I must say, that was a "DOOZIE"!!! Not to often do you get to experience a race quite like that!

Also, while we're at it, I would like to mention the pasing of Second of June. Not that he was a "super horse" but that putting him down was one of the most unfortunate days I had on the backside of the Spires this Summer. I was "right there" when the ambulance brought him back to the barn and tried to evaluate all avenues to keep him with us.......a day I will never forget. RIP Second of June!!!!!

The best?

When Barbaro won the Holy Bull. I knew then he was the derby winner, since I felt he only had to transfer half his grass ability over to the dirt. That horse was just incredible. He was the perfect horse.

The worst?

Tom Dorkin calling every Bernardini race like he had a Penthouse magazine in front of him.

I'd rather hear Bill Gahr.

You model for that lamp?:eek:

maybe Funny Cide prancing after he won the Kings Point...Pleasant Tap recovering after going to his knees.

The 2nd place finisher in that race ran in an Opt Claiming race at Calder last month......and was dead last, beaten over 20 lengths, at 9/5 odds.


I remember all the annoying people who were trying to say Great Point ran a better race than Barbaro that day---and basing that opinion on what they believed was a speed biased track that day. ('Sup Mike Watchmaker)

If there was any bias to the track that day, it was certainly that the outside paths seemed to offer much better footing than the inside. Great Point was very wide.

I'm sure this poster would say that he remembers all the annoying people who thought Barbaro was rather unimpressive in victory that day....and tried to convince him of that minutes after the race. ('Sup DrugS)

A few minutes after the race he made a 'Great Point' that Barbaro got very sloppy with his action late, and the big close by the 2nd place finisher was a total illusion, as he was never going to pass Barbaro. However, to suggest that Barbaro winning the Holy Bull over a certified bum was a top moment of the year, that is certainly no Great Point if you ask me.

That does sound both compelling and vaguely familiar.

The reason it was a top moment for me was that in his first three races, all turf, I already considered him to be the best turf horse I've seen since Kotashaan, which put him in the top three turf horses I've witnessed since I started watching this sport (1984). Since he was just a two year old and I already considered him on the same level as Manila and Kotashaan, I was excited that with his potential to run on dirt (pedigree wise) that he might do similarly on dirt.

While his performance in the Holy Bull was not as visually pleasing as his turf races, I really thought it was entirely better than what most other people seemed to think. Besides what you already quoted me on above, I also felt it was a tall task for him to make his first start off the turf on a muddy track where he'd have a bunch of goop thrown in his face. In the end, I came away with the impression that he really did win alot easier than people gave him credit for and that his future on dirt was enormous (though I felt he was better on turf).

Also considering that he still hadn't put together a completely professional race through his first four starts at that point, I saw a huge upside to him and that he'd just keep improving. Again, in the Florida derby, he showed his tendency to run on the wrong lead at various points in the stretch and once he and his connections figured that out, I fully expected him to be untouchable.

You saw what happened when he finally did run professionally. That was in Kentucky.

After the Holy Bull was run, my only hesitation on that horse was his weird spacing of races and the planned schedule for him leading up to the derby. Otherwise, I saw him as unbeatable come Kentucky and also very likely to sweep the triple crown. That was even with the obvious up and comer named Bernardini looming in the background.

I get a thrill for some reason when a young lightly raced horse that I've fallen in love with meets and overcomes a likely obstacle, such as a turf horse going to the dirt.

lol no sir.
when i typed special award, it reminded me of the movie 'a christmas story'. hence the lamp and the line. funny movie. haven't watched it yet this year, but soon i guess...

Don't you love keeping track of your auction faves? :)

I was wondering what happened to Great Point.

BEST of 2006:

Barbaro's Derby
Bernardini's Preakness
Pine Island's Alabama

WORST of 2006

Lost in the Fog
Barabro's Preakness
BC Distaff (Pine Island & Fleet Indian)