"best horse I've ever ridden"

[ShadowRoll]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

It ain't like Fu Peg and Real Quiet were legends, so why not? Sure it's hyperbole, but the sky may be the limit with this one.

Let me get this straight. According to Desormeaux, his statements after winning that allowance were just puffery, heat of the moment stuff. Understandable. But then he works the horse -- JUST WORKS THE HORSE -- and he's suddenly convinced that the horse is as good, after all, as he made him out to be in his admittedly hyperbolic post-race comments?

I give jocks a lot of credence, more so than some on here, in terms of how they can help a horse win a race. I really do believe that the best ones know their animals, and know how to cater to a horse's predilections. But it seems like even Desormeaux isn't immune to the hype that seems to follow Big Brown.

I'm reading a book right now on Man o'War. After the horse showed just how good he was, everyone, including Sam Riddle tried to re-write history to make it seem like they recognized the horse's greatness from the moment they first laid eyes on him. This is kind of the same thing, except it's preemptive rather than revisionist. Everyone wants to be able to say, if BB should happen to win the Derby, "I was on to him way back when."

Maybe the horse is really as good as Desormeaux believes. But how can he POSSIBLY know that at this point?

And maybe Fu Peg and Real Quiet aren't in the highest pantheon of racing legends, but no one's going to forget them any time soon (especially Real Quiet, who's come closest to winning the triple crown since '78). We might be forgetting BB after next week.

For the record, I really like Georgie Boy. But the rational part of my brain prevents me from telling everyone he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.