2004 Woodward- Zapper vs Liam

[todko]

Originally Posted by miles2135

I watch this race from time to time and knowing what we know now this should go down as one of the top races in history. Neither of these horses had made a huge name for themself (St liam was nobody and GZ had some respect) at the time so the race never got the respect that it deserved. But seeing these two BCC champions and consecutive HOY winners duel in such dramatic fashion is something special. The time that is was run in was also something special.....the two dueled through fractions of 23.1 45.3 108.3 133.5 and finishing the 1 1/8 race in 1:46. Check the video out on NYRA's website under the video archive section

St. Liam might have been one of the most underrated horses of the last few decades. He wasn't the most professional and took GZ way wide but that horse could run.

St. Liam was odd though in that he only ran as fast as the top competition. He never really crushed fields but it was obvious that he could have. And he threw in a clunker out west.

That's why I didn't get off so much on this year's BCC -- it was a weak field compared to the last few years. St. Liam (not to mention GZ) would have crucified that field.

You see hype like Bernardini (never broke 1:35 in a mile race or 1:50 in a 9f race) get $100k in the shed and Liam starts off at $25k or so. And then people wonder why the breed has gone to hell.

[smuthg]

In light of the untimely death of St. Liam, I think it will be real interesting to see how his only crop does on the track... While not quite as memorable as his showdown with G/Z, I think his loss to Commentator showed just how great of a horse he was; one could argue that Commentator has not been the same since and St. Liam never lost again...

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by todko

St. Liam might have been one of the most underrated horses of the last few decades. He wasn't the most professional and took GZ way wide but that horse could run.

St. Liam was odd though in that he only ran as fast as the top competition. He never really crushed fields but it was obvious that he could have. And he threw in a clunker out west.

That's why I didn't get off so much on this year's BCC -- it was a weak field compared to the last few years. St. Liam (not to mention GZ) would have crucified that field.

You see hype like Bernardini (never broke 1:35 in a mile race or 1:50 in a 9f race) get $100k in the shed and Liam starts off at $25k or so. And then people wonder why the breed has gone to hell.

The BCC field that Saint Liam beat was much weaker than this year's field. Flower Alley and Perfect Drift, Suave the 2-3-5 finishers in that BCC all ran in this years Classic and they were nowhere....granted they were not the same horses as last year but all were nothing more than solid horses last year. The only race Bernardini ran at 9f was in the mud and slop in the Jim Dandy...so of course he never broke 1:50 for 9f...how could he??

So no, last year's BCC field that Saint Liam beat was no certainly no better than this year's field and in all liklihood probably worse.