The terms `best' and `favorite' are typically two subjective concepts when it comes the Thoroughbred racehorse. The TDN's Gary King reached out to key players from different facets of the industry to hear their thoughts. Email Gary King ([email protected]) to have your say.
GARY KING
Favorites(s): It's a toss up between two former Ballydoyle stars as to my favorite racehorse of all time, High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and George Washington (Ire) (Danehill). They were both supremely talented athletes, but were inherently different in so many ways.
High Chap was a model of consistency, the perfect middle distance racehorse. A Group 1 winner as a juvenile, he went on to rattle off two Derby trials, two Derbys and a Breeders' Cup Turf at three, and followed that with an Irish Champion S. and another Breeders' Cup Turf [dead heating with Johar] at four. He was everything a racehorse should be and his exploits from September 2001 to October 2003 captured my imagination.
George Washington graced the turf a few years later and was a little more mercurial in nature. From the moment he set foot on a racetrack, though, he was simply captivating. He had such a swagger about him, a real sense of Hollywood, and his early partnership with Kieren Fallon seemed like a match made in heaven.
George Washington wasn't a winning machine, losing more often than he won, but that only added to the intrigue. Which Gorgeous George would turn up? The way he took a couple of lengths out of the 2000 Guineas field, or his electric burst in the QE2, were breathtaking.
Unfortunately George was taken from us far too soon, but his memories will live on.
Best: It's impossible for me to look beyond Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) here. As John Greathouse, III, said earlier this week, Frankel's Timeform rating of 147 was truly remarkable. Fourteen runs and 14 wins, starting as odds-on favorite in 13 of those races. Frankel was a winning machine. His Royal Lodge, his 2000 Guineas, his Juddmonte International, it's hard to focus on just one.
Watching Frankel perform was like nothing I had ever seen before. His power and raw ability were nurtured by another legend of the turf in Sir Henry Cecil, which further added to his story. I might need to pick Chris McGrath's brain to find the appropriate words, or a suitable metaphor, to do both justice.
Seeing Frankel each year at Banstead Manor is a real highlight, and his legend only grows as the years pass. Frankel was the best, in my opinion, and will most likely stay the best. But looking for the next Frankel is what motivates and inspires us all. Maybe he/she will be a 2020 vintage. Who knows?
JARED HUGHES, HUGHES BLOODSTOCK
Favorite: My favorite racehorse of all time is Xtra Heat (Dixieland Heat) who just loved to sprint. What she lacked in size she made up for in heart because every time the gates opened she was going to run as fast as she possibly could. Honesty is a key characteristic for me in horses and humans and she epitomized that every time she stepped on the track.
Best: The best racehorse of all time, in my opinion, is Secretariat (Bold Ruler). It's hard to comprehend to this day that his record times in the Derby, Preakness and Belmont have never been matched. Records are meant to be broken and his have stood the test of time for 47 years.
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