Tribute To Forego

[School of Forego]

He could do it at a mile. He could do it at two miles. He could beat you at seven furlongs. He could beat you spotting you a piano. The only thing that could beat him was the weight. I learned more about racing from this horse than from any other. I beat him at times but he usually beat me. Enjoy the tribute to Mighty Forego. :cool:

http://youtu.be/OXwqVpIMTvU

Look at the ease in the Met Mile while enjoying Harvey Packs narration

http://youtu.be/FDT1P5CBcIU

And how about this feat? Again with Harvey.

http://youtu.be/0RXt4RfCIMI

[Ocala Mike]

He was a massive thoroughbred machine. Remember when he was ridden by Heliodoro Gustines, my late brother's favorite jock back in the day.

[NJ Stinks]

Forego was the first "name" horse I actually rooted for just because I was so fond of him. How could you not love a horse who closed from the clouds despite carrying so much weight? Not to mention the fact that Forego was flat-out game no matter what the distance for a really long time.

I finally went up to see him run at Belmont in the Marlboro Cup one year and emptied my wallet on the Big Guy. "Emptied" is the key word as he ran third that day! :)

No matter - Forego is my favorite horse of all time.

Just want to add a thank you to School of Forego for the clips! :ThmbUp:

[GaryG]

I'm glad that I got to see him several times at the KHP. His stall was across from John Henry for a few years. Loved him to death.

[toetoe]

Gentle King ?!? Not a worldbeater, but a sentimental favorite. After some success at Golden Gate Fields, he went south and finished second as a longshot. But the Woodward ? No shot. Other 1970's "royalty" from G.G.F.:

King Charly
Prince Rameses
Prince o' Pace

Cinteelo ?!? Just the greatest mudder ever. :jump:

Avatar ? Wajima ? True Knight ?

Yeah, baby. :ThmbUp:

Apparently, the Woodward was shortened to nine furlongs as of 1976 ... ?

[Tom]

Forego vs Honest Pleasure......race for the ages!

[BlueShoe]

Have long had an admiration for the great geldings of the glory years of racing. Some of those old guys were almost like machines, winning race after race year after year. Before Forego there was mighty Kelso, then later was John Henry. In California we had Native Diver, who never raced outside of the state but won three Hollywood Gold Cups in a row. Could name a whole bunch more of really good geldings.

[School of Forego]

Thanks all for adding memories of the big guy. The days of the great geldings seem to be gone. They used to be the yardstick that measured the best of each generation. Kelso and Forego especially who took the measure of so many crops. John Henry and Native Diver as well.

Ocala Mike, I do remember Heliodoro. He lost the mount when Whiteley got Forego. He was a very good rider.

Tom, that was one for the ages. Shoemaker never layed the whip on him either. I remember one time I tried to beat Forego and did with Quiet Little Table but the weight they put on Forego had him practiclly falling over the rail into the grandstand he was so wide. Still he made me sweat for it. As I said, he usually beat me though.
GL:cool:

[foregoforever]

My favorite, too!

As amazing as the horse was, equally so were the training jobs by Ward and Whitely in keeping the guy together as long as they did. His legs required hours of hosing down every day. And it's such a shame that we never got to see Secretariat against Forego at 4.

Steve Haskin on The Mighty Forego (http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2009/06/21/the-mighty-forego.aspx)

And my favorite photo of Forego, which is in the clubhouse at Belmont. It's his last win, an allowance race, over Dr. Patches, who won the sprint championship that year. It was supposed to be a prep for the Suburban, but no one told Forego.

I've been looking for a video of this race for ages. Even wrote NYRA but got no reply.


http://www.championsgallery.com/Forego%20Willie%20Shoemaker%20txt.jpg

[School of Forego]

Foregoforever, hey cuz lol, what year did you graduate?:) Great pic and article. Thanks for joining in. One thing is for sure. Forego and Secretariat would have taken turns beating each other. If Prove Out and Onion beat Big Red you just know Forego and what he turned into would have gotten his licks in too. As it was Secretariat handed off the baton to Forego and he carried it for years.
GL;)

[nijinski]

Accounts from Shoemaker were that the big horse knew how to take care of himself. After the turn in the straightaway, he would switch back to the lead to accommodate his nagging ankle problem . Classy and determined !

[Shemp Howard]

He had a girth of over 77 inches when he was retired. Just think of that for a second. His ankles also looked like grapefruits.

[Tom]

hWeWHgHivWk

[precocity]

My favorite, too!

As amazing as the horse was, equally so were the training jobs by Ward and Whitely in keeping the guy together as long as they did. His legs required hours of hosing down every day. And it's such a shame that we never got to see Secretariat against Forego at 4.

Steve Haskin on The Mighty Forego (http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2009/06/21/the-mighty-forego.aspx)

And my favorite photo of Forego, which is in the clubhouse at Belmont. It's his last win, an allowance race, over Dr. Patches, who won the sprint championship that year. It was supposed to be a prep for the Suburban, but no one told Forego.

I've been looking for a video of this race for ages. Even wrote NYRA but got no reply.


http://www.championsgallery.com/Forego%20Willie%20Shoemaker%20txt.jpg
dam he looks like a TANK in that pic :ThmbUp:

[devilsbag]

As the DRF would say in those days:

Forego Meets Mr. Prospector at Seven Panels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69mBgbkuIfk

[classhandicapper]

As the DRF would say in those days:

Forego Meets Mr. Prospector at Seven Panels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69mBgbkuIfk

All I can say is WOW!

It's rare that I say "I'm glad I'm old enough". But if feel bad for any passionate fan of the sport now that missed the racing in the 70s through the early 80s. The horses were crazy good, the track was packed, the energy was amazing. I wish I had a time machine.

[Arapola]

I was at Belmont that day. I am ashamed to say I bet Dr. Patches to win. The race was The Big Guy's first race of the year. The Good Dr. was a very good sprinter in his own right and was the lone speed in a small field.
I think the 7F did him in. Anyway it's the only time in my life I rooted for my bet to lose!
images/UBGX/E1.gif

[School of Forego]

Classhandicapper, Amen to that brother. Amen to that.:cool:

[RXB]

He had a girth of over 77 inches when he was retired. Just think of that for a second. His ankles also looked like grapefruits.

Biggest horse I've ever come across. Absolutely huge in terms of both girth and height. Also reportedly one mean, nasty SOB. The groom earned his 1% purse bonuses.