretariat too but they weren't graded then

[46zilzal]

Ghostzapper was adaptable to many distances.
1st - Vosburgh Stakes G1, Belmont Park, September 27, 2003
1st - Tom Fool Handicap G2, July 4, 2004
1st - Philip H Iselin Breeders Cup Handicap G3, Monmouth Park, August 21, 2004
1st - Woodward Stakes G1, Belmont Park, September 11, 2004
1st - Breeders' Cup Classic G1, Lonestar Park, October 30, 2004
1st - Metropolitan Handicap G1, Belmont Park, May 30, 2005

[Cardus]

Is there still an outstanding horse, or was Dancing Spree the last of the answers?

[cj]

Easy Goer but the sprints weren't graded.

Secretariat too but they weren't graded then

The point was G1s. Even so, Easy Goer raced only once at 6f and lost. Secretariat won the Sanford, but I don't think that has ever been G1 or even top notch before grading.

[46zilzal]

The point was G1s. Even so, Easy Goer raced only once at 6f and lost. Secretariat won the Sanford, but I don't think that has ever been G1 or even top notch before grading.
For a long time there was grading on the Sanford if only to remember Man O' War's unfortunate experience there.

[joanied]

Well now, this is driving me nuts :bang: unless I do some research...my mind is blank...just about every one I thought of has been mentioned:faint: ...

[illinoisbred]

Driving me nuts too. I was thinking Swale, but I think his sprint Gr1 was at 61/2

[46zilzal]

Not Smarty, Funny Cide Summer Squall, Swale or the Brown Out, Barbaro, Monarchos or a few others

[Wickel]

Two speed demons come to mind, who could also route: Terlingua and Spend a Buck.

[46zilzal]

Two speed demons come to mind, who could also route: Terlingua and Spend a Buck.
the latter won these

Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes (1984)
Kentucky Derby (1985)
Jersey Derby (1985)
Monmouth Handicap (1985)

[Marlin]

Unbridled beat champion sprinter House Buster at 7 furlongs. Wasn't graded or short enough however.

[46zilzal]

Unbridled beat champion sprinter House Buster at 7 furlongs. Wasn't graded or short enough however.

There was an animal, if he were completely sound (bleeder), could have been one for the ages. His moves INSIDE of horses in the Breeder's Cup Classic was a monster.

His full brother had the same determination but went bad in the Wood. He has lots of little ones running in the Pacific Northwest.

[Cardus]

Unbridled beat champion sprinter House Buster at 7 furlongs. Wasn't graded or short enough however.

I had forgotten about that race until someone on another site mentioned it and posted the video link.

What an AWESOME stretch run!

[cj]

The 5th turned out to be Dancing Spree. Maybe lost in the shuffle of these posts, I mentioned that I thought Sky Beauty qualified but in fact did not. She was DQed after finishing 1st in the Spinaway. I missed that originally.

[Linny]

Tjat was an interesting question. It made me realize that the Sapling (won by Foolish PLeasure and Alydar) was once a very important race. While I vaguely remeber that, NY was pretty much my focus in the 70's since I was only 13 when Affirmed and Alydar were 2.
It is interesting to see the ebb and flow of races. Also, how rare it is to win a G1 sprint at 6f and a G1 at 10f or over. Forego loved the Carter and Vosburgh and get won the JCGC at 16f. I doubt any other sprint champ ever won a 2 mile race the year he got the sprint award. There would have been more had the Hopeful been 6f, not 6.5f.