Sport of Kings

The Best Field Ever Assembled

In 2004, the Breeders Cup Classic was deemed to contain its "deepest field ever". Oh how I beg to differ. First lets evaluate the 2004 Classic.
1. Ghostzapper - A monster. If his career would have continued I have little doubt that he would be mentioned as one of the best ever.
2. Roses in May - Yes, he too is a great horse. He won the Dubai World Cup the following year. Another victim of early retirment, no one knows what could have been.
3. Pleasantly Perfect - He was the defending champ, and was a very good horse, but the field he beat the previous year was just decent, and his career featured spotty starts. He was a good horse who could have been great if not for his physical ailments.
4. Perfect Drift - A grinder, one of those horses who always hit the board but never wins. A good horse.
5. Azeri - The greatest filly of the last 25 years adds the most prestige to this field.
6. Funny Cide - A Derby and Preakness winner who just didn't amount to what we thought he would be.

The field that I say was the strongest ever ran in the 1998 Classic at Churchill Downs.
1. Awesome Again - The race winner came into the race on a 6 race winning streak and wasn't even close to favoritism. As a three year old he won the Travers Stakes. At 4 he won 7 starts including the Classic.
2. Silver Charm - He won the Derby, Preakness, Goodwood and the Dubai World Cup. Amazing credentials for an amazing animal. He was the second choice in the betting.
3. Swain - Yea, I know - who? In 1996 he was 3rd in the Turd behind Pilsudski and Singspiel. He wreaked havoc in Europe in '98 and was 2nd to Silver Charm in the World Cup beaten just a nose. He would have won the race if not for Frankie Dettori's frantic and relentless left-handed whipping through the stretch.
4. Victory Gallop - The Derby and Preakness and Haskell runner-up that same year, and the Belmont Winner. Was almost 20 lengths behind with 3/8's to go in the Classic, and lost the whole race by 2 lengths.
5. Coronado's Quest - The pace-setter of the Classic led to the 1/8th pole. He was the heavy morning line favorite in the Preakness before scratching and won the Haskell and Travers the same year as the Classic.
6. Skip Away - The 2nd richest horse in North American history, and defending champ finished 6th! He won 10 in a row before finding defeat in the Woodward, including a win over Cigar (he won 16 in a row) at the end of '96. One of the best horses of the 20th century.
7. Touch Gold - The 1997 Belmont winner defeating Silver Charm in that historic Belmont. Also won the Haskell the same year.
8. Gentlemen - One of the best horses to ever run in California. A multiple Grade 1 winner himself, was injured in the Classic, but certainly added to the tremendous talent of this race.

The 1998 Classic contained all of the following:
1 Derby Winner (1-2004), 1 Preakness Winner (1-2004), 2 Belmont Winners (0-2004), 3 Haskell Winners (0-2004), 3 Travers Winners(0-2004), 1 Dubai W.C. Winner(1-2004, won in 2005), Defending B.C. Classic Champ and more. There has never been a more talented field assembled, even the field of 2004.

posted by Darin @ 2:29 PM