Best horses of the 1980's by division

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by miraja2

It is hard to argue against any of these but given the emphasis put on the Kentucky Derby for 3yos l I think I would give the edge to a Derby winner like Alysheba over CC in a close call like this one.

I was thinking either CC or Risen Star for the 4th spot. Alysheba was 3-for-10 at age 3 .. with a couple of real dud performances in the Belmont and Travers.

CC ran giant in the Met Mile - crush Silver Charm's sire Silver Buck who came right back and took a couple of Gr 1's for olders in the Suburban and a Whitney win over Winter's Tale.

Just six days after winning the Met by 7+ lengths in a field of 14 - CC wins the Belmont by 14 lengths over a last out Ky Derby winner in a field of 11.

CC did lose the Travers at 2/5 - but Beyer claimed in one of his books that there was a dead rail at Saratoga that day - and he was stuck on it thanks to Cordero pinning him on Aloma's Ruler. I think if you can forgive the Travers effort - he's maybe even 3rd to Spend a Buck.