Now that’s awesome. I watched it about four times!
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3194578]
One of my favorites - captured here with a very clean copy of the whole race:
1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup
Affirmed
Life’s Hope
Seattle Slew
One Cut Above
Exceller
Great Contractor
Belmont Park at 1 1/2 miles won in 2:27 1/5 (Today the JCGC is raced at 1 1/4 mi)
Watch and enjoy - 4 min 30 sec; youtube.com
A great race call and commentary by NYRA’s Cassidy, top flight jockey work, and damn one hell of an effort to the wire.[/QUOTE]
Me too! Gave me chills.
Secretariat’s Belmont. He fulfilled any idea a breeder, trainer, and rider could ever have.
Forego!
I love this horse, he is like a machine…carries heavy weights and goes the distance
this is about his career…Gotta love this horse! how many of today’s horses could do this?
Trainer, Sherrill Ward, knew when he was beat, and did not ask Forego to go into the remainder of the 1973 Triple Crown. He skipped in and out of stakes races and allowances the remainder of the year, winning most, and running as the highweight almost always. His 5 length victory in the Roamer Handicap in late November, in which he conceded from 2 to 15 lbs all around, earned him a weight of 127 for the December 8th Discovery Handicap. In that one, he was giving away up to 19 lbs, but he still won. It was a great finish to a year that had begun rather lack-lustre, but still entirely unnoticed in a year when the only racehorse name the public spoke was “Secretariat.”
But the handicappers had noticed him. He began in the Gulfstream Park Handicap at age 4 already toting 127 lbs. Having won that, they boosted him to 129 for the Widener, which he also won. His third start that year was the 7 furlong Carter Handicap in which he would meet the highly regarded Mr Prospector who would carry 5 lbs less than Forego. He came out of the gate slowly, settled into last place, then moved boldly around horses on the turn to go after Mr Prospector in the stretch. He quickly caught the leader (who had set fractions of :23 1/5, :45, 1:09 2/5), passed without much effort and drew off with speed to spare.
This fine finish penalized Forego greatly in his next start, the Metropolitan Handicap, in which he was assigned 134 lbs, and it was still early in the year. For this race, we was co-favoured with Prove Out (who carried 8 lbs less.) Also in this race was Timeless Moment, who carried 25 lbs less than Forego. As before, Forego caught the leader in the stretch, but this time, a light weight 60-to-1 longshot named Arbee’s Boy flew past him in deep stretch to win the race.
In late June came the Nassau County Handicap at 7 furlongs, but the weight had not improved much. Still carrying 132, Forego ran second to Timeless Moment, to whom he conceded 20 lbs. The Brooklyn Handicap came just eight days later, and for that 1 3/16th miles event, he carried 129, conceding 13 to 18 lbs all around. It was a winning effort this time, but as before, that could only mean more weight in the next race.
And so it did - highweighted at 131 in the Suburban Handicap, the best he could manage was third, but stil defeated Halo by 2 1/2 lengths. On October 19th, Forego started in the 7f Vosburgh Handicap, and was highly favoured despite carrying 131 lbs. That was 21 lbs more than some in this field! But he rallied from far back, and won by 3 1/2 lengths over Stop The Music.
His very next start came in the 2-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup which was a weight- for-age event. This meant he could not be made to carry more than any other runner in his age group. So, hauling a feather-weight of 124, he charged from last to first to win by 2 1/2 lengths. With that he collected his Horse of the Year title and went to Florida for the winter. He had also been named champion sprinter and champion handicap horse. His was a remarkable accomplishment. Can you think of any other American champion sprinter who also won, in the same year, at the Grade-1 level going 2 miles? Neither can I.
His first start at 5 was the 9f Seminole Handicap at Hialeah. He began the year assigned 129 lbs, and won easily, thus signalling to all that he would be tougher than ever before. Increased to 131 for the Widener, he won that. Increased to 134 for the Carter, he won that. Increased to 136 for the Metropolitan, he - well, you can’t win them all - he finished third, beaten less than a length by the winner, Gold and Myrrh (121 lbs.)
Dropped slightly to 132 lbs for the Brooklyn Handicap, he rallied to outfinish Monetary Principle (109 lbs.) and won by a good length and a half, setting a new track record of 1:59 4/5 for the 10 furlongs.
This brought him back to the 1 1/2 mile Suburban, which had eluded him the previous year when he had been forced to carry 131 lbs. With revenge on his mind, and 134 lbs on his back, Forego stormed home to narrowly defeat his pesky shadow, Arbees Boy (118 lbs.)
The Marlboro Cup that year drew a stellar field of sophomores including Derby winner Foolish Pleasure, Belmont winner Avatar, and Travers winner Wajima. Still highweighted, Forego ran his usual brilliant race, charging from the back into the homestretch. Wajima charged with him, and the two were inseperable for the final furlong. At the wire, Wajima (carrying 10 lbs less) prevailed by a head.
But Forego got his revenge on Wajima in their next race, the Woodward. With only 7 lbs seperating them this time, Forego drew off to a an almost 2 length victory. This was the last time trainer Sherrill Ward would saddle Forego. Ward retired on the highest possible note. His charge, Forego, was named champion handicapper and Horse Of The Year once again.
Frank Whitely took over the training of the now 6yo Forego and the new team won a Belmont allowance in their first outing together. The weights stayed consistently high. His second effort at 6 was the Metropolitan Handicap and he was assigned 130, conceding up to 24 lbs to rivals. But he won by a head. Advanced to 132 for the Nassau County, he drew away with authority from a field of four lightweighted contenders.
Only four began that year in the Suburban Handicap, and Forego (at 134) was greatly favoured over Foolish Pleasure (at 125), and in the end, Foolish Pleasure won by a nose. Defeat never did visit Forego for very long. If a horse beat him, he’d be sure to turn the tables, weight or no weight, in their next meeting. Foolish Pleasure faced him again in the mile and a quarter Brooklyn Handicap 19 days later. Forego’s impost was still a whopping 134, while the Derby winner toted Derby weight of 126. Forego drew clear to win by two over Lord Rebeau (114 lbs) with Foolish Pleasure in third.
As nice as the win was, victories for Forego were nothing but a “weight-magnet” and he found himself assigned 136 for the Haskell, conceding as much as 27 lbs to rivals. He might have won it too except that Hatchet Man (112 lbs) bore out in the stretch under left-handed whipping and interferred with Forego. Hatchet Man’s jockey switched to a right-handed whip and in the process struck 2nd place horse Intrepid Hero (119 lbs) across the nose. Jockeys on Forego and Intrepid Hero both claimed foul against Bracciale on Hatchet Man, but the claims were dismissed. If the weight didn’t stop him, sometimes fate did.
Forego met Hatchet Man again in the Woodward and defeated him soundly despite carrying 135 lbs (21 more than Hatchet Man). Also, this marked the first time that Bill Shoemaker rode Forego. The pairing worked well, and would continue to do so. Now weighted 137 lbs for the Marlboro Cup, a race which he failed to win in two previous attempts, Forego found himself in the unenviable position of conceding up to 28 lbs to rivals. Few horses could give their rivals such an advantage and still win a 1 1/4 mile race, but Forego was no average animal. He got out of the gate quickly, but Shoemaker eased him back and took him out to the middle of the track to keep him clear of trouble. They continued
OK, well, Ivy didn’t finish the story- but Forego’s Marlboro finish- 1975 I think? Most amazing thing I’ve ever seen on tv. In addition to the weight, if I remember right, Forego raced in steel shoes because of his huge size and weight.
That Gold Cup link was great, thanks- and other links that came up included Dr. Fager’s mile, cool! I tore myself away, can’t spend all night watching cool race videos on YouTube (but I’ll sneak back…)
Had the pleasure of watching Seattle Slew win the Preakness live (which reminds me to ask why Cordero rode him in that Gold Cup instead of Cruguet?) and still feel smug about collecting a tidy sum by betting on Iron Constitution to place which he did.
Also saw Honest Pleasure win the Travers. Everybody should go to Saratoga at least once.
Beverly,
Sorry I thought the entire story copied, but Forego was just the best racing had to offer, he went the extra mile! Unfortunately, they had gelded him I believe because he was so difficult to handle. Would have loved to see what kind of babies he would have produced…
I was in college when Secretariat won the Belmont, it was the only race I got to watch that year, campus was deserted by that time, only a few of us in the dorms, a fellow from NYC had a crummy little black and white set and we screamed ourselves hoarse looking at that grainy little picture of that horse all by himself in the stretch drive. Wonderful moment.
Years and years later, on a trip to the KY horse park, I showed my step-daughter the walkway where they have Secretariat’s stride length duplicated–just amazing. I told her that when I was her age (8 or therabouts) I actually met Citation at Calumet Farm. Come to think of it, he’s the only famous person, er, I mean horse, I ever did meet.
secretariat,forego,seattle slew…saw them all ,they were the greatest!!!
Yes, I recall his connections being questioned on the issue of his being gelded, and their answer was that as a stallion he just wouldn’t run- in addition to the general handling difficulties. On the one hand it’s a shame, but on the other hand, give them credit to Just Saying No to the breeding revenues and the passing along of undesirable qualities!
1973 Belmont Stakes - I’m 12 years old in Merrick, NY, about a 30 minute drive from Belmont Park. It’s hot and humid and our house had no a/c. My father sets up the portable t.v. on the back porch.
The media for the last three weeks had been chockful of Secretariat hype. So naturally, I’m nutty about it all.
Secretariat steps onto the track for the post parade.
Blackout.
LILCO was always infamous for its spotty capacity to deal with hot weather.
Instantly, my father digs out his SONY barrel-shaped AM radio and tunes in his fave station, WCBS 1500 AM, and gets the television audio. My father is a child of radio, so he takes this all in stride. Me, television brat that I was and still am, I flip out and berate the fates for this vile injustice.:mad:
We listened to Chic Andersen count 'em off.:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:. Both of us are in stupor at what we’d just missed.
We saw the replay on the 7 O’Clock News at my cousin’s house later that evening. And, once again, I berate the fates for this vile injustice.:mad:.
I can’t believe no one’s mentioned the 1989 Preakness: Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer. That was a heck of a race!
My favorite race was watching my old man Grady win his last race at age 10… by about 5 lengths!
A close second was watching Silver Charm win the Derby… I was there in a box seat at the wire…(had a connection with Captain Bodget)…awesome day!
Third would be watching my “big” horse Greatsilverfleet win a stake at Oaklawn and then come home to be 4th in the Pimlico Special.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3194578]
One of my favorites - captured here with a very clean copy of the whole race:
1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup
Affirmed
Life’s Hope
Seattle Slew
One Cut Above
Exceller
Great Contractor
Belmont Park at 1 1/2 miles won in 2:27 1/5 (Today the JCGC is raced at 1 1/4 mi)
Watch and enjoy - 4 min 30 sec; youtube.com
A great race call and commentary by NYRA’s Cassidy, top flight jockey work, and damn one hell of an effort to the wire.[/QUOTE]
THAT WAS GREAT!!! Thanks for posting the link.
[QUOTE=Lady Counselor;3194285]
Carl Nafgzar calling the Kentucky Derby for his elderly owner (whose name is escaping me) as her horse Unbridled won it. That one always brings a tear to my eye.[/QUOTE]
"Here he comes Mrs Genter! They’re coming around the turn, here he comes!!! He’s taking the lead Mrs Genter! You’re going to win the Kentucky Derby! He’s going to win! I Love you Mrs Getner!!!
Still makes me sniffle.
I read somewhere (secretariat.com?) that they had used digital analysis and concluded that Secretariat had indeed set the track record in the Preakness.
I think my all time favorite is Personal Ensign’s battle royale with Winning Colors.
btw, you can re-live the above moments at youtube.
I had started another thread before I saw this one that was for favorite Derby moments. I deleted it - too close to this one. Here’s mine!
My favorite racing memory is about Eight Belles’ grandsire, Unbridled. My dad used to go down to Delaware Park and place bets for me for Tripe Crown races when I was younger. I was 11 years old in 1990, the year Unbridled ran, and I picked him to win. Dad went down to Delaware Park and placed my (saved from allowance) $5 on Unbridled to win, and then placed a bet of his own on his horse-crazy daughter’s pick.
He came home to watch the race with me, and we watched Unbridled get bumped hard at the break, and come back to blow down the stretch past Summer Squall and Mr. Frisky (where was that horse from? wasn’t he a “foreigner”?). He made it look so easy. The best part about it was hearing and watching Unbridled’s trainer, Carl Nafzger, call the stretch for Unbridled’s owner, Frances Genter. She couldn’t see her colt running, so Mr. Nafzger called it for her…“He’s gonna win Miss Genter! He’s gonna win! He’s gonna win! He’s gonna win! He’s gonna win! He’s gonna win! He’s gonna win! He’s gonna win! He’s the winner! He’s the winner! He’s the winner, Miss Genter! He’s the winner! He’s the winner! He’s the winner, Miss Genter! He’s won it! You’ve won the Kentucky Derby! Oh, Miss Genter I love you!” It was so amazing to see his call and her excitement. I cry every time I see it. If you’ve never seen it, it’s worth the 30 seconds to watch. Truly touching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDa0m-9lVY4 Best Derby moment in my lifetime. Unbridled went on to win the BC Classic at the end of the year. I loved how he came in between the other two horses in the stretch at the end of the Classic. He’s always been my favorite since that Derby day.
I saw Unbridled was euth’ed several years ago after a severe colic. I always wanted to go see him in the flesh.
One for the girls !!! Rags To Riches, taking on the boys…Belmont 2007
What a great thread 
Reading this sent me off on an hour-long youtube binge, re-watching and remembering glorious moments. I watched Carl Nafzger call Unbridled’s win and teared up like I always do every time I see it. I watched Rags To Riches look Curlin in the eye and fight past him him in the Belmont, and remembered how I scared my poor dog silly as I screamed and cheered in my living room watching that amazing filly live. I watched Barbaro’s beautiful stretch run in the Derby, and Lost in the Fog blaze past the finish line. Of course, for the umpteenth time, I watched Secretariat’s immortal, unbelievable, glorious Belmont. And, I watched Affirmed battle it out with Alydar in the Belmont to win the Triple Crown- the first races I remember watching at age 7, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I decided I can’t decide on my one favorite moment, but I know I’ll always continue to watch in hopes of glimpsing more moments like the ones y’all have posted.
