Most "talented" horse since....?
 

What single horse do you feel was/is the most TALENTED horse in the last 25 years since we were blessed with all-time greats Seattle Slew and Spectacular Bid?

I, for one, am only 27 and have only been able to keep up with every day racing since the mid-90s, but i am a historian and have seen footage and tread about all of the greats, especially most of the best horses within the last 30 years....

I've never seen a horse that was more talented and had more upside than Bernardini.....jury is still out on him simply because he has onlt run 5 times and his greatestness will be measured by his accomplished success, but I still think he is the most talented route horse I've ever seen since following racing....As a student of the game, I've found weaknesses in many of the great Thoroughbreds we've all seen run over the last quarter century, but I sure haven't found one yet with this horse....he appears to be as close to perfect as they come...

This is a loaded question. Talent is subjective. Who was more "talented"?

hmmmmmm....

Mizzen Mast, Dubai Millenium, Fusaichi Pegasus, Street Cry, Ghostzapper, Holy bull, Dancing Brave, Alysheba, Easy Goer...

To name a few

Swale was tremendous, but his career was way too short.

Joel now I agree with you. WHen phrased like this I will agree that Bernadini may be the most talented horse since Bid. I mean he has to be. Look what he has accomplished with that incompetent dwarf training him!! Imagine if a real trainer had him!!!!

That 5K is burning at you. Look at it this way, now there is a carryover of over 50K, if you hit the pick 6 Wednesday your little incompetent dwarf will become the greatest thing since Secretariat, because you will have his horse to thank for the carryover.

I want something bad to happen to him and will hope very hard that it does(like a photo finish loss that breaks his heart and costs him a champion or big purse) it would be fitting payback for what he did yesterday.

Add Cigar into that mix, too. I don't disagree that Bernardini is one of the most impressive in recent memory (I'm 25).

I agree about Bernardini. I know it may be very fashionable and maybe a bit early to declare him so wonderfully special, but he just may be at least the next coming of Ghostzapper. I like the way he moves.

Sorry, cant use Spectacular Bid or Secretariat, as I was only a "little dwarf" when those 2 monsters were running. I will use Ghostzapper instead.

Of course, threads and chat forums are mostly all opinionated.....I asked for everybodys opinion on whon they believe the most talented horse they've seen in the last 25 years.....the great thing is that nobody is right and nobody is wrong -- its not about that.......just list one horse you believed was superiorly talented over any other horse you have seen run in the last 25 years....not a big deal and there is no correct answer here...

Okay back to the thread's title. While I am very partial to Skip Away, I would say Ghostzapper (even though I was mad he didnt run more) had more talent than anyone else during this time.

Wouldnt shock me if Bernardini is the next great thing.

Well you have a big race yourself in 17-18 days and right now WLA is likely one of the favorites. Just pray for a dry track.

Well you see Rick is a master at bringing horses over to the track that are ready to run. When his horses lose you don't walk away feeling that you got cheated by an imcompetent moron who doesnt even know how fit his own horses are. Losing with guys like Rick and todd is a lot easier to take because you know they did all they could.

The word "talent" brings to mind potential; not necessarily accomplishments. That's not a knock on Bernardini, who blew away the Preakness field in what, his 4th start? But to answer the original question, since The Bid, IMO, there's two horses since 1980 that stand out over all others in terms of accomplishments:

John Henry- a Grade 1 winner on grass and dirt. A grade 1 winner I believe at the age of 9. He won the Arlington Million twice and was a photo away from 3 wins, and won the Jockey Club GC on dirt, among other races. Besides his tremendous race record, what stands out is his will to win, his versatility, and his longevity. He was a freak.

Cigar- another freak although grass wasn't his game. His critics point out that his speed figures, while very good, weren't mind blowing. I think Cigar did what he had to do to win. 16 wins in a row is amazing and when he did lose, it was more a product of the pace (battling a 1:09 and change pace in the Pacific Classic, then falling too far behind a 47 3/5 pace when Skip Away beat him a nose at Belmont). He never should've even been in photos in those races the fact he came so close was evidence to his heart.

I guess in terms of raw talent, Easy Goer would have to come to mind. As good as he was, he didn't really live up to all the expectations. And same with Devil's Bag, who was being hailed as one of the all-time greats.

Ghostzapper and Rock of Gilbraltor

Twenty five years is quite a period of time in horse-racing; and why are you guys mentioning only US males? DIdn't Personal Ensign have a load of talent as well as grit? How about Princess Rooney (17 wins in 21 starts up to 10f, won the first BC Distaff by a pole)?

I can't leave Officer off of a list of horses with talent who didn't show it all the time on the track; he was a magnificent physical specimen with the guts of an amoeba. I loved to watch him move when he didn't have to fight for a win. (As an aside, Officer had lovely manners under tack, could have been a trail pony - no real aggression in the horse at any time.)

I loved those two too. I also want to see what Deep Impact does. I think Bernardini will show all of them a thing or two by the time his career is over though.

I also like Barbaro, Sunday Silence, Cigar, Skip Away, Tiznow, Easy Goer, Silent Witness, Hurricane Run, John Henry, Personal Ensign, Dancing Brave, Makybe Diva, and Alysheba.

As good as Personal Ensign and Princess Rooney were; great mares, no question, I really doubt they would've beaten horses like Cigar, John Henry or Easy Goer.

I'm guessing most of us live in the U.S. so that's what we know best. We only get to see the top Euros maybe run once. I do know Dancing Brave was hailed as the best British horse in 25 years.....and Manila handed it to him at Santa Anita.

Lammtarra is my choice

4 for 4, won the Epsom Derby in record time with no preparation other than a 2 year old stakes.

Won the King George and the Arc against older as a 3 year old. Retired

And than some.

Ghostzapper
Candy Ride
Point Given
Dubai Millennium
Dalahkhani

Darley just bought him back. These guys are getting everything. Dam $75 a barrel oil is kiling american racing.

[quote=Cunningham Racing]What single horse do you feel was/is the most TALENTED horse in the last 25 years since we were blessed with all-time greats Seattle Slew and Spectacular Bid?



Just want to give you young whippersnappers some historical perspective on Seattle Slew's reputation at the time he was running.

He had many naysayers and non-believers as he was going towards his undefeated Triple Crown winner status.

In fact, I would believe that even his passionate admirers felt he had perhaps benefited by good setups, a soft schedule and lots of racing luck. I went out of my way to go to Baltimore for The Preakness, and New York for The Belmont in 1977. But even for me, as much as I wanted him to win, I felt down deep he shouldn't be considered in the same breath with Secretariat.

That's why, years later, I am so very happy that Seattle Slew and his offspring have done well in producing a line of talented runners.

It's an ongoing vindication for Seattle Slew of how good he really was.

When people today are discussing all the variable of whether a current horse is truly talented, I always like to drift back to the talk I heard from "knowledgeable" horse people back in 1977.

Easy Goer and Bellamy Road.

Where are the ladys here

Personal Ensign and Ladys Secret--come on. Two of the best horses to ever race.

Rock of Gilbrator, Hurricane Run, Dubai Millenium

Who knows how good Favorite Trick could have been if it wasnt for the training debacle.

Cigar, Ghostzapper, Stevie Wonderboy--talent is so hard to measure.

Takes a good deal of talent to win an open G1 race at 6.5 furlongs and an open G1 race at 10 furlongs. So I'd say Ghostzapper is right up there with the most talented we've seen since Bid.