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Inspirational and depressing at the same time
I found this over at DRF.com. I think this horse got robbed of Horse of the Year in 1997. He faced Skip Away six times, and beat him in four of those races.
112 debut Beyer? Will we ever see that again? And he raced nine times in 1997, racing at least once a month from February through September. One of my favorites of all time. http://community.drf.com/formblog/files/formal_gold.pdf |
Son of one of my all-time favorites. Trivia question - how many Breeders Cup race winners are currently standing in West Virginia?
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Formal Gold's record in races at distances under 1 1/4 miles was 12-8-4-0. His worst defeat was 3/4 length.
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I always liked the way Black Tie Affair won route races. Get the lead, guns blazing, and dare someone to catch you. He was Commentator with moxie.
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A personal favorite of mine. I'm hijacking justin's thread, and proudly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiMml...eature=related |
I don't care about eclipse awards.....very simply Formal Gold was one of the best horses I have ever seen.
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6-1 in the Donn was also a crime. |
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The handicap division of 1997 was probably the best we've had in the last 15 years. |
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On the debut Beyer question, the only horse that I can think of off the top of my head is Rodeo. He broke his maiden at Belmont by something like 14 lengths, getting 6F in 1:08 and change. |
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Wow. Fifteen posts in this thread talking about the handicap division of 1997 and not one mention of Gentlemen. I guess people forget that he won the Hollywood Gold Cup, the Pacific Classic, the San Antonio (beating the previous year's BC Classic winner Alphabet Soup), and the Pimlico Special (beating some horse named Skip Away). In my opinion, at his best, he was the best of the group that year but at the very least, a thread shouldn't go 15 deep on the subject and he not be mentioned.
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Meadowlake ran one of the highest debut numbers of all time ( somewhere between 109 and 113 I believe ). Chilluki ran around a 108 at 4 1/2 furlongs at CD. |
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Gentlemen was terrific as well. It was unfortunate that when he came to NY in the Fall of 1998 he wasn't the same horse. |
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This thread just goes to show how much of a crapshoot the breeding side of the business can be. The horses mentioned (or referenced) include Formal Gold, Skip Away, Louis Quatorze, Will's Way, Gentlemen, Silver Charm, Captain Bodgit, Free House, Behrens, Black Tie Affair and Touch Gold - all serious racehorses. Of all these, probably only Touch Gold could be considered a success at stud.
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I don't know, Louis Quatorze has had a couple of nice runners, and Black Tie Affair, of course, is the sire of Formal Gold. Free House, well, he died, so I'm not going to hold that against him. Silver Charm wasn't exactly given a chance domestically; we'll see how he works out in Japan.
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I think I read Captain Bodgit or Will's Way - I can't remember which - is standing in Alberta somewhere for like $1500.
Of the ones you mentioned, Skip Away has to have been the biggest disappointment at stud. |
It's difficult to pass on racing performance.
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And his Woodward was his best race and easiest victory over Skip Away. Thank you for pointing out what I have said all along.....weight is meaningless. Much appreciated. |
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Funny that a horse could run second twice while earning a 122 and 126 beyer. How times have changed.
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Horses like Distorted Humor, Arch, and Elusive Quality all began their careers at stud fees in the $10,000 range, so it's not like they were getting bred to top mares when they started out. They just outperformed their more recognizable (from a racing perspective) contemporaries in the breeding shed and, as a result, are now getting the top mares that they earned the hard way. Finally, the Thoroughbred Times Stallion Directory lists Captain Bodgit as standing in Canada. |
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