Cigar was the best horse in the last 30 years

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Pillow Pants

We need a poll option so we can do a knockoff of the ESPN NOW deal. Since good horses hardly run anymore, what better way to get excited about the game than have a popularity contest?

oh please no. i thought that espn now thing was stupid.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Spectacular Bid was 24-for-24, with 14 Grade 1 wins, and numerous track record between the distances of 7-to-10 furlongs. He also had the record for fastest Ragozin sheet figure ever run for over 23 years.

Cigar is certainly not in the top five horses to have raced in the last thirty years.

[smuthg]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Spectacular Bid was 24-for-24, with 14 Grade 1 wins, and numerous track record between the distances of 7-to-10 furlongs. He also had the record for fastest Ragozin sheet figure ever run for over 23 years.

Cigar is certainly not in the top five horses to have raced in the last thirty years.

Thirty years is a bit much, but over the last 25 years I think the list of horses who could beat Cigar's "A" game is pretty slim...

[ELA]

I've always found the "who did he beat" or "he didn't beat anybody" arguement very interesting. I am not only talking about Cigar here. If you have a sound horse, pick easy spots, beat mediocre horses, get these visually impressive victories over lower quality horses, and so on -- sure, I can see some credence in the "he didn't beat anybody" claim. However, on the contrary -- if you show up to the big dances, dance after dance, take on all comers (whoever else shows up and you have no control over that), beat them, beat them again, something along these lines -- then the "who did he beat" or "he didn't beat anybody" arguement, in my mind, has very little, perhaps no, credibility.

Now, about Cigar -- without getting into the stats and going through the PP's line by line/race by race -- this horse raced, raced and raced over the course of what? 2 years? I mean, in 95 didn't he race 10 times, and something like 8 G1's? Did he duck anybody in that campaign? You want to say it was a "weak crop" -- well, that's kind of like a weak jab in a fight. I mean you could say it, but how much are we really talking about here.


I remember him when he debuted as a 4yo, which I think was his first start for Bill Mott. That was kind of like a throwout year because they kept him on the turf for his first 3 or 4 starts. He didn't do much. But late in the year, when Mott put him back on the dirt, that's when the fun really started, LOL. I think his next start and last start of the year was the NY Mile and he trounced Devil His Due. Anyway, aside from the walk down memory lane, during his 5yo year, he took on whoever showed up, he himself showed up coast to coast and I don't remember them ducking anyone.

Regardless, he had a tough campaign. That year was no walk in the park. I don't remember any freshners or vacations for him. He raced 9 times going into the BC (and I think every one of them were G1's -- right? I don't remember off the top of my head).

Once again -- he showed up.

What did Tom Durkin say . . . "the incomparable, the invincible, the unbeatable Cigar!!!"

Eric

[miraja2]

I think when it comes to ranking horses (which is obviously very arbitrary) it only makes sense to look at who they beat as ONE factor. It certainly isn't the only factor, but it does matter. It certainly isn't Cigar's connections fault that he didn't face top-notch competition. As yo say ELA, they weren't ducking anyone. There wasn't anybody to duck. But still, if you are going to compare him to a horse like Affirmed I think it only makes sense to compare the horses that Affirmed beat (like Spectacular Bid, Exceller, and Alydar) with the horses that Cigar beat. I think this comparison gives a clear edge to Affirmed.
I don't think it makes any sense to ignore the level of competition.

[Thunder Gulch]

I'll have to agree with many above...the case can certainly be made for the best in the last 25 years, but that late 70's run with Slew, Affirmed, and Bid would all rate higher on my list.

[smuthg]

[quote=Cigar is certainly not in the top five horses to have raced in the last thirty years.[/QUOTE]

Not that I put a lot of stock in the rankings, but Bloodhorse did rank Cigar as the 18th best horse of the 20th Century...