Rank the best 3 year olds of this decade

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Danzig

and war emblems competition included med d'oro, who was also on the original list.

as for barbaro, people tend to focus solely on his derby-for good reason, it was a damn good effort on his part-but then pay no attention to his races beforehand. yeah, he didn't do anything after the derby, but he did plenty before.
bernie may well have won the preakness that day regardless, but i think that bernardini would not have won out the year til the bcc had barbaro been around to take him on again.

Dont get wrong- I have plenty of respect for Barbaro as a racehorse and if you cover up the name on the saddlecloth and just watched the races, you would come away thinking that this was one fine animal.

The thing is, if we are going to put it on paper, is his body of work before the derby out of this world? I mean it was good but nothing for the ages. A life and death win in the fla derby over sharp humor. A life and death win in the slop over Great Point. Two impressive turf wins. Nice resume but again, nothing for the ages and certainly, IMHO, not enough to put him over the likes of War Emblem.

I agree on the talent and i think he and bernardini would have been a nice matchup that year.

[hi_im_god]

1) saarland
2) dollar bill
3) big brown
4) perfect drift
5) read the footnotes

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by hi_im_god

1) saarland
2) dollar bill
3) big brown
4) perfect drift
5) read the footnotes

Love it.

[free25]

why not put Rags to Riches on the List. was an awesome 3yo for sure

[Thunder Gulch]

Originally Posted by free25

why not put Rags to Riches on the List. was an awesome 3yo for sure

You beat me to this. She towered over the fillies and won the Belmont over Curlin in her shot vs the boys. She has to be on the list.

RTR- Belmont

I think Smarty's Preakness was better than his Derby. The Derby was such a slopfest while I can still hear Durkin with the Preakness call "he's gonna win by a colossal margin!!".

[AeWingnut]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

Dont get wrong- I have plenty of respect for Barbaro as a racehorse and if you cover up the name on the saddlecloth and just watched the races, you would come away thinking that this was one fine animal.

The thing is, if we are going to put it on paper, is his body of work before the derby out of this world? I mean it was good but nothing for the ages. A life and death win in the fla derby over sharp humor. A life and death win in the slop over Great Point. Two impressive turf wins. Nice resume but again, nothing for the ages and certainly, IMHO, not enough to put him over the likes of War Emblem.

I agree on the talent and i think he and bernardini would have been a nice matchup that year.

I remember the race differently than you. Barbaro won easily with Great Point flying past the quitters for place. There was no life or death about it. Great Point never saw anything other than Barbaro's behind.

[letswastemoney]

I don't think Big Brown should be on there.

Sure he won 4 grade 1s....but any other horse on that list would beat him. It's just that because Big Brown is part of this generation, it makes him look impressive because there is no one else out there.

Even Funny Cide would beat Big Brown at their respective best form. Funny Cide ran beyers of 110, 109 I think, and 114 in his Wood Memorial to Preakness run.

What is Big Brown's highest beyer on dirt...109?

[letswastemoney]

errr unless this list is just on accomplishments only and not on ability...in which case then yeah Big Brown should be up there...

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

Originally Posted by letswastemoney

errr unless this list is just on accomplishments only and not on ability...in which case then yeah Big Brown should be up there...

barf............


realhorses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbi9V...eature=related

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

barf............


realhorses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbi9V...eature=related

Great race and great call by Durkin. Blushing John was no slouch either.

The glass-half-empty side of me can't help thinking 'what if Alysheba had run as a 5-yr-old and made it to that race?!'.

--Dunbar

[TheSpyder]

The call does prove one thing...Durkin has lost his passion for race calling. I was noticing this year at Saratoga that he seems to be just mailing in his calls. I think he will hang it up soon.

Spyder

Originally Posted by Dunbar

Great race and great call by Durkin. Blushing John was no slouch either.

The glass-half-empty side of me can't help thinking 'what if Alysheba had run as a 5-yr-old and made it to that race?!'.

--Dunbar

[King Glorious]

Without giving it deep thought and without ranking them, here are the ones I'd have on the list for sure:

Smarty Jones
Bernardini
Tiznow
Point Given
Fusaichi Pegasus
Ghostzapper
Lost in the Fog
Lion Heart

[JJP]

My top five 3YOs of this decade so far:

1. Curlin
2. Point Given
3. Tiznow
4. Barbaro
5. Afleet Alex

most overrated: FuPeg--absolute dream pace setup in KY Derby
best losing performance: Congaree in the 2001 Derby
worst winner of a Triple Crown race: tie between Commendable, Da Tara and the McPeek runner (can't even remember the name) who won the Belmont at something like 60-1.

[CSC]

This decade 2000-2008 critaria :

Medaglia D'oro should be on any list.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by CSC

This decade 2000-2008 critaria :

Medaglia D'oro should be on any list.

for ten most overrated? 17 starts, 8 wins. no horse has gotten more credit for all his second place finishes than this guy.

[zippyneedsawin]

Originally Posted by JJP

My top five 3YOs of this decade so far:

1. Curlin
2. Point Given
3. Tiznow
4. Barbaro
5. Afleet Alex

most overrated: FuPeg--absolute dream pace setup in KY Derby
best losing performance: Congaree in the 2001 Derby
worst winner of a Triple Crown race: tie between Commendable, Da Tara and the McPeek runner (can't even remember the name) who won the Belmont at something like 60-1.

Sarava!

Originally Posted by JJP

My top five 3YOs of this decade so far:

1. Curlin
2. Point Given
3. Tiznow
4. Barbaro
5. Afleet Alex

most overrated: FuPeg--absolute dream pace setup in KY Derby
best losing (heroic) performance: Smarty Jones - Belmont
worst winner of a Triple Crown race: tie between Commendable, Da Tara and the McPeek runner (can't even remember the name) who won the Belmont at something like 60-1.

Solid list also. Thanks for putting this up to Gander and the rest so I could go back and watch some of the races. One change that I must insist on despite my partial nature towards Congaree.