Afleet Alex last years Belmont.

Afleet Alex was a very nice horse but closing kick? He took command at the top of the stretch to blast very average (at best) horses. How is that a closing kick? When Nolans Cat hits the board in a triple crown race, you know it wont go down as one of the deepest fields in history!

Forego
 

When i first started going to the track, Forego had that awesome kick carrying tons of weight (unlike the horses of today) and its Forego moving like a freight train to catch Quiet Little Table....

Forego!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

arazi had a decent closing kick, jock went way too early in BCJ!!

What about Mandells'a horse in the Breeders Cup turf (deadheat) what was that horse name....was it Johar or something

Ok. Race was a mile and a half. What did he run his last 1/4 in IN HAND

Afleet Alex was argueably the best closer of all time. Watch his Preakness move before the incident with Scrappy T...legendary. I have never seen such a move in all the races I have ever seen as extraordinary as that one. In the Belmont...it was...

"And Afleet Alex goes right by Giacomo as if he's standing still. Afleet Alex opening up with a tremendous burst of energy!"...Tom Durkin

In a matter of two seconds, Afleet Alex went from being even with Giacomo to being four lengths in front...one of the fastest last quarter of a miles ever in the history of the Belmont Stakes. When Alex turned it on, he could fly. It is too bad that Ritchey and Rose didn't finally figure out this horse until the Preakness, and it saddens me to think of how great this horse could have been had he not been injured.

Thank You...

I loved that horse too but he wasn't a closer, more of a push button horse. A closer is a horse like Steppenwolfer. AA had good tactical speed. The best closers are usually turf horses because that is where being a closer pays off.

I thought this drysdale horse, Really Indian was going to be a great closer in the 3yr old division. Didn't fire in the Peter Pan but I like those AP Indy's.

I would definitely have considered Alex a closer. He sat way too far back in all of his great (Preakness/Belmont Stakes)races to have been considered a stalker.

"And Afleet Alex is still lingering at the back of the pack..."-Tom Durkin 2005 Belmont Stakes at the 3/4ths pole.

Alex didn't begin to move up in that race until they entered the far turn. Jeremy Rose rode Alex so perfectly that day...

When Jeremy tried to make a middle move in the Derby, Alex didn't have enough left at the end to get by Closing Arguement and hold off Giacomo. The only reason Alex won the Arkansas Derby like he did with a middle move was because he was a superior animal and the distance was shorter.

Like I said, Ritchey and Rose figured Alex out by the time the Preakness and Belmont came around, and realized that they needed to sit him way back off the pace. His greatest performances came then.

I agree with Hoist. He was more of push button horse. He made his lethal move at various times depending on distances and pace scenarios. Most of all depending on when Rose said GO! He had scary talent. But when I think of closers I think of horses like Victory Gallop and Cryptoclearance, horses you dnt see in the picture until the 1/16th pole.

Honorable Miss at 6 furlongs.She'd be 20 lengths behind going into the far turn and win.if she went longer she'd hang.

I consider them DEEP closers. It is all just an opinion though. No matter what, Alex had a great turn of foot and was a tremendous race horse. And he did have scary talent. However, being a very rideable horse made him even better. I loved that horse.

Million dollar question. Afleet Alex or Smarty Jones? Tough call but I liked Smarty a little more.

That is a tough one as I thought that both of these horses could have become superhorses had they not been retired prematurely. I think that we had seen Smarty Jones's best already when he left us. However, Smarty Jones consistently gave his best which is what made him so good. He was such a precocious horse. I think that Afleet Alex's best was yet to come as he had been steadily improving with every race IMO. Smarty Jones was more accomplished than Afleet Alex when he retired, but I think Afleet Alex would have become the better horse had he not retired. It's too bad we couldn't have seen these two greats a year longer than we did. Both were incredible.

Who WINS......GZ,EM,SJ,AA....A field of dreams

It isn't really fair to compare the three year olds to the older horse. EM, SJ, and AA weren't raced as older horses so you won't ever know just how talented they were. I will say that GZ was one of those horses that only come around every once in awhile. He was a freakishly talented horse.

I hope EM doesn't stand for Empire Maker. He isn't even close to the other three. The horse was ok at best. Smarty, Alex, and GZ were all incredible and proven. Add Mineshaft and then you have 4 greats.

I was thinking the same thing about EM. LOL. Mineshaft was awesome too. That is a much better one than EM.