NH Horses Who Sadly Never Fulfilled Their Potential

Colonel Sanders

Nick Dundee has to top of my list. The horse was running all over Looks Like Trouble (who I rate possibly the best Gold Cup winner I've seen in my limited years) in th RSA chase and would have beaten him by half the track at the 1999 Festival. Thats stratospheric form, dare I say it arkle territory?

Others include Monsignor, Jair Du Cochet, Gloria Victis and a bit before my time but a lot say Golden Cygnet could have been the greatest hurdler of them all.

Morgans

Golden Cygnet...a few years before my time...but the be all and end all of unfulfilled potential.

scojones

People are probably sick of me saying it by this stage but I do feel that Total Enjoyment would have went far. At least it got the win in Cheltenham before being put down.
It has been said to me that in training this horse had Solerina off the bridle and was still cantering, this was before they decided to send it to England. Sometimes this is a cruel game.

ziggy

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wb

While he is recognized as one of the greats, I'm convinced that Istabraq would have broken the record and won 4 Champion Hurdles if it were not for the foot and mouth disease in 2001. It was sad to see him getting pulled up the following year and he was past his best. As I say, he is fondly remembered, and is a favourite horse of many people, but I feel if he had of broken the record, he would have aqquired that legendary status that few horses attain.

Colonel Sanders

wb wrote:

While he is recognized as one of the greats, I'm convinced that Istabraq would have broken the record and won 4 Champion Hurdles if it were not for the foot and mouth disease in 2001. It was sad to see him getting pulled up the following year and he was past his best. As I say, he is fondly remembered, and is a favourite horse of many people, but I feel if he had of broken the record, he would have aqquired that legendary status that few horses attain.

Istabraq v moscow Flyer in 2001 had the festival gone ahead could well have gone down as one of the races of the century.

I agree somewhat as if you talk to English racegoers and eejits on the betfair forum there are still people who don't rate him, the same people proclaim a horse who didn't beat a single top class horse in his 3 gold cups a 'true champion'.

Morgans

Colonel Sanders wrote:

Istabraq v moscow Flyer in 2001 had the festival gone ahead could well have gone down as one of the races of the century.

I agree somewhat as if you talk to English racegoers and eejits on the betfair forum there are still people who don't rate him, the same people proclaim a horse who didn't beat a single top class horse in his 3 gold cups a 'true champion'.

Well said, and Istabraq would probably have beaten MF at Chelt - although I though MF had Istabraq the day at leop when MF fell two out. A fitter istabraq beat MF fair and square at the moved punchestown festival in April. However, you cant really put Istabraq into this list - horses that win 4 chelt in a row have fulfilled their potential, and his position as one fo the top five hurdlers of all time is accepted by most rational thinking fans of the sport.

00dyel

surely horses such as Fundamentalist, SaintSaire, Made in Japan and others must be included as they won a race at the Cheltenham festival and have done nothing since.

Colonel Sanders

00dyel wrote:

surely horses such as Fundamentalist, SaintSaire, Made in Japan and others must be included as they won a race at the Cheltenham festival and have done nothing since.

Are you for real? Made in Japan won the worst Triumph hurdle of all time and i don't remember saintsaire winning at the festival.

Morgans

Maybe by winning at Cheltenham they were fulfilling their potential? They just werent that good to beign with. Although Fundamentalist did look something special at one stage. If he had been a different trainer, things might have been different?

00dyel

sorry you were right Saintsaire never won at Cheltenham, Spectroscope is another horse that won at Cheltenham but then never won again

ziggy

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00dyel

ziggy67 wrote:

Monsignor- Don't really know what happened to him TBH, seemed to have some niggling injuries then never came back. Anybody know what happened to him?

he was class 10 runs 8 wins, 1 3rd and 1 4th
50-1 winner at Cheltenham he was as well.

mdwexford

MONSIGNOR

top of my list every time one of these comes up.
a 50/1 win in the festival bumper, followed by an unbeaten novice hurdle campaign which included a defeat of best mate and a sunalliance hurdle win.
this horse had potential to be the greatest ive ever seen.

STRONG FLOW

after his scintillating hennessy destruction this horse was gonna be top drawer till his injury in the feltham, sadly he was never the same after it.

of the rest mentioned above id agree with the pipe pair, gloria victis who went down the greedy lets run our novice in the gold cup route and valiramix who was a fatality in a freak cheltenham accident when he was hacking all over the champion hurdle field.

finbarrk

Remember the mare Pat Flynn trained to win the Supreme Novices hurdle, French Ballerina, she had a bright future ahead of her but sadly lost her life in Royal Ascot I think.