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Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind
It takes a special talent for any horse to win with him....however the Arkansas Derby is hardly a career defining race and whether his legion of fans like it or not, the torrential rain prior to his Derby made that race moot. Lionheart was absolutely out of gas when they turned for home and still held second easily. The truth is that nobody ran a step that day.
Hey, losing to Birdstone was no disgrace. But, it was hardly the sign of a great horse.
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I agree 100% about Birdstone. Nobody is a bigger supporter of him than I am. Unlike nearly every other person alive, I have always thought that on a dry racetrack, at distances of 10f or beyond, Birdstone was simply a better animal than Smarty Jones. Unfortunately their careers were both so short that it is impossible to know for sure.
I disagree with you when you say that the extremely wet track in the Derby makes that race "moot" in any discussion of the horse's greatness. I think the ability to win on different types of tracks probably should be one element considered when determining a horse's greatness. The fact that Smarty actually picked up his feet and ran in that slop (while horses like Birdstone and Borrego didn't bother running a step) seems like a valid and important point in favor of those that argue he is in fact "great."