Azeri is right on the border for me. I would have liked to see her beat males though. I think she could have done it in 2002 but by the time they finally got her to Lukas, it was too late. I'd say she was a great filly but just a little short of being a great horse.
Personal Ensign was beyond great. To be able to come back off of the injury she had to return to the grade one level was great alone. To be a grade one winner at from 2-4 was great. To never lose a race, to beat a grade one male like Gulch (yes, I know that Gulch was the sprint champion that year but he was a capable distance runner too as he won the Wood as a 3yo), and to beat the Kentucky Derby winner twice while running her down, she was great.
Rags has the potential to move to that level. For me though, I like to see them either run fast times or beat really good horses. She beat a really good horse in Curlin but maybe that was because she was fresh and he was just over the top at the end of the TC series. I think that the competition she was facing in those 3yo filly races aid her somewhat in the area of perception.
Spain is not even close to being above average.
Davona Dale and Princess Rooney were before my time.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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