Top 25 3yo's 1987-2007

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

It's always amazing to me that pass that Groovy and Housebuster get for being brilliant in every other race and then coming up with a loss in the BC while Fog is not given the same pass. Especially since he was dead half a year later. Hell, Groovy flopped not once but TWICE, both times at odds-on.

Housebuster was injured in the BC and Groovy didn't " flop " in the manner that Lost in the Fog did. Also, in a mild defense of Groovy, he had the unfortunate " luck " of having the BC run in California in successive years.

How familiar are you with Groovy's entire resume? How about Housebuster's before it was laid out in this thread?

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Housebuster was injured in the BC and Groovy didn't " flop " in the manner that Lost in the Fog did. Also, in a mild defense of Groovy, he had the unfortunate " luck " of having the BC run in California in successive years.

How familiar are you with Groovy's entire resume? How about Housebuster's before it was laid out in this thread?

Groovy absolutely did flop bigger IMO. The first year, he failed to hit the board at odds-on in a nine-horse field. The second year, he got outrun to the front again and again, lost at odds-on. That was the deal with him. No lead, no win. I don't get why it's unfortunate luck for Groovy having had to come to CA in successive years but it's not for Fog having to go to NY after flying back and forth across the country 13 times in one year. Groovy, like Fog, was a fringe contender for HOY in 1987 and he lost. I understand that Groovy ran some outstanding races outside of the BC. So did Fog. In fact, because of Groovy going 130+ in back to back races, that makes his flops even bigger.

Housebuster was good. I'm not saying he wasn't. Personally, I thought of him more as a brilliant miler than a brilliant sprinter. I know he lost to Unbridled in Florida in a sprint. He beat Black Tie Affair in the Carter and lost to him in the Commonwealth. What do BTA and Unbridled have in common? They were BC Classic winners and neither would be confused with the top sprinters over the years. He beat Clevor Trevor a couple of times, in the DeFrancis and the Forego. Clevor Trevor was another more known for his exploits at distances beyond 8f. The DeFrancis was a great race for him and showed he was a top class sprinter without a doubt. He beat Safely Kept in that race. I always felt though that the 1990 Met Mile was his best race.

[blackthroatedwind]

Black Tie Affair was third in the BC Sprint.....right?

Groovy ran credibly in the BC Sprint at SA when he was " off the board " but still finished a pretty close 4th. When second the following year he lost to a horse, Very Subtle, who I believe you earlier referred to as a pretty special horse ( I happen to agree with that ). Lost in the Fog got absolutely drowned at Belmont in the BC Sprint in the only time he faced a tough field. Groovy beat the mighty Turkoman, at 7F no less, as a 3YO in the Forego at Saratoga. This was following a campaign so ridiculous that he even raced in the Kentucky Derby a few months earlier.

By your own admittance you didn't follow racing that closely in 1986. Unless you did, and I am mistaken, you might want to find Groovy's lifetime pps before you dissect him too extensively. I don't disagree, necessarily, with you that he was a need the lead type. But I think if you saw all the BS he went through in his storied career you would have, at least, a slightly different opinion of him overall.