[JJP]

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.