The Mighty Forego

re: The Mighty Forego

RCA — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:24:13 GMT

My father first took me to belmont when i was 5 years old and since then i have always loved the horses. I must say that this article about forego was great i wish they would acknowledge him more. I was at the marlboro cup when he ran down honest pleasure and it still ranks for me as one of the greatest sports moments of all time. Forego appealed to everyone because of his fighting spirit and talent. IMO he is the best hore i ever saw and i saw secretariat, seattle slew, affirmed , spectacular bid and all the other top horses since 1972. For me forego belongs on the top of this list, his accomplishments at different distances bearing high weights is unparalelled in this era (save kelso-who i did not see). While the article was enjoyable so were the comments. I was surprised to see so many fans think spectacular bid rated so high on the all time list-I do not agree-he was great but not as accomplished as forego/secretariat/seattle slew + affirmed. You guys must have forgotten that bid was beaten by affirmed in the JCGC @ 1 1/2 miles- affirmed went wire to wire in this race and bid never got in front of him. The previous year affirmed was crushed by seattle slew twice. While bid had a great 4yr old campaign i can remember a great vacuum existed in racing at the time + his competition was suspect at best. He never raced at 5 and never spotted foes the weight that forego did. My top list since 1970.

1)Forego- a late bloomer who took on several generations of horses older and younger, spotting rivals up to 32lbs (unheard of today). Due to his being a gelding he was forced to take chances that the other greats of the 1970's did not have to take. Horseracing is sort of like boxing-the longer you compete the greater the chance of having a bad day + losing. Forego stayed around long enough to lose and proved himself by always bouncing back, winning fans and more weight in the process. The other great horses of this era did not stick arond long enough to have their mettle truly tested.

2)Seattle Slew- was not as popular as big red but arguably was more accomplished, he won the triple crown while undefeated remember? He had a huge heart but was nearly ruined when his connections ran him in the swaps shortly after the triple crown in an absurd move. He beat affirmed twice easily and should have won the JCGC that year but got cooked in a speed duel- but still came back after being passed and almost won! Remarkable.

3)Secretariat- Accomplishments at 3 were great but still threw in a few clunkers-lost to onion and a couple of other lightly regarded horses. Questions that will never be answered- how would he have run as a 4year old? how would he have done against forego who didnt become great until reaching 4, how would he have responded to carrying high weights and spotting his rivals 20lbs or more. His owners played it safe and took the money and ran- A phenomenon which has all but ruined a once great sport. Final opinion great horse but largely untested through no fault of his own of course.

4)Affirmed- great heart and had to defeat a horse who was nearly his equal to win a great triple crown. Lost to slew 2x but beat the bid in their only encounter. I will always remember him as being tough to pass once he got to the lead- all guts.

5)Spectacular Bid- lost the triple crown to coastal due to an alleged safety pin accident-was this true or did he simply have an off day? or did the distance bother him? I dont think he ever won a 1 1/2 mile race. Lost to affirmed by one in their only meeting. His 4 yr old campaign was dominant but whom did he beat? During his 4yr old year all the great horses of the era were already gone and I cant remember any of the "top names" around that year. He like his present day cohorts did not race at 5 and i dont remember him toting alot of weight. Sorry bid fans but beating a bunch of tomato cans is easy- bid failed his 2 major tests- again alot of questions left unanswered. Come to think of it i think one of his major wins at 4 came against a filly named Glorious Song?

Anyway thats my top 5 I am interested to see if anyone responds.

re: The Mighty Forego

Skyfire — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:16:39 GMT

A very good list!! I had to do the math on why no Dr. Fager!!

re: The Mighty Forego

ABZ — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:58:47 GMT

Wonderful article, thank you for awakening the memories. I was a kid, but I remember being at Belmont many, many times to see the great Forego. Anyway I wanted to throw in my two-cents on the top-10 lists. I am only including horses of the last 4 decades (horses that I saw run).

1 Secretariat

2 Spectacular Bid

3 Seattle Slew

4 Forego

5 Affirmed

6 Rachel Alexandra (Yes, I think she is that good)

7 Ruffian

8 Alydar

9 Sunday Silence

10 Easy Goer

re: The Mighty Forego

Steve Haskin — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:48:07 GMT

Matthew, Early in the year, Top Knight was the big classic horse, defeating A&L in the Flamino and Florida Derby, but he had phyiscal problems and was never the same horse. I'm glad you mentioned Drone. What a monster he could have been. And what a massive individual.

re: The Mighty Forego

Matthew W — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:04:56 GMT

Saratoga A J I actually thought and still do Easy Goer was better than Sunday---but results are results--they prepped Easy in 1 1/2 mi dirt race for the Cup and he lost his edge and it cost him--but, yeah, any time you list a top-anything list there's gonna be debate--at 1 1/4 on dirt, and that is my template, colts are dominant over fillies, but the fastest horse I ever saw was Crimson Saint, a filly, and my 1 1/2 turf list would for sure have some fillies---Allez France, All Along, Dahlia....they fit with Ribot, Sea Bird, John Henry...

re: The Mighty Forego

Will W — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:32:44 GMT

If Steve keeps producing these articles about the great handicap horses of the 1960s and 1970s - all of whom I had the privilege to see run - maybe he'll shame the current generation of breeders into producing such horses again. You'll pardon me though if I don't hold my breath waiting for the response. Still, Steve, does thoroughbred racing a real service in holding up to public view the memory of what truly constitutes a great handicap horse. His constant reminders of these versatile, durable champions who routinely carried weights no horse today would ever be permitted to carry brings to the racing world's attention how steep and precipitous the decline has been from true thoroughbred handicap greatness since breeding solely for speed and the use of racing medications like lasix and bute has been allowed to dominate the sport. A horse that could beat the best sprinters at 7 furlongs, win against the elite older horses at the classic distances of 1 1/8, 1 1/4, and then win the Jockey Gold Cup when it was a two mile distance affair - all at great weights no contemporary horse ever carries and all on bad legs and ankles - that defines the true greatness that was Forego. It would have been exciting if Jess Jackson who sees clearly the follies of the industry today had tried to recover the greatness of a Forego, a Kelso, or a Dr. Fager by running a drug-free Curlin for another three years to prove an all-time leading money winner's greatness by demonstrating his horse's versatility and durability at high weights in an era of highly-inflated purses. That too though is but a forlorn, midsummer's night dream of a recovery of thoroughbred racing's heyday of truly great handicap race horses on the part of one who saw them all and longs for what can never again be. Nevertheless, a thoroughly enjoyable article, Steve, that jogs the memory and keeps a glorious by-gone era of handicap horse greatness before the eyes of the racing public.

re: The Mighty Forego

Saratoga AJ — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:11:59 GMT

Mathew W.

Top tens are subjective of course, and ranking the top 10 horses of all time is a tough, almost impossible task. There were so many greats that we did not see. Some are forgotten on most of our lists because they ran before our time...and we tend to pick more of the ones in our lifetime. A good example is the only other undefeated champion other than Personal Ensign, the great Colin. Yet he rarely is mentioned in anyone's top 10 list, mainly because he ran in 1907-8.(He did make #15 in the Bloodhorse's Top 100)

It appears your list is limited to colts. Because to not have say, Kelso and Forego in anyone's list is a real stretch, as is including Sunday Silence. If he is #10, would Easy Goer be 10b? :)

re: The Mighty Forego

Matthew W — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:33:27 GMT

Saratoga A J I did have Native Dancer in my top ten, and I agree about Tom Fool being real good---Swaps was brilliant, one of the all-time specimens of racing! Some of his races you just think he's unbeatable!

re: The Mighty Forego

Matthew W — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:30:47 GMT

Steve if Majestic Prince never ran a race, would Arts And Letters three year old season rival Citations? I believe he won everything in sight that year! And Drone is a Derby winner most years!...Great crop!

re: The Mighty Forego

Skyfire — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:02:25 GMT

Steve, you are the best!! That was it, that beautiful, elegant horse - I have the mag stored somewhere but haven't looked at it in awhile!! That image has stayed with me - gorgeous horse - so well named!! I wish all owners gave their horse a name so dignified and regal. Did you see him in the Derby?

What a treat, thanks so much for the archive tip- I am going to reread and go through all those great old articles online!! They had great coverage of horse racing.

re: The Mighty Forego

jlvssec — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:51:00 GMT

I was in the crowd for that Whitney - it was only my second time at the track (the first was Secretariat at Woodbine). I was quite confused by all the hubbub but thrilled when I saw the giant Forego in the walking ring. I was a little bewildered at his poor performance, not knowing the backstory. But I remembered Saratoga's reputation as the Graveyard of Champions so told everyone to watch out for him in the fall. Boy did he prove me right in the Woodward. What a champion!

re: The Mighty Forego

aspradling — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:47:42 GMT

There is a sweet photo used of Forego in this weeks THS video. Not to mention Miss Musket.

re: The Mighty Forego

Deacon — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:18:27 GMT

Steve : You are so right on about the "Prince" just an amazingly gorgeous animal. Can't wait for the article. Longden did not want to run him in the Belmont, he knew he wasn't right. Frank McMahon over ruled him and the rest is history. He could have and should have been one of the all time greats. For those who do not remember, Majestic Prince was undefeated I believe going into the Belmont.....

re: The Mighty Forego

Saratoga AJ — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:58:10 GMT

Mathew W:

"another example of an unsound GREAT horse was Swaps, easily the best horse of the 50's and 5th on my top ten of all-time horses....he had cronic hoove problems...."

Swaps when he was right was a incredibly fast horse...certainly one of the best. But to say he was better than Native Dancer is ridiculous.

And when it comes to the 50's, Tom Fool, Nashua (who beat Swaps by 5 in the famous Match Race after losing the Derby to him), Bold Ruler, Round Table and Sword Dancer weren't too shabby either.

re: The Mighty Forego

Soldier Course — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:53:22 GMT

Wanted to mention the new "Adam's Turf: Your Summer Task ..." blog posted on the Blog Stable a couple of days ago. Adam's asking us to post our reviews of the various horse racing movies and documentaries he's listed. Should be fun.