hard to rate them, as only one faced older with a win, curlin. and another tugs at the heart, and isn't as proven, as barbaro wasn't able to stay in competition. of course he did plenty in the short time he had, winning the derby over what was called the deepest field in years, after showing he was a top turf performer.
curlin imo accomplished the most, smarty was undefeated til his second in the belmont--and raced at varying tracks and distances. but i don't know that the crop he ran against stacks up to the 06 or 07 crops. afleet alex i would also put at the bottom. didn't do as well before the t.c. and i feel that crop also lacked depth.
barbaro/curlin
smarty
bernardini
i had bernardini ahead of smarty, but then remembered that bernardini only raced one year-i think that matters. and unlike smarty, he lost his debut.
__________________
Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all.
Abraham Lincoln
|