Under-rated and over-rated? · 5.08.10

It’s reader participation time again, folks. This time, name your favourite under-rated horse, and/or your (least) favourite over-rated horse. Here, I’ll start:

Under-rated: Fit to Fight — Last winner of the Handicap Triple Crown in 1984, and considering the current status of those three races (the Met Mile still carries hella prestige, but the Suburban saw a decrease in grade and distance this year, while the Brooklyn is now basically a Breeders’ Cup Marathon prep), he will probably go down as the last ever. He probably would have won champion older horse honours that year if Slew O’Gold hadn’t gone on a tear late in the year. Along with Gallant Man and Alydar, Fit to Fight was arguably one of the best horses never to win a championship.

Over-rated: Dr. Fager — I expect a lot of arguments on this. I know, world-record mile, four championships in one year, only defeated by other champions, yadda-yadda. My two knocks against him:

  1. He never learned to rate off the lead, making him a sucker for a rabbit/closer combination like Hedevar and Damascus. Oh, stop whining that it was “unfair” — Frank Whiteley recognized Dr. Fager’s weakness, and as an opposing trainer it would have been a professional failure not to take advantage of it. And you don’t think, if the situation was reversed, that John Nerud wouldn’t have done the same thing?
  2. He never raced beyond 1 1/4 miles. Yes, that distance is considered the North American “classic” distance. But there’s a reason why the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes is still called “The Test of the Champion” — and Dr. Fager never took that, or any similar test.

Give your arguments, or your own selections, using the comment form below.

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What do you think?

  1. Whenever I find I am out of step regarding a horse’s place ins history, I seek guidance from members of the Halls of Fame both in Saratoga and Etobicoke. Matter of fact I did this recently for Holy Bull whom I thought was highly overrated. Once enlightened to several aspects of that one’s place in history, I objectively RE-EVALUATED and THAT one moved up.

    If you ask just about ANYONE as regards the good doctor and from all the reading and chart review: this one was a true force of nature with unbridled speed short and long as well as a great weight carrier. The only ones like him were Ack Ack, Mineshaft, Ghostzapper, Tom Fool, and it looks like Quality Road

    — Dr. Timothy Yatcak · Aug 6, 08:41 AM · #

  2. Under-rated? Miesque

    — Dr. Timothy Yatcak · Aug 7, 02:49 PM · #

  3. For me, the Bloodhorse 20th Century Top 100 list is a convenient yardstick. Of the top 10 in that list, only one was not competitive in sprints, middle distances, and longer: Dr. Fager (#6). Spectacular Bid (#10) also didn’t win at 12f, but he had a legitimate excuse in the Belmont and gave Affirmed a good fight in the JCGC, so I give him a pass (barely).

    Personally, I would rank Dr. Fager somewhere between Bid and Damascus (#16), and move Affirmed (#12) up between Bid and Seattle Slew, to round out the top 10.

    — E-man · Aug 8, 11:07 PM · #

  4. Re. Miesque – looking at the videos for her BC Mile wins, I can’t argue against “under-rated”. I like how in 1987 she sneaked through on the rail without hesitating in tight quarters, and the way she always poured it on over the last furlong. Too bad she didn’t race more often in N. America.

    — E-man · Aug 8, 11:17 PM · #

  5. Dr. Fager was a great miler…but he couldn’t go 1 1/4 let alone a mile and a half. Best horse of that era was Buckpasser.
    I saw him race in (in New York?) in the sixites against Dr. Fager and Damascus. Winner was a horse called Hansome Boy (the other three spotted him 19 pounds). Buckpasser, a questionalable vet pass limped home last (and his last race). But at one flat mile Dr. Fager was the all-time great

    — Jim Reynolds · Aug 13, 03:30 AM · #

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